1946-08-16: (Dumarsais Estimé Inaugurated as President, the First Black Leader Since the Occupation, Promising Social Reform and Economic Development While A…

1946-08-16: (Dumarsais Estimé Inaugurated as President, the First Black Leader Since the Occupation, Promising Social Reform and Economic Development While Appointing François Duvalier to Run the National Public Health Service): On August 16, 1946, Dumarsais Estimé was inaugurated as president of Haiti. Born on April 21, 1900, into a poor Black family, Estimé had been educated through the patronage of a wealthy uncle and trained as a lawyer. Disillusioned with mulatto governance during the occupation, he became a vocal supporter of Noirisme and served in Vincent’s government during the 1930s. As president, he filled his cabinet with Black professionals rather than mulattos, including appointing François Duvalier as director of the National Public Health Service. Estimé embarked on a massive primary school construction program, built agricultural communities for Black peasants, and introduced Haiti’s first income tax, which enraged the elites. He also oversaw the establishment of the State University of Haiti in 1942 and Haiti’s admission to the Organization of American States in 1948. But widespread corruption, fiscal mismanagement, and a deteriorating relationship with Trujillo undermined his presidency. He resigned in May 1950, replaced by the very military officer who had brought him to power. He died in New York on July 20, 1953, of kidney failure.