Martelly wants business leader as prime minister

By TRENTON DANIEL – Associated Press

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti’s new president wants a business leader to serve as his prime minister, a government official said Sunday.

The official announcement that President Michel Martelly wants Daniel-Gerard Rouzier to be the country’s No. 2 official comes one day after Martelly, a charismatic pop star known as “Sweet Micky”, was sworn in as Haiti’s next leader in back-to-back ceremonies at a makeshift Parliament and on the lawn of the National Palace, which collapsed in last year’s crippling earthquake.

Parliament must still ratify Rouzier to the post.

Also Sunday, an adviser to current Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said Bellerive had submitted his resignation to make room for his successor. Bellerive, who also co-chairs Haiti’s reconstruction commission with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, will stay in the job until the new head of government is ratified, his special adviser, Alice Blanchet, told The Associated Press.

The new prime minister will also serve as co-chair of Haiti’s Interim Recovery Commission, whose mandate is due to expire in October. The body has been criticized for not doing enough to house and help survivors of the January 2010 earthquake that claimed 300,000 lives and displaced 2 million others.

Martelly’s chief-of-staff Thierry Mayard-Paul said Sunday that Martelly picked Rouzier as his choice for prime minister because of his record as an established entrepreneur.

Rouzier, an adviser to Martelly, is general manager of Sun Auto, a car dealership, president of E-Power, an electric power project, and involved with Food for the Poor, a charity based in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Rouzier, a political novice, reportedly accompanied Martelly to Washington, D.C., when he met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and heads of international financial institutions. Martelly and Rouzier have been lifelong friends and played soccer with each other as children, Mayard-Paul said.

Two weeks after the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake, Rouzier was the focus of a CNN feature in which he vowed to use his own money to bury 2,500 earthquake victims.

“He’s a very successful guy – his resume speaks for itself,” Mayard-Paul said of Rouzier. “We believe that he can be very effective at managing the government.”

Despite his credentials, Rouzier could face a tough time being ratified by parliament, in which Martelly has no party members in the Senate and only three in the Chamber of Deputies.

“We believe there will be a little resistance,” Mayard-Paul said. “But we also believe – and President Martelly believes – that we can show (the parliament) that he’s the right choice.”

Ken Michel, an adviser for Rouzier, said Rouzier was unavailable to comment Sunday evening.

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5 thoughts on “Martelly wants business leader as prime minister

  1. The city will be very hot.

    The real prime minister name will come up after ….

    Rouzier will not be ratified.

  2. We hope that choice bring changes for every haitian not only good economic, politic result, but also a way to show to the world we know what we want, and can lead over us. Evey haitian must be enough conscious to see that Haiti cannot anymore stay the way is it. Them must play their part to free it from that pain we putted since the independence day.

  3. Rouzier is an intriguing choice. He is the antithesis of a politician but he has impressive credentials as a business leader, consensus builder and manager. He is also honest and a humanist. He is the personification of integrity. He reminds me of the old fashion “Haitian man” like my dad and others who love Haiti to death. For him Haiti comes first even before family. He seems to have all the attributes to rally around a consensus government. Martelly has shown a business approach to his politics. Rouzier seems to have the skills and the trust of the president to assess the feasibility of the president’s programs and mandate, and to implement and run them. Haiti needs a model and a system of governance which can be applied and replicated successfully and followed by other presidents after Martelly and well beyond his tenure. The Suisses are still perfecting their system after 800 years. We need a method of governance that can be applied to Haiti consistently regardless of the political parties in power. I would take the risk with Rouzier who is a non politician but a manager and consensus builder. He has 3 months to make his case. Martelly does not surprise me, he keeps making bold and refreshing choices. Let’s have a fresh start with Rouzier and let’s support him and help him succeed. May god bless Haiti and all Haitians! Let’s make our democracy work. Let’s give it a strong start. I am inspired by Martelly energy, intelligence and motivation. He makes me believe again. Yes we can!

  4. It is not the time four 3 Haitias wear a pantalon overall.Under Elie Lescot as president of Haiti, Gontrand Rouzier served as Minister and He declared that 3 Haitians must wear one pantalon overall.When one is wearing the pantalon, two of them must stay inside the house.

    Michel Martelly,what are you doing?You are destroying yourself as president.You will be out very soon.Your friend could be with you but never as prime minister.

    You give to your adversaries a big gift, they get it, you are over.

  5. Richard Douyon I am very pleased with the choice of Rouzier as PM. Let me tell you why. He is well educated and has impeccable credentials. He was educated at the University of Miami undergrads, then he went to Georgetown University for his training in administration and his MBA, and went to an Ivy league Darmouth for his degree in Finance. In my books if my children have such an education that will be a dream come true for any parents. He met with Delatour at Darmouth and went to work with him and president Manigat in the public sector. He went to the private sector after the Coup d’Etat against Manigat. He went to the private sector where he became successful. Despite of his busy schedule he found time to do humanitarian work with food for the poor, building schools in Cite Soleil, financing the formal burial for victims of the Earthquake and other charities…. I do not know him personally, but I know his sister and of his family. They are traditional haitians, like people and are a very respectful family. They are black people and I have people in my family with the same skin complexion but with various background. Living in the US or abroad, Haitians are labeled as black carribbeans. We should be proud of our diversity and wide range of background. The reason I like this choice is because he is from my generation and I identify very strongly with him. He is highly educated, honest, humanist and sophisticated from the best institutions in the world, he is an accomplished professional both in the public and private sectors and with experience he will be able to match any PM in the world. Finally they are a lot of Haitians like him in Haiti and around the world with his vision and exposure to a great democracy like the US or in Europe. He will be able to pick the best qualified Haitians, (males or females) for his cabinet with all various background (black, white, red, yellow and mulattos). I meet highly qualified Haitians in the US all the time and Rouzier is one of them. He fits the profile of that highly qualified Haitian in the US or in Europe who can match with any professionals around the world. The world will trust him with his credentials and integrity. He seems credible and speaks a language others in world can relate to and he is not your traditional politician. He will do politics with a purpose and will have to show results. Trust me with Rouzier we are asking for perfection nothing less. I am proud to be of that generation of well educated, humanist and accomplished Haitians who already prove themselves to the world and are ready to serve Haiti our motherland we all love. Let’s be behind him and give him a chance to make his case. He has one year to show results before the next parliament confidence vote. Let’s start a system of governance that fits Haiti and is replicable and consistent for generations to come well beyond Martelly’ tenure. The Suisses are still perfecting their system after 800 years. Lets have fresh start with Rouzier. He will make us proud again. Last time we were that united was in 1804 when we imposed are independence to the great power of the time. Lunion fait la Force! Yes we can!

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