Claudette Werleigh facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Claudette Werleigh
Claudette Werleigh in 1993
7th Prime Minister of Haiti
In office 7 November 1995 – 6 March 1996
President	Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Preceded by	Smarck Michel
Succeeded by	Rosny Smarth
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religions
In office 8 November 1994 – 7 November 1995
Prime Minister	Smarck Michel
Preceded by	Charles Anthony David
Succeeded by	Fritz Longchamp
In office 1 September 1993 – 16 May 1994
Prime Minister	Robert Malval
Preceded by	François Benoit
Succeeded by	Charles Anthony David
Minister of Social Affairs
In office 16 March 1990 – 24 August 1990
President	Ertha Pascal-Trouillot (Acting)
Preceded by	Camille Sylaire
Succeeded by	Carlo Désinor
Personal details
Born	Claudette Antoine (1946-09-26) 26 September 1946 (age 78) Cap-Haïtien, Haiti
Political party	Lavalas Political Organisation
Spouse	Georges Werleigh
Alma mater	State University of Haiti

Claudette Werleigh (born September 26, 1946) is a Haitian politician. She made history as Haiti's first female Prime Minister. She held this important role from 1995 to 1996.

After her time as Prime Minister, Ms. Werleigh continued her work for peace. In 1999, she became a leader at the Life & Peace Institute in Sweden. Later, in 2007, she became the Secretary General of Pax Christi International. This is a global Catholic peace organization. In 2010, she became a Peace Envoy for the same group.

Early Life and Education

Claudette Werleigh was born in 1946 in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. She came from a comfortable family. Her parents were involved in exporting coffee, and her mother also owned a shop. Her father had been a Member of Parliament (MP) before she was born.

Claudette went to schools run by nuns. She studied many different subjects. These included medicine and teaching. She studied in Spain, the United States, Mexico, and Haiti. She earned degrees in law and economics from the university in Port-au-Prince. In 1978, she became a registered lawyer.

Career Before Politics

From 1968 to 1970, Ms. Werleigh worked as a medical technician and chemist in the United States. She then worked as a physiologist in Switzerland from 1971 to 1973. After that, she was an adult educator in Haiti from 1973 to 1974.

In 1970, she married George Werleigh. He was an economics professor and a well-known figure in a social-democratic political party. They had two daughters together.

Helping Others Through Organizations

Claudette Werleigh spent many years helping people through non-governmental organizations (NGOs). These groups focused on teaching adults to read and providing humanitarian aid. In 1975, she joined Catholic Emergency Aid for Haiti. From 1976 to 1987, she was the Secretary General of Haiti National Caritas. This job involved traveling all over the country. She also served as the Caribbean Coordinator for Caritas International from 1983 to 1987.

In 1979, Ms. Werleigh started ITECA. This organization became one of Haiti's most important groups for education.

Supporting Women's Rights

She also helped create the League for Women's Empowerment. This group worked for political and economic equality for women. It also encouraged women to get involved in politics. Claudette believed it was important to connect different parts of society. This included bridging the gap between the poor and the wealthy, and between women and those in power. She felt that women were very important to society and were good at making peace.

Political Journey

Claudette Werleigh became active in Haiti's government and politics starting in 1990.

Early Government Roles

From March to August 1990, she served as the Minister of Social Affairs. She was an independent minister in the temporary government led by President Ertha Pascal-Trouillot.

When Jean-Bertrand Aristide became president, Ms. Werleigh joined Prime Minister Rene Preval's team in 1991. She supported the Lavalas movement, which backed the president. From July 1992 to October 1993, she was the executive director of the Washington office on Haiti. In this role, she worked to support Haiti's interests.

From 1993 to 1995, she was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religions. She served in this role under the Malval and Michel governments.

Becoming Prime Minister

Claudette Werleigh then became Prime Minister for about one hundred days, from 1995 to 1996. Her main goals were to strengthen the country's leadership and organize fair presidential elections.

As Prime Minister, Claudette Werleigh chose a cabinet of 17 ministers. Four of these ministers were women. She announced that her aim was to achieve fairness in politics, society, culture, and the economy. Her government received financial help for energy, farming, and building roads. She also improved Haiti's relationships with Cuba and Taiwan. She worked to make Haiti less dependent on other countries economically.

Rene Preval was elected president with a large majority of the votes. This was the first peaceful change of president in Haiti since it became independent. President Preval was an ally of Aristide. He wanted Claudette Werleigh to continue as Prime Minister. However, the majority in the parliament had changed. The parliament needed to approve the Prime Minister. Because of this, Ms. Werleigh stepped down and left the country.

Working for Peace Globally

In 1999, Claudette Werleigh became the director of the conflict transformation program at the Life and Peace Institute in Sweden. Her work took her to many conflict areas. She traveled across Latin America, and to countries in Asia, Africa, and most of Western Europe.

In 2007, she was chosen as the Secretary General of Pax Christi International. This is a non-governmental Catholic peace movement. It works worldwide on human rights, security, and economic fairness. Before this, she was a vice president and a member of the executive committee of Pax International from 1992 to 2001. In 2010, she became a Peace Envoy for Pax Christi International.

See also

In Spanish: Claudette Werleigh para niños