Lescot, Élie (1883–1974)

Haitian politician, dictator–president 1941–46. After replacing Sténio Vincent in 1941, he quickly established a tyrannical and corrupt dictatorship, surviving through his close ties with the USA, which secured military and economic aid, and his support for the Allies in World War II. Having declared war on the Axis powers in 1941 Lescot suspended the constitution and assumed ‘emergency powers’. In 1944 he extended his presidential term from five years to seven, but after the war his attempts to muzzle the opposition press sparked student-led demonstrations. A military coup in 1946, led by Major Paul Eugene Magloire, forced Lescot to flee to the USA, although he later returned to Haiti.

It was alleged that Rafael Trujillo Molina, dictator of the Dominican Republic and an ally of Lescot, provided him with funds to bribe members of the Haitian Assembly to secure his election in 1941. During his government, political opponents were arbitrarily arrested and foreign assets appropriated for his family's enrichment.

Lescot was drawn from the mulatto (mixed ethnic) social and political elite. After studying in Canada, where he secured a doctorate, he had a varied career in business, as a diplomat, and as a cabinet minister.