Louis Eugene Roy

Here is a picture of Louis Eugène Roy, Haitian President during the "Tedeum".

Louis Eugene Roy, Haiti's 29th president, came to office as a provisional president, whose main purpose was to prepare the nation to hold elections for the new National Assembly. He was appointed by American High Commissioner to Haiti, General Russell, succeeding Louis Borno, who had resigned from office.

Roy was picked to serve U.S. interests as Borno had done before him. But Borno only cooperated with the U.S. as long as the U.S. helped Haiti improve its economy. So it was with careful consideration of Roy's character he was chosen to more perfectly serve the U.S. In his time as president (May 15, 1930 â€' November 18, 1930) Roy made improvements in government's infrastructure in organizing for the next elections, and for this reason he has been considered one of Haiti's best leaders.

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Here is a picture of the interim president of Haiti Louis Eugène Roy as he is entering the National Palace

In Roy's inauguration speech he spoke about the weighty duty he had accepted to prepare Haiti for the next stage of independence. He predicted electoral campaigns would be conflict-ridden, but advised all political actors to keep in mind their service to the nation's needs. He talked about the economy, which had forced large segments of the population to migrate elsewhere. And he defined the job that lay ahead was to increase production, meet day-to-day needs, and educate future generations, who could continue to move Haiti forward. He ended his inaugural address with ". . . Haiti must emerge victorious from the test: and this will depend . . . (on) our wisdom alone."

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