Dumarsais Estimé
Dumarsais Estimé (born April 21, 1900, in Verrettes, Haiti; died July 20, 1953, in New York City, USA) was a Haitian politician and President of the Haitian Republic from August 16, 1946, to May 10, 1950.
Dumarsais Estimé
July 20, 1953 (aged 53)
New York City, New York, United States
Jean-Robert, Philippe, Marie-Florence, Régine {Other children from first union: Paul, Raymonde, Lionel}
Lawyer, teacher
Previously, he was a member of the Parliament for Verrettes for 16 years, as well as President of the Chamber and Minister (Secretary of State) for Public Education, Agriculture, and Labour.
The memory of his presidency remains very prominent among many Haitians due to the reforms undertaken and the undeniable economic and social progress that the Republic of Haiti experienced during this era. Among his more notable achievements are things such as the International Exhibition organized in 1949 to commemorate the bicentenary of the founding of Port-au-Prince in 1749 by the French colonists from the island of Santo Domingo (Le Livre Bleu), the expansion of the city of Belladère along the Dominican Republic border as a symbol of development, and the construction of a suspension bridge over the Grande-Anse River which still continues to serve region as river crossing to this day. It is important to also remember the laws passed and the investments made for the development of rural areas, the construction of many schools and the modernisation of the whole education system, as well as the protection of workers’ rights through the Labor Code and ultimately the creation of proper conditions for economic growth, mostly in tourism and small industry sectors. During this period, there was also significant improvement in the living conditions of the Haitian population.
In May 1950, a coup d’état organized by a military junta overthrew the government of Estimé and placed its leader, Paul Magloire, as head of the country, where he would be elected to the presidency in October 1950. Estimé was shortly deposed and exiled by the Haitian army led by Franck Lavaud. After travelling in France, Jamaica, and the USA, he died in New York on July 20, 1953.
Youth and education[edit]
Estimé was born on April 21, 1900, in Verrettes, a Haitian town located in the Artibonite Province, into a landowner’s family. His father, Alciné Estimé, was the son of Sara Dorval (1845–1938) and Estimé Pierre (1851–1904), among a group of siblings consisting of four boys and six girls. His mother, Fleurencia Massillon, was described as caring and made a deep impression on her son throughout his life, just as much as the death of his father did when Dumarsais was still a child.
His uncle, Estilus Estimé, mayor of Verrettes (1936) and senator of the Republic (1938), ensured his education and exercised a great deal of influence over Dumarsais. Estilus attempted to make Dumarsais aware of the Haitian social reality of the time and convinced him of the need for greater integrity in public affairs.
Estilus Estimé sent the young Dumarsais to the friars of Saint-Louis de Gonzague in St Marc; he then attended Collège Pinchinat and went to Lycée Alexandre-Pétion in Port-au-Prince until his baccalaureate. At these institutions it is reported he was taught by masters such as Jean Price-Mars, Catts Pressoir and Jean-Chrysostome Dorsainvil. Dumarsais was fifteen when the American Occupation of Haiti began in July 1915 and this period would profoundly influence his teenage years along with his future career. In 1920, he was appointed as a tutor at Lycée Pétion while still attending law school. He taught mathematics there until 1926, also graduating during this time. Dumarsais was dismissed from his position after publicly expressing his opposition to the government of President Louis Borno and the then ongoing United States occupation of Haiti. Dumarsais was described as a scholar (passionate about French literature and philosophy) with a fierce desire to liberate Haiti from foreign influence and change Haitian society. It was necessary, according to him, to fight against the abuses of the traditional elite and educate the masses.
Military coup and exile[edit]
The army was quick to react. Two days later, on May 10, it made a declaration signed by General Franck Lavaud and Colonels Antoine Levelt and Paul-Eugène Magloire: ‘The President of the Republic has lost control of events […]. By unanimous agreement of the officers, the members of the 1946 junta were asked to once again agree to devote themselves to the sake of the Nation.’ It was the end of the government of Dumarsais Estimé.
A commando of officers and heavily armed soldiers infested the National Palace. ‘The High Staff preceded by Colonel Magloire and his officers from the Dessalines Barracks, armed with machine guns, entered the president’s office and asked him to sign his letter of resignation” which they had previously prepared. President Estimé complied.
Assigned to residence with his family for ten days in a villa made available to him in Port-au-Prince, he was forced to leave. The couple and their three young children took the path of exile.
Life in exile and death[edit]
After a brief stay in the United States, the family moved to France and stayed there for a few months. To get closer to Haiti, Estimé then opted for Jamaica, which he reached with his family on January 23, 1951, via ‘Colombia’, a liner belonging to the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique.
On their arrival at the port of Kingston, the Jamaican Immigration Service forbid them to put foot on land, at the request of the Haitian government chaired since October 1950 by Paul Magloire, on the pretext that the ex-president could cause troubles in Jamaica. In fact, Magloire feared the presence of Estimé so close to Haiti and had sent his henchmen (including a certain Lucien Chauvet) to convince the British and Jamaican authorities (Jamaica was not yet independent) to refuse ex-President Estimé and his family refuge in Jamaica.
However, WA Bustamante, head of the Jamaica Labour Party (PLP), mayor of Kingston [and unofficial head of government until his official appointment in 1953 as the first Chief Minister of Jamaica], outraged to see his country let its conduct be dictated in matters of asylum and reception of foreigners by a foreign government, intervened quickly with the British Governor of Jamaica and the Chief of Police to have this ban lifted. Mr. Bustamante boarded the Colombia to greet ex-President Estimé, whom he knew, and to assure him that he would be protected in Jamaica. When he got off the boat with his family, he was driven to the hotel and, a few days later, they were invited to stay in Bustamante’s home on Tucker Avenue where they resided for several weeks .
After a year spent in Jamaica, Estimé returned to France where he lived until November 1952. He then left France for New York where he died on July 20, 1953, in Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.