François Duvalier

François Duvalier (1907-1971), Haitian political leader and physician (hence his familiar name, Papa Doc), born in Port-au-Prince, and educated at the faculty of medicine of the University of Haiti. From 1934 to 1946 Duvalier served in hospitals and clinics, specializing in the treatment of the tropical disease yaws; for this he gained a reputation as a humanitarian. From 1946 to 1950 he was director general of the National Public Health Service and secretary of labor. After 1950 Duvalier led the resistance to President Paul Eugène Magloire, and in 1957 he was elected president for a six-year term. In 1964 Duvalier had himself declared president for life. His dictatorial regime oversaw military and governmental purges, mass executions, and the institution of curfews, all enforced by the dreaded Tonton Macoutes, his personal and violent secret police.

In January 1971 the legislature amended the constitution to permit Duvalier to name his son, Jean Claude Duvalier, as his successor. The young Duvalier assumed the presidency of Haiti on his father’s death. In response to three months of protest against the government’s political and economic repression, he fled the country in early 1986 and settled in France.