Claude Joseph () is a Haitian politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship from 4 March 2020 to 24 November 2021, and served as acting Prime Minister of Haiti from 14 April 2021 to 20 July 2021, and acting

President of Haiti The president of Haiti ( ht, Prezidan peyi Ayiti, french: Président d'Haïti), officially called the president of the Republic of Haiti (french: link=no, Président de la République d'Haïti, ht, link=no, Prezidan Repiblik Ayiti), is the head ...

from 7 July 2021 to 20 July 2021. Joseph was appointed interim Prime Minister following the resignation of

Joseph Jouthe Joseph Jouthe (, born 17 October 1961) is a Haitian politician who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Haiti from 4 March 2020, until April 14, 2021. Biography Jouthe was born on 17 October 1961 in Thomonde. In September 2018, he became th ...

. After the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

of President

Jovenel Moïse Jovenel Moïse (; ; 26 June 1968 – 7 July 2021) was a Haitian entrepreneur and politician, who served as the 43rd President of Haiti from 2017 until his assassination in 2021. He was sworn in as president in February 2017 after winning the ...

on 7 July 2021, Joseph assumed the office of acting President and was internationally recognized as such. As he was not a confirmed Prime Minister, the legality of his succession was unclear and disputed by Prime Minister-designate Ariel Henry and Senate leader Joseph Lambert. On 19 July 2021, under a subsequent political agreement, it was announced that Joseph would yield the prime ministership to Henry and will remain the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship. He stepped down as the foreign minister in November 2021.

Early life and education

Joseph holds a doctorate in public policy from

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

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where he was awarded a full merit-based scholarship as well as the Isador Lubin Fellowship, and worked as a university professor in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. He has taught at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

and

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LI ...

. On 4 March 2020, he became Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Prime Minister

Acting Prime Minister of Haiti

After the resignation of Jouthe, he was appointed interim prime minister by President

on 14 April 2021. Moïse chose Ariel Henry to succeed him in this role, but did not sign Henry's appointment.

Acting President of Haiti

On 7 July 2021, President Moïse was

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

and First Lady Martine Moïse was injured during an attack at their residence in

Pétion-Ville Pétion-Ville ( ht, Petyonvil) is a commune and a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in the hills east and separate from the city itself on the northern hills of the Massif de la Selle. Founded in 1831 by president Jean-Pierre Boyer, it was named a ...

. Joseph assumed political control of the government, and blamed the attack on "a group of unidentified individuals, some of whom spoke in Spanish and English." At that time, Joseph stated that he was in control of the country. The legal succession to the presidency was unclear. Meanwhile, eight out of ten sitting members of Haiti's

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chose the Senate speaker Joseph Lambert as the interim President on 9 July. The United Nations special envoy for Haiti, Helen La Lime, said on 8 July 2021 that Joseph would lead Haiti until an election is held later in the year, urging all parties to set aside differences. The United States meanwhile recognized Joseph as the interim Prime Minister of Haiti. A group of prominent diplomats to Haiti called the "Core Group", which is made up of ambassadors to Haiti from

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, the

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and the United States, in addition to representatives to Haiti from the Organization of American States and the United Nations, called on Ariel Henry to take charge as the head of the government. On 19 July, Joseph announced in an interview with ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' that he would be stepping down soon and handing over power to Henry, whom he had met with many times in the past week to resolve the dispute, but expected that he will remain the foreign minister in that government. He added that he was doing it to honor the late President Moïse's final wish. Upon being questioned by ''

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'', he rejected that he was stepping down due to international pressure. Henry was sworn-in on 20 July, while Joseph retained the post of foreign minister.

Post-presidency

Joseph was replaced as foreign minister by Jean Victor Généus on 25 November 2021. He has defied Acting President Ariel Henry instigating upheaval against the Haitian administration. On 3 September 2022, Joseph launched his own political party named ''Les Engagés pour le Développement'' ("Committed to Development"). On 7 September, Joseph was declared ''

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (Latin: "person not welcome", plural: ') is a status applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection of diplomatic immunity from arrest and other types of prosecution. Diplomacy Under Article 9 of the ...

'' by the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

and is not allowed to enter that country.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Claude 21st-century Haitian politicians Foreign Ministers of Haiti Living people Long Island University alumni Presidents of Haiti Prime Ministers of Haiti The New School alumni Year of birth missing (living people) University of Connecticut faculty