Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal

Who was Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal?

Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal was a Haitian politician who served as the President of Haiti three times.

Boisrond-Canal was born 12 June 1832 in the town of Les Cayes, Haiti. He began a military career. He was an officer from 1858 to 1867 during the administration of Fabre Geffrard. He then retired from military service and became a farmer.

His political career began in 1870, when he was elected a senator in Port-au-Prince. He was then re-elected until 1875. After the riots of May 1875, he went into exile in Kingston, Jamaica, for a few weeks. On his return he was appointed commander of the army in the Ouest Department by President Michel Domingue. On 23 April 1876, he replaced Michel Domingue as the first president of the provisional government, before becoming President of Haiti non-provisionally on 17 July 1876. The 1867 Constitution gave him a mandate of four years. During Boisrond-Canal's administration, tensions in domestic politics and foreign affairs grew, particularly because of the differences between liberal and nationalist parties in Parliament. Following a stormy debate in the House of Representatives on 30 June 1879, there were riots in Port-au-Prince in which the Liberal leader Jean-Pierre Boyer-Bazelais played a significant role. Although the government managed to restore law and order, Boisrond-Canal resigned as president on 17 July 1879, unable to mediate between the Liberal and National parties. The successor to the presidency was Lysius Salomon. After his resignation, Boisrond-Canal left again in exile in Jamaica.