Jean-Max Bellerive (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ maks bɛlʁiv]; born 1958) is a Haitian politician and former Prime Minister of Haiti. He resigned on 14 May 2011.[1][permanent dead link]

Jean-Max Bellerive
Bellerive in 2010
14th Prime Minister of Haiti
In office
11 November 2009 – 18 October 2011
PresidentRené Préval
Michel Martelly
Preceded byMichèle Pierre-Louis
Succeeded byGarry Conille
Minister of Planning and External Cooperation and Justice and Public Security
In office
27 June 2009 – 19 October 2009
PresidentMichel Martelly
Preceded byPaul Denis (Justice and Public Security)
Succeeded byJude Hervé Day (Planning and External Cooperation)
Josué Pierre-Louis [fr] (Justice and Public Security)
Minister of Planning and External Cooperation
In office
9 June 2006 – 27 June 2009
PresidentRené Préval
Preceded byRoland Pierre
Personal details
Born
Joseph Jean-Max Bellerive

1958 (age 65–66)
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Political partyLespwa
SpouseMyriam Estevez De Bellerive

Biography

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Personal life

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Bellerive was born in Port-au-Prince in 1958. As the son of a prominent doctor,[2] he left Haiti at a very young age to study in Switzerland, France, and Belgium. With a degree in Political Science and International Relations, Bellerive returned to Haiti in 1986,[2] just before the overthrow of Jean-Claude Duvalier. He is married to Myriam Estevez De Bellerive and has two adult daughters, Diana Jennifer Bellerive and Jessica Bellerive.[3]

Prime Minister of Haiti

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Prior to his appointment as Prime Minister, Bellerive was the Minister of Planning and External Cooperation.[3] The Haitian President, René Préval, following the orders of a senate resolution, nominated Bellerive on 30 October 2009 to replace the former Prime Minister, Michèle Pierre-Louis.[4] A day before the nomination, on 29 October 2009, 18 senators of a 29-member senate had voted to dismiss Pierre-Louis on charges that she was performing poorly in leading Haiti's economic recovery efforts in the wake of the destructive 2008 hurricane season.[4]

On 14 May 2011, Bellerive resigned as Prime Minister, so as to allow the country's new president, Michel Martelly, to choose his own prime minister.[1] Martelly selected Daniel Gérard Rouzier to succeed Bellerive. However, the parliament rejected Rouzier.

Corruption allegations

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2016 investigation

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Bellerive was one of several former government officials targeted by the Chair of the Senate's Anti-Corruption Committee, Youri Latortue, in an investigation of the management of the Petrocaribe program.[5]

2017 investigation

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Reuters reported in December 2017 that Bellerive was banned from leaving the country amid a corruption investigation along with Camille Édouard Jr. [fr], who is a former justice minister that served in 2016. He was ordered not to leave by a judge investigating the disappearance of a public procurement official and the 2012 death of a construction manager allegedly connected to the case. Bellerive denied involvement.[6]

2023 U.S. Department of State public designation

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On 11 December 2023, the U.S. State Department publicly designated Bellerive as pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023, "for abusing his public position by participating in corrupt activity that undermined the integrity of Haiti’s government." Bellerive is not permitted entry into the United States. His immediate family members were also designated.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Charles, Jacqueline (15 May 2011). "Haiti Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive resigns". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Haitian Prime Minister Bellerive known as political survivor, technocrat". Brunswick News. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Office of the Spokesperson (11 December 2023). "Leveraging Tools to Promote Accountability and Counter Global Corruption". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 12 December 2023. Jean-Max Bellerive, former Prime Minister and Minister of Planning and External Cooperation. Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is publicly designating Bellerive for abusing his public position by participating in corrupt activity that undermined the integrity of Haiti's government. As part of this action, his immediate family members are also designated, including his spouse Myriam Estevez De Bellerive and his adult daughters Diana Jennifer Bellerive and Jessica Bellerive.
  4. ^ a b Delva, Joseph Guyler (31 October 2009). "Haiti president designates economist to be premier". Reuters. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  5. ^ "Major Corruption Committed Among the Public and Private Sectors in Haiti and Corruption Prosecutions Investigated by the Haitian Judiciary" (PDF). U.S. Department of State. 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  6. ^ Delva, Joseph Guyler (26 December 2017). "Haiti's ex-prime minister banned from travel amid corruption probe". Reuters. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
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Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Haiti
2009–2011
Succeeded by