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Haiti News Media > Haiti News > Philippe Guerrier - Haitian President Philippe Guerrier, Haitian President Philippe Guerrier (born in Port-au-Prince, December 19,1757-d. Saint-Marc, April 15, 1845)
President : May 3, 1844-April 15, 1845
Born in 1757, General Philippe Guerrier was an octogenarian when he assumed the Presidency in 1844. His renown bravery, the prestige of his name, and his great popularity in the army contributed to his establishment of a relatively calm period for the country. The opposition the former President Hérard had actively campaigned for him thinking that he would be their puppet. Such a strategy was called the politique de doublure and it consisted of putting an uneducated black in power while governing behind the scene.
Paying little attention to the 1843 Constitution, Guerrier started to behave as a dictator. A 21-member Council of State was named to assist the President.
He succeeded in disarming the peasants and their leader Jean-Jacques Acaau was tried by a martial court. During his administration, the Postal Service was established, though the first stamp was not printed until the Salomon administration. Many schools were created including the Lyceums of Cap-Haitian and Les Cayes, under his government.
When former President Riviére Hérard left Kingston on March 28, 1845 to attempt a political comeback, the populations refused to welcome him. Bitterly disenchanted, he returned to exile. Many opponents accused of being in league with former President Hérard were arrested. A state of siege covering the whole country was decreed on April 12,1845.
Weakened by sickness and old age, President Philippe Guerrier finally died in power an April 15, 1845, less than a year after his election.
Written by Max Manigat in "Leaders of Haiti"
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