On Tuesday June 11, Haiti’s Transitional Council appointed a new cabinet in anticipation of a possible deployment of Kenyan police forces, as the country faces a deep humanitarian crisis fueled by federated armed gangs.
The new cabinet completely replaces all ministers from the defeatist government of former de facto Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry, who was forced to resign earlier this year by the gangs controlling much of Haiti. The announcement of the new cabinet comes two weeks after the country’s transitional government council named Garry Conille as transitional prime minister.
Conille returned as prime minister after a brief stint in the role more than a decade ago. Most recently, he was a senior official at the UN children’s agency, UNICEF. In the new cabinet, the prime minister will also serve as interior minister, controlling much of Haiti’s security forces as well as intelligence collection.
Key Members of the New Cabinet Carlos Hercule appointed Minister of Justice. Hercule, is a lawyer who previously headed the Port-au-Prince bar and was a member of an electoral council responsible for preparing the next elections in Haiti. He will oversee the country’s paralyzed justice system and police, which are battling powerful gangs.
Jean Marc Berthier Antoine will head the Defense Ministry, overseeing Haiti’s small army that was disbanded in 1995 but reestablished seven years ago.
Dominique Dupuy, a de facto ambassador to UNESCO and former member of the transitional council, is Minister of Foreign Affairs. Madame Dupuy is expected to publish the investigation into the scandal of passport issuing funds misappropriated in Haitian embassies, particularly in Washington.
Antoine Augustin, a university professor and supporter of the 2021 Montana Accord, a political movement opposed to Henry’s previous administration, was named education minister. He is also responsible for the Communication portfolio, a ministry transformed into a propaganda organ under the reign of Ariel Henry.
Ketleen Florestal, an expert who graduated from Princeton University in New Jersey, was named finance minister, succeeding Michel Patrick Boisvert who also assumed the role of interim prime minister earlier this year. Florestal, who was initially expected to become Minister of Planning and External Cooperation, was absent during the inauguration ceremony. The Prime Minister, contacted, promised to provide details later.
Meanwhile, Haiti struggles with growing poverty, corruption institutionalized by the PHTK, inflation reaching nearly 30 percent in recent years, and job losses due to gang violence that closes businesses.
Ms. Florestal, like Marc L. Bazin, former Minister of Finance, previously worked at the World Bank as advisor to the executive director for Haiti.
Representation of Women and Future Challenges The new cabinet includes four women, but critics point out that the Haitian government still lacks significant female representation. Only one woman with non-voting powers sits on the transition council, and no women were considered for prime minister.
The transition council charged with choosing Haiti’s next prime minister and cabinet still has considerable work ahead of it. He must appoint a provisional electoral commission, a prerequisite for holding general elections and the obligatory publication of the April 3 agreement in the newspaper Le Moniteur. The council’s non-renewable term expires on February 7, 2026, when the new president is scheduled to be sworn in.
Meanwhile, Haiti continues to struggle with gangs that control at least 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, with thousands of people displaced. The country’s problems worsened after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, which plunged the nation into chaos. Haiti has been without a president since the assassination, and it has no functioning parliament.
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