Ariel Henry is a Haitian neurosurgeon and politician who has served as the acting prime minister of Haiti and the acting president of Haiti since 20 July 2021.
46 Facts About Ariel Henry
2.
Ariel Henry later became involved in a controversy due to his refusal to cooperate with the authorities over his links with Joseph Felix Badio, one of the suspects accused of orchestrating the assassination of President Jovenel Moise on 7 July 2021.
3.
Ariel Henry served as a resident in neurosurgery with Professor Claude Gros in the French city of Montpellier, from March 1977 to December 1981.
4.
Ariel Henry studied neurophysiology and neuropathology at the University of Montpellier's faculty of medicine from 1981 to 1984, and presented his doctoral thesis in January 1982.
5.
Ariel Henry received a certificate in performing electroencephalography from the University of Montpellier in September 1983.
6.
Ariel Henry was a professor at the Private Nursing School of Montpellier from September 1980 to June 1981.
7.
Ariel Henry served as an assistant to Professor Philippe Frerebeau at the same hospital from October 1983 to February 1985, and was employed as an assistant professor during his time there.
8.
Ariel Henry later served as the administrator of the Adventist Hospital of Haiti from March 1985 to June 1987.
9.
Ariel Henry was employed as a neurosurgeon at the State University of Haiti Hospital from 1987 to 1996, while serving as a professor of neurosurgery at the hospital from October 1985 to February 1995 and professor of psychophysiology at the university's faculty of human sciences from November 1988 to June 1996.
10.
Ariel Henry has been a professor of neurology at the university's faculty of medicine since October 1990.
11.
Ariel Henry was a tutor at the Loma Linda University's "Master of Public Health" program, which was held off-campus, from 1989 to 1991, and a professor of neurology at the Quisqueya University from October 1999 to January 2010.
12.
Ariel Henry served as an advisor to the Minister of Health of Haiti from March 1993 to February 1995, as well as a consultant to the Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization from 1993 to 1996.
13.
Ariel Henry was the director of health for the Adventist Church in Haiti, the French West Indies and French Guiana.
14.
Ariel Henry has served as an associate member of the French Society of Neurosurgery since 1984, a member of the National Committee to Evaluate Polio Eradication in Haiti since it was created in March 1990, and head of the neurosurgery department of the Bernard Mevs Hospital since October 2014.
15.
Ariel Henry led the public health response in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the cholera outbreak in 2012.
16.
Ariel Henry entered politics as a leader of the Democratic Convergence movement which sought to topple President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was accused of rigging the 2000 Haitian parliamentary election.
17.
Ariel Henry later became a part of the "council of sages", consisting of seven members.
18.
Ariel Henry supported Rene Preval after he was elected as the President and was appointed as the director general of the Ministry of Health in June 2006.
19.
Ariel Henry remained in the position until September 2008, when he was appointed as the ministry's chief of staff from September 2008 to October 2011.
20.
Ariel Henry is a former member of Social Democratic Party, Haitian Revolutionary Progressive Nationalist Party which was founded by his long-time friend and political mentor Serge Gilles, Fusion of Haitian Social Democrats and Inite.
21.
Ariel Henry was selected as the Minister of Interior and Territorial Communities in 2015 by President Michel Martelly, after the latter reached a deal with the opposition parties following anti-government protests, many of them led by followers of Aristide.
22.
Ariel Henry served in the post from 22 January 2015 to 11 September 2015, when he was appointed as the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor by Prime Minister Evans Paul and replaced by Ardouin Zephirin.
23.
Ariel Henry remained in the position until 28 March 2016.
24.
Ariel Henry was sworn in as the prime minister on 20 July 2021.
25.
Ariel Henry urged wealthy countries to help less-developed ones improve their living standards more quickly to prevent it, and criticized the United States Border Patrol agents for their conduct while stopping the Haitian migrants.
26.
Ariel Henry stated that his government was trying to apprehend Moise's killers and asked for "mutual legal assistance" before the assembly, while promising to restore democractic governance in Haiti quickly.
27.
The next day, Ariel Henry told the Associated Press that he planned to hold the constitutional referendum in February 2022, and hoped to hold the elections in early-2022.
28.
On 1 January 2022, it was reported that Ariel Henry had survived an assassination attempt after he fled Gonaives during a shootout between his security forces and an armed group.
29.
Ariel Henry accused "bandits" of trying to assassinate him, and stated that the state should never bow to their demands.
30.
Ariel Henry however stated on Twitter that the next president would be elected by the Haitian people, apparently rejecting attempts at a transitional government.
31.
Ariel Henry promised to announce the date of the elections soon, while his opponents demanded that he step down since the legal mandate of late president Jovenel Moise, who had appointed him, formally expired that day.
32.
Ariel Henry stated that he supported appointing a judge from another country to oversee the case independently in Haiti and he would seek the assistance of the Caribbean Community for it.
33.
Ariel Henry appointed himself as the acting Interior Minister, while Emmelie Prophete was appointed as the Justice Minister.
34.
Ariel Henry, who was at the airport at the time, was able to escape.
35.
Ariel Henry was invited by Haiti's chief prosecutor Bedford Claude on 10 September 2021 for an interview regarding Moise's assassination.
36.
Claude stated that Ariel Henry had been in contact with Joseph Felix Badio, one of the main suspects on the day of the assassination.
37.
Ariel Henry rejected giving permission on the next day, calling it a "diversionary tactic".
38.
Ariel Henry meanwhile fired him, but a source told the BBC that he had no authority to take such an action.
39.
Ariel Henry meanwhile fired the Minister of Justice Rockefeller Vincent, who had ordered increased security for Bedford Claude citing threats to him.
40.
On 10 January 2022, an investigative report published by The New York Times stated that Ariel Henry had links with Joseph Felix Badio, an alleged mastermind of assassination of Moise, and that the two stayed in close contact even after the assassination.
41.
Jaar claimed that Badio had sought Ariel Henry's help in escaping, to which he agreed.
42.
Ariel Henry accused Henry of being "connected and friends with" the mastermind of the assassination.
43.
Ariel Henry added that no Haitian or American official had questioned him regarding the case.
44.
Ariel Henry is the son of Elie S Henry, who was a pastor and an elder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
45.
Ariel Henry is married to Annie Claude Massiau and his siblings are named Monique Henry, Edlyne Henry Richard, Elie Henry and Elvire Henry.
46.
Ariel Henry's brother Elie is a pastor and is the president of the Inter-American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.