Antonio Thrasybule Kébreau Explained

Antonio Thrasybule Kébreau
Office:Chairman of the Military Council
Term Start:14 June 1957
Term End:22 October 1957
Predecessor:Daniel Fignolé
Successor:François Duvalier
Birth Date:11 November 1909
Birth Place:Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Death Place:Pétion-Ville, Haiti
Nationality:Haitian
Spouse:Marie Yvonne Charles
Profession:Military (Brigadier general)
Office2:Chief of the General Staff of the Army
Termstart2:26 May 1957
Termend2:12 March 1958
Predecessor2:Léon Cantave
Successor2:Maurice P. Flambert

Antonio Thrasybule Kébreau (in French pronounced as /ɑ̃tɔnjo tʁazibyl kebʁo/; November 11, 1909 – January 11, 1963) was Chairman of the Military Council (French: Président du Conseil militaire) that made him provisional head of state of the Republic of Haiti from 14 June – 22 October 1957.[1] [2] His short reign followed that of Daniel Fignolé and preceded that of François Duvalier. During his rule, soldiers under Kébreau's rule massacred several hundreds, if not several thousand rioting Fignolé supporters.

Prior to his short tenure as head of state, Kébreau played a part in ousting interim president Daniel Fignolé and sending him into exile. According to Bernard Diederich in his book Papa Doc, Kébreau believed himself to be the real power behind Duvalier, as a military leader. In order to assert who really had the power, Duvalier had him sent to a diplomatic post and relieved him of his domestic duties. Kébreau took this as a threat and fled to the Dominican Republic seeking asylum, before eventually going abroad and taking up his diplomatic post.[3]

Kébreau was appointed as the Haitian ambassador to Italy. He died suddenly on January 13, 1963. Allegedly, he was poisoned on Duvalier's orders.[4]

Notes and References

  1. News: 1957-09-28 . Haiti's Soldier Chief; Antonio Thrasybule Kebreau . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-05-17 . 0362-4331.
  2. Book: Stokes, William Sylvane . Latin American Politics . 1959 . Crowell . 126 . en.
  3. Book: Diederich, Bernard . Papa Doc - Haiti and its dictator . Penguin . 1972 . 0140034587 . Harmondsworth.
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20100301163608/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,825027,00.html HAITI: Fignole Falls