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Léon Cantave
Léon Cantave
Acting President of Haiti
	In office; April 2, 1957 – April 6, 1957
Preceded by	Franck Sylvain
Succeeded by	Executive Government Council
	In office; May 20, 1957 – May 25, 1957
Preceded by	Executive Government Council
Succeeded by	Daniel Fignolé
Chief of the General Staff of the Army
	In office; December 13, 1956 – May 26, 1957
President	Nemours Pierre-Louis ; Franck Sylvain
Preceded by	Antoine Levelt
Succeeded by	Antonio Thrasybule Kébreau
Personal details
Born	July 4, 1910; Mirebalais, Haiti
Died	February 16, 1967 (aged 56); Paris, France
Profession	Military

Léon Cantave (French pronunciation: [leɔ̃ kɑ̃tav]; 4 July 1910 – 16 February 1967) was a Haitian general who served as Army Chief of Staff (1956-1957), playing an important role in the political events of 1957.^[2]

Career

In 1956, President Paul Magloire attempted to extend his term, which had ended on December 6. Cantave opposed these dictatorial plans, being arrested by the Magloire regime for "inciting rebellion". On December 13, after Magloire's fall and his release, Cantave was appointed as Army Chief of Staff by the new president Joseph Nemours Pierre-Louis.^[3] As Army Chief, Cantave publicly advocated political neutrality within the Armed Forces.^[4]

In early 1957, a general strike broke out against the Pierre-Louis government, which resulted in the resignation of President Pierre-Louis on February 3. General Cantave declared neutrality regarding the strike,^[5]^[6] his soldiers did not fire a single shot at the crowd. Informed of Pierre-Louis' resignation, Cantave called the 7 presidential candidates to Headquarters to inform them of the situation.^[7] After endless debates, on February 7 the Haitian Parliament chose Franck Sylvain as provisional president, one of the declared candidates.^[8]

On April 2, Cantave forced the resignation of President Franck Sylvain and placed him under house arrest in a coup d'état, claiming that Sylvain was complicit in the civil unrest and bomb affair.^[4]^[9]^[8] Cantave now had power in his hands, but decided that the crisis should be resolved by civilians. On April 6, Cantave established the Executive Government Council (CEG), a collegial government formed by representatives appointed by presidential candidates.^[10]

After the Executive Council ordered his dismissal in favor of police chief Pierre Armand as Army Chief, Cantave usurped power again on May 20, proclaiming the dissolution of the CEG.^[2] This led to a climate of civil war that almost materialized on May 25, when there was a battle between supporters of Cantave and Armand. After an agreement, the army handed over the presidency to Daniel Fignolé. Both Cantave and Armand submitted their resignations, Antonio Thrasybule Kébreau was appointed as the new Army Chief.^[8]^[9] Under the presidency of François Duvalier, General Cantave was forced to retire from the Army.^[2]

In July 1963, together with Lieutenant Colonel René Léon, he launched an attempt to overthrow the dictator François Duvalier, across the border of the Dominican Republic. On August 7, 1963, the siege of Port-au-Prince took place, where President Duvalier was hiding in his presidential palace.^[11]^[12] Over several weeks, he fought several battles with the Haitian regular army until he finally suffered a severe defeat on September 22, 1963, in an attempt to capture the Ouanaminthe barracks. Three days later, a military coup took place against Dominican President Juan Bosch, with a junta succeeding him. Cantave was held in detention by the Dominican junta, but he was eventually allowed into exile.^[13]^[2] Cantave died in exile in France on February 16, 1967.

References

^ Hall, Michael R. (2012). Historical Dictionary of Haiti. Scarecrow Press. p. 340. ISBN 9780810878105.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Léon Cantave Profile". Haiti-Reference (in French). Archived from the original on 2010-01-29.
^ "The Cold Revolution Ends Magloire Departs: New Govt. Provisoire Established", Haiti Sun, December 16, 1956
^ ^a ^b Chin, John J.; Wright, Joseph; Carter, David B. Historical Dictionary of Modern Coups D'état. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 541-542. ISBN 978-1-5381-2068-2
^ Robert I. Rotberg, Christopher K. Clague (1971). Haiti; the Politics of Squalor. Houghton Mifflin. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-395-12105-4.
^ Ronald Hilton (1957). Hispanic American Report, Tomo 10. Stanford University, Hispanic American Studies. p. 73.
^ "National Assembly Votes Franck Sylvain Replace Pierre-Louis: Second Cold Revolution Dramatic End", Haiti Sun, February 10, 1957
^ ^a ^b ^c "History of Haiti 1934-1986". Haiti-Reference.
^ ^a ^b SMITH, MATTHEW J. Red and Black in Haiti (2009). p. 176-178
^ Avril, Prosper (1999). From Glory to Disgrace: The Haitian Army, 1804-1994. Universal-Publishers. p. 105. ISBN 978-1-58112-836-9.
^ "A Chronology from The New York Times: August 1963". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Archived from the original on 2009-11-07.
^ "Invasion In Miniature". Time. 16 August 1963.
^ Tracy Stacy (1992). "Attempts to Overthrow Papa Doc Duvalier". Archived from the original on 2015-06-22.