Vintage Haiti: President Paul Eugene Magloire in Jet Magazine, 1955

President Paul Eugene Magloire in Jet Magazine Feb 17, 1955

Paul Eugène Magloire  was a Haïtian military ruler from 1950 to 1956. Magloire was born a general’s son, and joined the army himself in 1930. Quickly rising through the ranks, he became Police Chief of Port-au-Prince in 1944.

In 1946 he participated in a successful coup against President Élie Lescot. When his successor, President Dumarsais Estimé, tried to extend his term of office in 1950, Magloire ousted him with the help of a local elite and took power.

During Magloire’s rule, Haïti became a favorite tourist spot for US and European tourists. His anti-communist position also gained favorable reception from the US government. Notably, he used revenues from the sale of coffee to repair towns, build roads, public buildings, and a dam. He also oversaw the institution of women’s suffrage.

Magloire was very fond of having a vivid social life, staging numerous parties, social events, and ceremonies.

In 1954, when Hurricane Hazel ravaged Haïti and relief funds were stolen, Magloire’s popularity fell. In 1956 there was a dispute about when his presidency would end; he fled the country amid strikes and demonstrations. When François Duvalier took the presidency, he stripped Magloire of his Haïtian citizenship.

In 1986, when Baby Doc Duvalier lost power, Magloire returned to Haïti from New York. Two years later he became an unofficial army advisor. He died in 2001. – Source