(San Juan) The new Haitian Prime Minister Garry Connille assured Wednesday that he was “very honored” to have been chosen for this post, in his first statement since a transition council selected him to lead this Caribbean country in prey to gangs.
Mr. Conille thanked the civil society groups, political parties and members of the Haitian diaspora who nominated his candidacy.
“Together we will work for a better future for all the children of our nation,” he wrote in Haitian Creole on X, the social media platform.
Mr. Conille on Tuesday tendered his resignation from the post of UNICEF regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, which he had held since January 2023. He previously served as Prime Minister of Haiti from October 2011 to May 2012 under the presidency of Michel Martelly.
Mr. Conille studied medicine and public health and helped expand health care in poor communities in Haiti, where he helped coordinate reconstruction efforts after the devastating 2010 earthquake. He also was a development specialist at the UN before becoming regional director of UNICEF.
He now faces a monumental task, with Haiti under siege by gangs that control at least 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince, as the country awaits the deployment, backed by the UN, of a police force from Kenya and other countries supporting the mission.
PHOTO RAMON ESPINOSA, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Haiti is besieged by gangs who control at least 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince.
Although the transition council has not made an official statement about Conille, council members told The Associated Press late Tuesday that six of the seven voting members ‘had chosen. Laurent St. Cyr, the seventh member, is not currently in Haiti and therefore did not vote.
Mr. Conille will replace caretaker Prime Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert, who has helped lead the country since former Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned by letter in April following a surge in gang violence.
It was not immediately clear whether a formal swearing-in ceremony would take place for Conille.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement that she wished Conille “all the best in bringing much-needed peace, stability and hope to the children of Haiti.” “.
The transitional council is also responsible for choosing a new cabinet and appointing a provisional electoral commission, a prerequisite for holding elections. The council’s non-renewable term expires on February 7, 2026, when a new president must be sworn in.