Haiti’s Transitional Council Appoints Former Sports Minister as Interim Prime Minister

Fritz Bélizaire is the man to lead Haiti to new elections and a return to democratic rule, after he was appointed on Tuesday as Prime Minister by the country’s transitional council.  Mr. Bélizaire will replace Michel Patrick Boisvert, who had been acting on behalf of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry during international travels. Upon finding himself unable to return to the country and realizing that he had been forced almost into a de facto exile, Mr. Henry agreed to resign his position, leaving Mr. Boisevert as the country’s nominal head while a transitional council was assembled to determine a path forward.  Four members supported Mr. Bélizaire as the council’s choice of interim prime minister, while the remaining three reportedly cited a lack of familiarity with the man and his work. Mr. Bélizaire headed the Ministry of Sports during President René Préval’s second term in office, from  2006 to 2011. Haitian politics analyst at the University of Virginia Robert Fatton told the Ass...