Haiti's first runoff presidential election ended with a landslide victory for Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly, an entertainer who appealed to the nation's youth. Haiti’s new president must lead a country that is still recovering from last year’s earthquake, plagued by cholera and suffering from high levels of poverty and crime. The government’s first task will be to convince international donors that it is safe to invest the billions of dollars they have pledged for earthquake reconstruction. Restoring international confidence has been made more difficult by the return of exiled former leaders Jean-Claude Duvalier and Jean-Bertrand Aristide. A panel of distinguished experts on Haiti discussed the prospects for Haiti’s new leadership and other topics. 

Speakers

• Ambassador Albert R. Ramdin, Panelist
  Assistant Secretary General, Organization of American States
• Francois Pierre-Louis, Panelist
  Associate Professor, Queens College, CUNY
• Nora Rasman, Panelist
  Interim Director of Latin America and Caribbean Policy, TransAfrica Forum
• Jim Swigert, Panelist
  Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
• Robert Maguire, Moderator
  Chair, Haiti Working Group, U.S. Institute of Peace
  Associate Professor of International Affairs, Trinity Washington University
• Robert Perito, Introductiont
  Director, Haiti Program, U.S. Institute of Peace

Explore Further

• Countries and Regions: Haiti

If you are interested in this event, you may also be interested in the following Academy courses:

• Social Reconstruction and Human Security
• Rule of Law Practitioners Course
• Economic Reconstruction in Conflict-Affected States