Sténio Vincent

Sténio Vincent
30th President of Haiti
In office November 18, 1930 – May 15, 1941
Preceded by	Louis Eugène Roy
Succeeded by	Élie Lescot
Minister of Interior and Public Works
In office August 8, 1916 – April 17, 1917
President	Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave
Preceded by	Constant Vieux
Succeeded by	Osmin Cham (Interior) Etienne Magloire (Public Works)
Personal details
Born	(1874-02-22)February 22, 1874 Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Died	September 3, 1959(1959-09-03) (aged 85) Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Profession	Lawyer

Sténio Joseph Vincent (February 22, 1874 – September 3, 1959) was President of Haiti from November 18, 1930 to May 15, 1941.

Biography

Sténio Vincent was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and was a member of the mulatto (African and European descent) elite.

Presidency

In October 1930 Haitians chose a national assembly for the first time since 1918. It elected Vincent as President of Haiti. He graduated from law school at age 18 before ascending to head of Haiti's Chamber of Deputies by 1915. He ran a nationalist campaign for the presidency based on his fierce opposition to the American occupation of the Haiti.

After US Marines left in 1934, Vincent turned to a more authoritarian leadership style. Leading dissidents such as Jacques Roumain and Max Hudicourt were followed, spied on, and imprisoned for their political activity. The United States became Haiti's largest trading partner. By mid-decade, Vincent was considered "one of the staunchest pro-Americans in the hemisphere." In 1935, a plebiscite extended his term to 1941 and amended the constitution so that future presidents would be elected by popular vote.

In October 1937 troops and police from the Dominican Republic massacred thousands of Haitian labourers living near the border in the Parsley Massacre. As reports of the slaughter swiftly reached Port-au-Prince, Vincent restricted local press coverage, worrying that it would inflame tensions between the two countries. He had enjoyed a cooperative relationship with and financial support from the government of Dominican President Rafael Trujillo. However, the news could not be contained. After two years of relative quiet in Port-au-Prince, protests from various sectors of the population broke out against Vincent's weak response to the massacre. Security was doubled around the National Palace, to the irritation of black soldiers who felt the army should be deployed on the border. The Dominican government agreed in 1938 to compensate the slain workers’ relatives the following year in return for the cancellation of an independent investigation. But only part of the promised amount was actually paid. By that time, two coup attempts within the Haitian army had been averted. A US government State Department dispatch described Vincent as dealing with his political opponents in "Hitlerian fashion."

With mounting opposition and upcoming elections, Vincent declared his intention to step down and the presidency was peacefully transitioned in 1941 to his successor, Élie Lescot.

References

• Smith, Matthew J. Red & Black in Haiti: Radicalism, Conflict, and Political Change, 1934–1957. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009.