Léon Dumarsais Estimé (; April 21, 1900 – July 20, 1953) was a Haitian politician and President of the Haitian Republic from August 16, 1946, to May 10, 1950.
Previously, he was a member of the Parliament for Verrettes for 16 years, as well as President of the Chamber and Minister (Secretary of State) for Public Education, Agriculture, and Labour.
Dumarsais Estimé's political ideology is a mixture of nationalism and progressivism. This ideology is called estimism.https://lenouvelliste.com/article/116495/dumarsais-estime-lhomme-loeuvre-et-les-idees He advocated for collaborationism with the bourgeoisie, centralization policies, nationalization and liberalization economic policies.https://lenouvelliste.com/article/178476/du-bilan-de-la-presidence-ecourtee-de-dumarsais-estime-1946-1950-entre-mythe-fascination-et-eloge-panegyrique
The memory of his presidency remains very prominent among many Haitians due to the reforms undertaken and the undeniable economic and social progress that the Republic of Haiti experienced during this era. Among his more notable achievements are things such as the International Exhibition organized in 1949 to commemorate the bicentenary of the founding of Port-au-Prince in 1749 by the French colonists from the island of Santo Domingo (Le Livre Bleu), the expansion of the city of Belladère along the Dominican Republic border as a symbol of development, and the construction of a suspension bridge over the Grande-Anse River which still continues to serve region as river crossing to this day. It is important to also remember the laws passed and the investments made for the development of rural areas, the construction of many schools and the modernisation of the whole education system, as well as the protection of workers’ rights through the Labor Code and ultimately the creation of proper conditions for economic growth, mostly in tourism and small industry sectors. During this period, there was also significant improvement in the living conditions of the Haitian population.
In May 1950, a coup d’état organized by a military junta overthrew the government of Estimé and placed its leader, Paul Magloire, as head of the country, where he would be elected to the presidency in October 1950. Estimé was shortly deposed and exiled by the Haitian army led by Franck Lavaud. After travelling in France, Jamaica, and the US, he died in New York on July 20, 1953. Estimé was the last president to be constitutionally elected to office by the Chamber of Deputies, whereas Magloire was the first to be elected to office by universal adult male suffrage.
Youth and education Estimé was born on April 21, 1900, in Verrettes, a Haitian town located in the Artibonite Province, into a landowner’s family. His father, Alciné Estimé, was the son of Sara Dorval (1845–1938) and Estimé Pierre (1851–1904), among a group of siblings consisting of four boys and six girls. His mother, Fleurencia Massillon, was described as caring and made a deep impression on her son throughout his life, just as much as the death of his father did when Dumarsais was still a child.
His uncle, Estilus Estimé, mayor of Verrettes (1936) and senator of the Republic (1938), ensured his education and exercised a great deal of influence over Dumarsais. Estilus attempted to make Dumarsais aware of the Haitian social reality of the time and convinced him of the need for greater integrity in public affairs.
Estilus Estimé sent the young Dumarsais to the friars of Saint-Louis de Gonzague in St Marc; he then attended Collège Pinchinat and went to Lycée Alexandre-Pétion in Port-au-Prince until his baccalaureate. At these institutions it is reported he was taught by masters such as Jean Price-Mars, Catts Pressoir and Jean-Chrysostome Dorsainvil. Dumarsais was fifteen when the American Occupation of Haiti began in July 1915 and this period would profoundly influence his teenage years along with his future career. In 1920, he was appointed as a tutor at Lycée Pétion while still attending law school. He taught mathematics there until 1926, also graduating during this time. Dumarsais was dismissed from his position after publicly expressing his opposition to the government of President Louis Borno and the then ongoing United States occupation of Haiti. Dumarsais was described as a scholar (passionate about French literature and philosophy) with a fierce desire to liberate Haiti from foreign influence and change Haitian society. It was necessary, according to him, to fight against the abuses of the traditional elite and educate the masses.
Early political career
Election to the Chamber of Deputies As a lawyer, he first practised in St. Marc before entering politics and being elected deputy in 1930 in the constituency of Verrettes. On February 21, 1935, he won the confidence of his colleagues who elected him President of the Chamber of Deputies with 27 votes out of 28.
Minister of Public Instruction, Agriculture and Labour In 1937 he joined President Sténio Vincent’s government and was nominated Minister (Secretary of State, after the former terminology) for Public instruction, Agriculture and Labour, while he kept his seat at the Parliament.
During his two years as the Minister overseeing education, he showed a desire to extend education and culture to all Haitian people, in particular the underprivileged. Pursuing his goal, Estimé cared to improve the level and quality of teachers’ training, to raise the salaries of teachers and professors, to reorganize high schools, and to reform the Haitian baccalaureate and the organization of exams, as well as the introduction of Bachelor of Letters and Bachelor of Sciences university programs. The aim of Dumarsais was a system of education equal to the level of foreign universities which were then offering scholarships for studies abroad to young Haitian men and women. During this time he also ordered the construction of more schools in rural areas and organized the National Library of Port-au-Prince along with its local branches. The Normal School of Female Teachers was created in Port-au-Prince, responding to an important need to promote the socio-economic role of women in Haitian society.
Knowing the importance of the agricultural sector in the national economy, Estimé made sure to provide the Ministry of Agriculture with competent counsellors. The stated objective was to strengthen food crops, but also to develop the cultivation of foodstuffs for export to balance the trade market.
When President Vincent proposed his secretary, Élie Lescot, to the National Assembly as a potential successor in 1941, Estimé voted in his favour and Lescot was elected president. However, on April 19, 1944, Estimé opposed Lescot’s re-election, disapproving of the partial revision of the Constitution undertaken by the president, and voted against him. The latter was, however, re-elected by a majority.
Election to the presidency As a deputy, Estimé observed the events of 1946 closely—the economic crisis and a serious social crisis induced by the legitimate demands of the underprivileged classes—which led to the resignation of President Lescot. The provisional government, led by Franck Lavaud, set up for new elections.
While communists and nationalists wanted a regime change, Estimé presented himself to voters as a moderate candidate and was re-elected in the legislative elections of 1946.
On August 16, with the moderates having obtained a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, Estimé was nominated as a candidate. He was then elected President of the Republic for four years after a second vote by deputies, with 31 votes out of 58. His first gesture as the newly elected president was to greet his opponents: Dantès Louis Bellegarde, Edgard Numa, and Demosthenes Calixte.
His ascension to the presidency in 1946 came in the wake of a long period of great effervescence, the culmination of social, political and cultural movements involving students, women, unions and political parties. At the time Haiti was trying to get out of the social and coloured cleavages which have continued to dominate politics since independence and particularly after the American Occupation (1915–1934). The political and economic powers were dominated by a mulatto bourgeoisie which did not favour social mixing. The so-called “Révolution de 1946” was, above all, an attempt to transform Haitian society, but it had to face a lot of resistance.
As a deputy, Estimé observed the events of 1946 closely—the economic crisis and a serious social crisis induced by the legitimate demands of the underprivileged classes—which led to the resignation of President Lescot. The provisional government, led by Franck Lavaud, set up for new elections.
Presidency Dumarsais Estimé was elected President of the Haitian Republic on August 16, 1946.
In his speech addressed to the National Assembly, Estimé had these words: ‘It is the great family of the masses of which I am a representative that you wanted to honour.’ However, he appealed to everyone’s unity and goodwill: ‘This is the hour when each of us must demonstrate that the Nation is the first and most sacred of concerns.’
Estimé urged morality within the government: ‘If we, the shepherds of the flock, become wolves […] then it will be time to be judged and held accountable.’
His arrival to power was not well received, but over time public opinion rallied, appreciating the gathering of a government of national unity – a rare occurrence in the history of Haiti – bringing together former opponents who were invited to bury the hatchet, such as Georges Rigaud and Daniel Fignolé, and representatives of all social and political tendencies except the communists. The rapid implementation of an ambitious social and economic program which met the needs of the majority, then further finalized public support.
1946 Constitution
On November 22, 1946, the National Constituent Assembly, under the chairmanship of Senator Jean Bélizaire, voted on the new Constitution of the Republic of Haiti, following the previous 1935 Constitution.
This new constitution protected fundamental freedoms and guaranteed the rights of the Haitian people. It also established a presidential system under which the President of the Republic, elected for six years, was endowed with a field of competence ranging from the definition of major political orientations to the control of government actions, diplomacy and the army.
The 1946 Constitution introduced the habeas corpus principle. This principle guaranteed that a person under arrest had the right to a quick presentation before a judge, so they could rule on the validity of their arrest. This provision is the basis for the rule of law. This constitution also prohibited extradition for political reasons. It made the separation of the army and the police, as well as annual paid leave, compulsory.
The Constitution of 1946, unlike that of 1935, did not grant the executive power a hand on Legislature, the Judiciary, nor the title of Chief of the Armed Forces for the acting President of the Republic of Haiti.
Economic and social reforms
Poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, deficient and under-exploited agricultural systems, financial difficulties, endemic diseases, deeply rooted social divisions—these are the difficulties which the government of 1946 had to tackle in the aftermath of the Second World War, which had further worsened Haiti’s economic situation.