Michel Patrick Boisvert is a Haitian civil servant and politician serving as the interim Prime Minister of Haiti under the Transitional Presidential Council since 24 April 2024, pending the council's appointment of a new prime minister.[5] Boisvert has served as Minister of Economy and Finance since 2020, initially in the cabinets of Joseph Jouthe, Claude Joseph, and Ariel Henry. Boisvert previously served as director-general of the Ministry of Economy and Finance from 2018 to 2020. Amid the February–March 2024 escalation of the gang war in Haiti, Boisvert has served as acting prime minister, overseeing the operations of Henry's government during his absence from the country. Following Henry’s formal resignation on 24 April 2024, Boisvert continued to serve as acting prime minister of Haiti. Boisvert had also served as acting president of Haiti from 24 to 25 April 2024 immediately following Henry’s formal resignation until the formal swearing in of the Transitional Presidential Council. This makes Boisvert by far the shortest ever serving head of state of Haiti and one of the shortest ever worldwide.[6][7][8]
Michel Patrick Boisvert | |
|---|---|
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| President of Haiti | |
| Acting 24 April 2024[1] – 25 April 2024[2][3][4][a] | |
| Preceded by | Ariel Henry (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Transitional Presidential Council |
| Prime Minister of Haiti | |
| Assumed office 25 February 2024[b] | |
| President | Ariel Henry (acting) Himself (acting) Transitional Presidential Council |
| Preceded by | Ariel Henry (acting) |
| Minister of Economy and Finance | |
| Assumed office 5 March 2020 | |
| Appointed by | Jovenel Moïse |
| Prime Minister | Joseph Jouthe Claude Joseph (acting) Ariel Henry (acting) Himself (acting) Transitional Presidential Council |
| Preceded by | Joseph Jouthe |
Biography
Boisvert was born in Petit-Goâve.[9] He received an accounting degree from the University of Port-au-Prince, an economics degree from the State University of Haiti, and a master's degree in economic policy management from the University of Auvergne.[9] He was employed at the Bank of the Republic of Haiti from 1991 to 1995 and as a regional official of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, based in Petit-Goâve, from 1995 to 2010. From 2010 to 2018, Boisvert served within the ministry as the Director of Tax Inspection.[9]
In 2018, Boisvert was appointed as director-general of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.[9] On 5 March 2020, he joined the cabinet of Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe as Minister of Economy and Finance and continued in this office under Jouthe's successor Claude Joseph. Boisvert has retained his position in the interim government formed under acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021.[citation needed]
On 25 February 2024, Boisvert assumed interim leadership of Henry's government while the prime minister traveled to Kenya to negotiate the deployment of Kenyan police forces to Haiti amid the domestic crisis exacerbated by escalating gang violence.[10] During Henry's absence, a major gang offensive targeted his government, prompting Boisvert to declare a state of emergency on 3 March.[11] On March 7, with the crisis ongoing and Henry unable to reenter Haiti, Boisvert extended the state of emergency for one month.[12]