Madame Max Adolphe (née , also known as ) (born September 10, 1925) was the right hand woman of former Haitian president

François Duvalier François Duvalier (; 14 April 190721 April 1971), also known as Papa Doc, was a Haiti, Haitian politician and Haitian Vodou, Vodouisant who served as the president of Haiti from 1957 until his death in 1971. He was elected president in the 195 ...

, who used the nickname "PapaDoc". In 1961 she and Aviole Paul-Blanc were elected to Parliament, becoming the first female MPs in Haiti. She was born in

Mirebalais Mirebalais (; ) is a commune in the Centre department of Haiti, approximately 60 km northeast of Port-au-Prince on National Road 3. The city was established in 1702. American Rotarians have made a number of mission-type trips to the cit ...

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

Biography

Adolphe, then known as Rosalie Bosquet, came to the attention of Duvalier during an attempt on his life. While she was a low ranking officer in the

Tonton Macoute The Tonton Macoute () or simply the Macoute, was a Haitian paramilitary and secret police force created in 1959 by dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Haitians named this force after the Haitian mythological bogeyman, (" Uncle Gunnysa ...

, her courage impressed the president so much that he promoted her to the position of

warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

at . At the prison, Adolphe continued her strong support of the government and was known for her violent interrogations of political prisoners. She was not viewed as a political threat to the President because of her sex. After marrying

Health Minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

Max Adolphe, she assumed his full name. Daily killings, torture, and beatings were typical at the prison during her tenure. She developed a "gruesome reputation for herself as she designed inventive sexual tortures" in Fort Dimanche. She was later promoted to the Supreme Head of the ', the female branch of the Tonton Macoutes. She also collected a monthly rent check from US Special Forces for the use of her compound. She was reported to have supervised the torture of children and elderly, and to have kept video tapes of the horrors. She liked to arm herself with an Uzi

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...

Disappearance

When Papa Doc died in 1971, and his son,

Jean-Claude Duvalier Jean-Claude Duvalier (; 3 July 19514 October 2014), nicknamed "Baby Doc" (, ), was a Haitian dictator who held the presidency of Haiti from 1971 until he was overthrown by a popular uprising in February 1986. He succeeded his father François ...

, succeeded him, he had Adolphe removed from her post as head of Fort Dimanche. By May 1972 she had been appointed mayor of which brought her attention to the city's sewage disposal. Prior to the end of the Duvalier dynasty in 1986, when the Duvaliers fled the capital, she said "t seems Jean-Claude is leaving the country soon. All militia members will be in danger. Much blood will be shed". Vengeful Haitians killed scores, if not hundreds of former militiamen who used to report to Madame Max. On 10 February 1986 a soldier guarding her vacant house from looters reported that she was being held prisoner in an army barracks next to the national palace. By February 1986 she left the country, but her current whereabouts are unknown. Her daughter, Magalie Racine (née Adolphe), lives in Haiti and married former Secretary of State and president of the Tèt Kale Party Georges Racine. She was Minister of Youth and Sport in 2013–14 under Prime Minister

Laurent Lamothe Laurent Salvador Lamothe (; born 14 August 1972) is a Haitian businessman, technology entrepreneur, and political figure who has served in the government of Haiti as Foreign Minister beginning in October 2011, then as Prime Minister after appoi ...

and President

Michel Martelly Michel Joseph Martelly (; born 12 February 1961) is a Haitian musician and politician who served as the 42nd president of Haiti from May 2011 until February 2016. On August 20, 2024, the United States sanctioned the former president for traffic ...

, known for his neo-Duvalierist sympathies.

Biography

Disappearance

See also

References

Further reading