Ariel Henry, a successful doctor who failed to save Haiti

The first Minister Ariel Henrya prestigious neurosurgeon who assumed the head of Government in Haiti and who has announced that he will resign as soon as a transitional presidential council is established, has not been able to put a stop to the serious crisis in the impoverished nation, plagued for days by the extreme violence of criminal gangs.

Just a few hours ago, Henry announced that the Haitian Government accepted the installation of a transitional council – made up of seven members with voting rights and two observers – and that, until then, the current cabinet will be in charge of pending matters.

“No sacrifice is too great for our country (…) Haiti needs peace, stability, lasting development,” Henry said from Puerto Rico, where he is after having remained unknown for days.

Tension and violence have increased exponentially in Haiti since February 28, after its commitment to hold elections before August 31, 2025 became known, despite the fact that in December 2022 it reached an agreement with representatives of political parties, civil society organizations and members of the private sector to leave power on February 7, 2024.

His appointment, Moise’s last decree before being assassinated

Considered to have a moderate profile, Henry, 74, took office on July 20, 2021 after the assassination thirteen days earlier of President Jovenel Moise in his private residence by a group of mercenaries, mostly Colombians.

In fact, Moise named Henry prime minister two days before his assassination, in the last decree he signed, and charged him with the task of designing a consensus cabinet, which did not happen.

Moise’s intention was for Henry to integrate forces of different political colors into his cabinet, in order to calm tensions and thus promote the holding of elections, which still have not been held.

Tension and violence escalated exponentially in Haiti since February 28, after its commitment to hold elections before August 31, 2025 became known, an announcement that increased attacks in Port-au-Prince by powerful armed gangs, who assure that they will continue with their actions until Henry leaves power.

At the center of his conflict with the different organizations and political parties has been his refusal to share power, while many sectors demanded a provisional president and a prime minister to lead the transition.

Many critics see dictatorial overtones in Henry, who was born on November 6, 1949 in Port-au-Prince.

The long political career of a prestigious doctor

The prime minister is a prestigious doctor who studied medicine at the University of Montpellier, in France, where he also carried out advanced studies in neurophysiology and neuropathology. There he was a neurosurgery resident and twice adjunct professor of that specialty at a hospital.

Likewise, he completed a master’s degree in Public Health at Loma Linda University, in California (USA), and in 1990 he completed postdoctoral studies in International Health Management Methods at Boston University (United States).

At the local level, between 1985 and 2021, Henry was an administrator at the Diquini Adventist hospital in Carrefour, south of the capital; then a neurosurgeon at the University of Haiti hospital – the main public hospital – before becoming a consultant in neurology and neurosurgery at the Saint Vincent center for disabled children and, finally, head of the neurosurgery service at the Bernard Mevs hospital.

He is also very active in teaching. From 1980 to 2010, he was a professor of neuroanatomy at the Private School of Nursing of Montpellier, he held a chair of neurology at the Faculty of Medicine of the State University of Haiti (UEH), he was a tutor in the master’s program in public health outside the campus of Loma Linda University (California) and has been a professor at centers such as the Public University and the Quisqueya University.

In addition to teaching, he has spent much of his career in the humanitarian sector and NGOs.

With a long career in Haitian politics, Ariel Henry was a member of several political parties “socialist inspired” and in 2004 he was part of the Council of Wise Men created after the forced departure from power of Jean Bertrand Aristide, which marked the beginning of his political career.

From June 2006 to September 2008, he was a member of the cabinet of the Minister of Health and was appointed Minister of the Interior and Territorial Communities in January 2015, and of Social Affairs and Labor in September 2015.

He was also head of Culture and Communication in the consensus Government, according to his biography on the Prime Minister’s Office website.

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