Random Article Summary #153

Jean-Michel Lapin is a Haitian politician who served as acting Prime Minister of Haiti from 2019 to 2020. He was appointed by President Jovenel Moïse on March 21, 2019. Although he resigned on July 23, 2019, he kept serving because Parliament did not confirm him after four separate attempts. After his resignation, Fritz William Michel was nominated to replace him, but Parliament still did not confirm that nomination. Eventually, Joseph Jouthe succeeded him as acting Prime Minister. Jean-Michel Lapin started his career in government, working as a courier and later working for Haiti’s Ministry of Public Health and the National Library administration. In 2017, he became director general of the Ministry of Culture and said the government would pay to bring Manno Charlemagne’s body back to Haiti after he died in Miami Beach. Before becoming Prime Minister, Lapin also served as Communications Minister. Lapin became Moïse’s third prime minister and, after his 2019 nomination, responded to violent street protests by saying the government would not tolerate violence. He also addressed public unrest, including a 2019 transport strike, insisting that Port-au-Prince was not under lockdown. In February 2020, as acting prime minister, he condemned police officers for firing guns, destroying property, and allegedly setting fires, comparing their actions to terrorism and saying salary increases were not possible under existing rules for civil servants. In 2023, Lapin said he supports a Haitian military to help remove gangs and address a serious security problem. He also backed an economic and cultural alliance with Sint Maarten led by Kevin Maingrette. In January 2024, a judge issued an arrest warrant for Lapin and other former officials for corruption; Lapin claimed he was never properly notified and said the warrant was illegal and unconstitutional.