Veteran international aid official Gary Conier was unanimously appointed Haiti’s prime minister on Tuesday by the presidential transition committee, which tasked him with leading the country out of the current crisis until new presidential elections are held.
Mr Conil’s new role comes as a U.N.-backed security mission led by Kenyan police plans to begin operations in the violence-torn Caribbean country, which is struggling to restore political stability and crack down on control of most of the country. armed groups in the area.
Mr. Conille is fluent in English, French and Creole and has 25 years of experience working with the United Nations and other aid agencies. He also briefly served as Haiti’s prime minister more than a decade ago during another crisis period following the devastating 2010 earthquake.
But Cornier has spent much of the past few years abroad and his political skills at home may be rusty, and the highly volatile situation he will face as prime minister will certainly be tested.
However, he will not have to face any political battles with Haiti’s fractious parliament, which has been vacant for months as the country has been unable to hold elections amid violence and unrest.
“He was the safe bet to appease the international community, but he has spent the last two decades working primarily in the U.N. system outside of Haiti,” said Jack Johnston, a Haiti expert at the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
A trained physician, he also earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of North Carolina. Mr. Cornier helped coordinate reconstruction efforts after Haiti’s catastrophic 2010 earthquake, which the Haitian government said killed 316,000 people.
He became prime minister in 2011 but resigned just four months later after clashing with then-President Michel Martelly over a corruption investigation involving a contract to rebuild the country.
Cornil, 58, succeeds Michel Patrick Boisvert, who was appointed interim prime minister after Ariel Henry resigned at the end of April. Mr Henry was forced to resign after he was effectively locked away abroad amid gang violence that closed Port-au-Prince’s international airport and prevented him from returning from Kenya to sign a UN-backed security deal.
Kenyan police are expected to travel to Haiti next month on a mammoth mission to help restore order in the country.
U.S. military planes loaded with civilian contractors and supplies have begun landing in Haiti, paving the way for a seven-nation security mission that will be funded in large part by a $300 million pledge from the Biden administration.
Mr Cornier will take on responsibility for running the country alongside the transitional council appointed to fill the vacancy left by Mr Henry’s ouster. The nine-member Transitional Council has some presidential powers and has been appointed to lead the country until elections are held and a new president is inaugurated (scheduled for early 2026).
Haiti has been without a president since the July 2021 assassination of Jovenel Moïse by armed men who broke into his bedroom and shot him dead in front of his wife. His murder remains under separate investigation in Haiti and Florida, with a trial scheduled for January in Miami.
Five people, including two former Colombian soldiers, have pleaded guilty in the United States and been sentenced to life in prison.
Mr. Cornier has been with the United Nations for the past 25 years, serving in Africa and the Caribbean and holding senior positions with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. His most recent position was as UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean since January 2023.
The second Paul tree Reporting provided by Port-au-Prince.
