Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council appointed businessman Laurent Saint-Cyr as its president on Thursday, replacing economist Fritz Alphonse Jean, amid profound instability due to rising gang violence that has left more than 1,500 dead in the second quarter of 2025.
“Today, with great humility, determination, and patriotism, I accept the great responsibility of becoming the coordinator of the Transitional Presidential Council,” he declared upon taking office at a ceremony attended by, in addition to eight other members of the body and his predecessor, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, and the heads of the Haitian National Police (PNH), the Army, and members of the diplomatic corps present in the Central American country.
During his speech, Saint-Cyr lamented that Haiti is currently experiencing “one of the greatest crises in its history” and warned that “the lives and futures of more than 12 million adults and children depend on the decisions we make together in the coming days and weeks.”
In this regard, he emphasized that “we must take action” in the face of a situation he considered “worrying.” “This is no longer the time for fine speeches. Too much bloodshed, too much wasted time. We must unite to give the people the results they are waiting for,” he added.
In early 2024, a wave of violence rocked Haiti, prompting then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign. Amid criticism and after several years of instability, he had risen to the post in 2021, following the death of President Jovenel Moïse at his official residence at the hands of a group of armed individuals.
Since then, a Transitional Presidential Council has governed with the goal of carrying out peacekeeping tasks and creating a Provisional Electoral Council to organize the first elections in a decade. Indeed, Saint-Cyr is expected to be its last leader before the presidential elections scheduled for February 7, 2026.
