François Duvalier was the austere leader of the Republic of Haiti from 1957 to 1971. Initially a doctor committed to fighting poverty-related diseases and social inequalities, he gradually transformed into a sadistic autocrat. Authoritarian and violent, he kept Haiti in terror and desolation for fourteen painful years, during which soldiers and militiamen became indistinguishable and formed the only true power of the State. Repression, brutality, and frustration defined the daily life of the Haitian people under the rule of Papa Doc, which would later be succeeded by that of his son, virtually identical in nature.
Background
François Duvalier was born on April 14, 1907, in Port-au-Prince, to parents originally from Martinique. He earned his high school diploma in 1928 and entered the capital’s medical school. Once qualified as a physician, Duvalier chose to practice in rural areas which, despite generally harsh living conditions, were particularly ravaged by deadly diseases. By combating illnesses caused by poverty, he won the favor of the population, who gave him the affectionate nickname “Papa Doc.”
An intellectual, he associated not only with fellow doctors but also with ethnologists and specialists in Vodou, such as Lorimer Denis, who would later prove very useful to his political career. Close to certain activists of the Black cause, he shared their ideas and even wrote for independent journals. Through Lorimer’s connections, François Duvalier met Daniel Fignolé, an engaged mathematics teacher, with whom he founded the Workers and Peasants Movement (MOP) in 1946, becoming its Secretary-General. That same year, thanks to his eloquence and popularity, he was appointed Director of Public Health by President Dumarsais Estimé.
Private life
In 1939, he married Simone Ovide, a nurse and the mother of his four children: Marie-Denise, Nicole, Simone, and Jean-Claude Duvalier.
Entry into politics
In 1949, Duvalier became Minister of Public Health and Labor before being forced into exile the following year. Indeed, after opposing the coup d’état of President Paul Magloire against Estimé in 1950, he was compelled to flee to protect his life.
The political situation deteriorated in Haiti, where general confusion prevailed. Duvalier would take advantage of this chaos for his triumphant return: when amnesty came into effect in 1956, he announced his candidacy for the presidency. Five governments had succeeded one another between December 1956 and June 1957, and various militias continued to clash at the expense of ordinary citizens—it was pure chaos.
Convinced that inequalities stemmed from opposition between Black Afro-descendant Haitians and mulatto Haitians, he campaigned on a pro-Black platform, defending the ideology of Negritude. According to him, the Black Haitian majority should govern the Republic at the expense of the mixed-race elite. The message resonated, and Duvalier came to power on September 22, 1957, with 69.1% of the vote.
The establishment of terror
In July 1958, a coup attempt against President Duvalier prompted him to declare a state of siege. Terror began. On July 31, 1958, he obtained from Parliament the authority to govern by decree, granting himself the power to annul or promulgate laws at will. The media were controlled, opposition parties were banned, a curfew was imposed, military courts replaced civilian courts, the army replaced the police, and the population was placed under surveillance. Officers deemed disloyal were purged from the national army.
The head of police and secret operative Clément Barbot was appointed to lead an unofficial repressive militia, a paramilitary group numbering several thousand men: the Volunteers for National Security (VSN), inspired by the Blackshirts of fascist Italy. However, the population and the wider world would come to know them by the name of their members: the Tonton Macoutes.*
These men, effectively Duvalier’s personal guard, contributed to the country’s social decay. Receiving no official pay, they financed themselves at the population’s expense, extorting and torturing civilians. Violence and Vodou-inspired superstitions kept much of the population in psychological fear, preventing rebellion.
In 1959, François Duvalier was hospitalized after a heart attack. Taking advantage of his weakness, a commando of exiles landed on the island intending to overthrow him. Barbot, caught off guard, managed to restore order with the intervention of the U.S. Navy. Once recovered, Duvalier imprisoned Barbot, suspecting him of attempting to seize power in his absence. Accused of conspiracy, Barbot was left in the hands of the Tonton Macoutes, who killed him in 1963, along with his brothers and closest companions.
Throughout most of his reign, Duvalier faced coup attempts and assassination plots. These threats led him to further harden his policies and consolidate his power, believing himself the great defender of the Republic of Haiti. Corruption, a cancer within society, increased; rape and looting became daily—almost normalized—activities. The army became entirely subservient to the head of state, and citizens were stripped of all freedoms. Survival for the poorest clashed with the greed of the powerful, creating a deadly climate.
Unable to function without money, Duvalier exploited anti-communist fears during the Cold War to attract American aid. In a speech delivered in Jacmel (southeast Haiti) on June 25, 1960, he justified his repressive regime as necessary to combat the communist threat. He insisted that U.S. financial assistance was essential to preserving the Republic of Haiti as an ally.
The seizure of power
In 1961, as the end of his term approached, Duvalier rewrote the constitution and organized a presidential election in which he was the sole candidate. He was elected with over one million votes, and no one voted against him. Reelected for six years, he dissolved Parliament.
The Catholic Church began openly protesting this abuse of power and paid a heavy price: the president expelled several priests and archbishops, including the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, after which he was excommunicated. Three years later, all Jesuits were expelled as well.
In April 1963, an attack targeting two of his children—a failed kidnapping attempt—led to a massacre: the massacre of April 26, 1963. Dozens of presumed opponents and their families were killed, abducted, or assassinated. Hundreds of homes were burned with their occupants inside.
In June 1964, to ensure his authority would never again be questioned, he proclaimed himself President for Life through a referendum approved by 99.9% “yes” votes. The Haitian flag was changed to black and red (instead of blue and red), symbolizing class struggle. A personality cult began: Duvalier required his portrait to be displayed on every street, in every public building, and in every school.
Between 1960 and 1970, GDP fell by 40%, caused by the repressive climate that drove administrative elites into exile. Corruption and looting further hollowed out the Haitian economy from within.
François Duvalier, both strategically and by personal conviction, was hostile to “mulatto” Haitians. He exclusively favored Black citizens, perpetuating tensions among the population. In 1966, he contacted the Vatican and obtained the right to appoint the country’s Catholic hierarchy himself. Once again, he appointed only Black Haitians, thereby securing religious control of the island.
Nevertheless, Vodou traditions held a central place in his life and governance. He used them to consolidate his authority, portraying himself as a houngan, a Vodou spiritual leader and messenger of the spirits. In imagery, he depicted himself as an aspect of the Vodou deity Iwa to inspire greater fear among his people. He often wore dark sunglasses and spoke loudly in a nasal tone, imitating what he claimed was the voice of the spirits.
Duvalier even declared himself responsible for the death of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, claiming to have cast a spell on him.
The Duvalier dynasty
“Papa Doc” fell ill. Weakened, he amended the constitution in 1970 so that his son, Jean-Claude Duvalier (aka “Baby Doc”), just 19 years old, could succeed him. A sham referendum unsurprisingly approved the decision in 1971.
François Duvalier died on April 21, 1971, after 13 years of absolute dictatorship. His son succeeded him the following day.
Because of the harsh and unjust regime imposed by father and son, popular resentment reached its peak. When Jean-Claude Duvalier was forced to leave power on February 8, 1986, Haitians desecrated Papa Doc’s mausoleum and remains. Everything was destroyed; the body was removed from the grave, beaten, and ritually defiled after people danced on his tomb. They mocked him and played with his glasses while chanting against the Tonton Macoutes. Several people were brutally shot that day.
In memory, the Duvaliers—both now deceased—remain and will remain fierce autocrats and ruthless executioners. Their unrestrained militia, the Tonton Macoutes, stands as one of the most violent in Black political history.
*Tonton Macoute: A popular Haitian folklore figure representing an old peasant carrying a shoulder bag, the “macoute.” Over time, the meaning shifted, and he became associated with a figure of terror, a bogeyman used to frighten children. Violent and superstitious, the Tonton Macoutes were tasked with “punishing” the population deemed rebellious.
