The Tribune

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti

Associated Press

Jean-Claude Duvalier, who presided over what was widely acknowledged as a corrupt and brutal regime as the self-proclaimed “president for life” of Haiti until a popular uprising sent him into a 25-year exile, has died. He was 63.

Duvalier died on Saturday from a heart attack at the home of a friend in Port-au-Prince where he had been staying, said his lawyer, Reynold Georges.

The former leader, known as “Baby Doc,” made a surprise return to Haiti in 2011, allowing victims of his regime to pursue legal claims against him in Haitian courts and prompting some old allies to rally around him.

Haitian President Michel Martelly expressed his condolences to the former dictator’s family, making no mention of the widespread human rights abuses that occurred under Duvalier and his more notorious predecessor and father, Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier.

“On behalf of the entire government and people of Haiti, I take this sad occasion to extend my sincere sympathies to his family, his relatives and his supporters across the country,” Martelly said.

The elder Duvalier, “Papa Doc”, tortured and killed political opponents, relying on a dreaded civilian militia known as the Tonton Macoutes. In 1971, Francois Duvalier suddenly died of an illness after naming his son to succeed him.

At 19, Jean-Claude Duvalier became the world’s youngest president.

He ruled for 15 years, retaining the Tonton Macoutes and the brutality of his father’s regime, though to a lesser extent. His administration was seen as less violent and repressive than that of the father, though perhaps more corrupt.

Still, human rights groups documented abuses and political persecution. A trio of prisons known as the “Triangle of Death” symbolised the brutality of his regime.

As president, Duvalier married the daughter of a wealthy coffee merchant, Michele Bennett, in 1980. The relationship caused a scandal among old Duvalierists because she was a mulatto. The lavish wedding, which reportedly cost $5m, also caused an uproar given Haiti’s deep poverty.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch estimated that up to 30,000 Haitians were killed, many by execution, under the regime of the two Duvaliers.

In 1986, a popular uprising swept across Haiti, and Duvalier and his wife boarded a US-government C-141 for France.

The couple divorced in 1993. Duvalier later became involved with Veronique Roy, who accompanied him on his 2011 return to Haiti.

Duvalier and his wife, Michele, had two children, son Francois Nicolas “Nico” and daughter Anya.