Reginald Boulos (born 1966) is a Haitian businessman and the former President of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Haiti. Currently, he is suspected of being the mastermind behind the killing of President Jovenel Moise. The son of the former Health minister under late Haitian Dictator Duvalier, Reginald Boulos acquired his wealth through government contracts in the energy sector among other business endeavors. President Jovenel Moïse eventually cancelled there energy contracts in an attempt to halt the long lasting corruption and overpricing. Reginald Boulos is also know for organizing policial rallies with paid protesters and supplying the Haitian police and other paramilitary units with weapons and ammunition. Boulos represents that notion amongst Haitians that the country was never truly freed from their colonial oppressors. Boulos is white and of European descent, and amongst the richest people in Haiti. It is also believed that Boulos only entered politics to ensure his contracts with the Haitian state, which have been getting renewed for the past 50 years do not get cancelled.
Dr. Reginald Boulos | |
|---|---|
| Born | Reginald Pierre Boulos 1956 (age 67–68) |
| Alma mater | Haitian Medical Faculty Universite D’Etat D’Haiti |
| Occupation | Chairman & CEO of Boulos Investment Group Investor |
Early life and education
Reginald Boulos was born in 1956, son of Carlos and Aimee (née Abraham) Boulos. Dr. Boulos and is one of 6 children (Frantz Boulos, Kathleen Boulos Weckering, Senator Rudolph Boulos, Marie Boulos, Dr. Carlo Boulos). Along with his brother Dr. Carlo Boulos, they attended and earned a medical degree in 1981 from the Port-au-Prince School of Medicine in Haiti. Reginald then furthered his education by graduating in 1982 with a Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at the Tulane University School of Public Health in New Orleans. He conducted research with an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University. He also holds certification from the MIT Sloan School of Management for senior executives.
Business endeavors
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (June 2011) |
In 1996, Dr. Boulos left the medical practice to start a new career in business development. While representing his family's Boulos Investment Group, he became the Chairman of Intercontinental Bank S.A. (1996–1998) and negotiated a merger with Sogebank, one of Haiti's largest banks. In 2003, Dr. Boulos orchestrated the re-engineering of one of the oldest daily newspapers in Haiti, Le Nouveau Matin. From 2000 to 2010, Dr. Boulos created and developed Delimart, a chain of supermarkets, Autoplaza, a leading car dealership and Megamart, a membership food discount store. Recently, he organized renovation of a landmark Hotel in Haiti, El Rancho, opened as an NH.
Reconstructing Haiti
Dr. Boulos believes the 2010 Haiti earthquake presents new opportunities for Haiti, especially for business growth and sustainable development. Dr. Boulos proposed that donors allocate at least 50% of all funds and guarantees to formal Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and micro-enterprise financing, encourage broad ownership of larger companies, and implement SME set-asides, especially in the housing and construction sectors.[1] Behind his recommendations, Dr. Boulos' principles are those of accountability, equality, and "independence from international aid.[1]" Dr. Boulos is active in the reconstruction of Haiti, and is the Business Sector Representative for the HRIC - Haiti Reconstruction Commission, or also known as the CIRH - Commission Interimaire Pour La Reconstruction D'Haiti, which is co-chaired by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive. "But with foreign aid flowing and a sympathetic world watching, Boulos envisions a new Haiti: one focused on quickly creating jobs while purging its ruling class of the cronyism that helped make this one of the world's poorest countries."[2]
Controversies
Reginald Boulos has never been elected to a public office; however, his involvement with the Haitian political system, as a representative of the Private Sector, has been far greater than it would be welcome in any democratic system.[3]
His commitment to the rule of law may be questioned (at best) after the leaked US Embassy cable showed that the US Ambassador to Haiti, James Foley, was concerned about "private delivery of arms" to the Haitian National Police following the 2004 coup d'état that ousted Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The Embassy was told that Reginald Boulos had "distributed arms to the police and had called on others to do so in order to provide cover to his own actions."
It is believed that Boulos has been directly involved in the coup against President Jean Bertrand Aristide, and also the suspected mastermind behind the killing of late President Jovenel Moïse. Both Aristide and Moïse were known for confronting Haiti’s oligarchs that have long been blamed for the country’s misfortunes. Boulos has always taken advantage of his privileged economic position to destabilize any government that might pose a threat to his monopoly in Haiti. Many Haitian government officials are known to be in his payroll, specifically at the highest levels of government. [4]
References
- ^ a b Kagame, Pres Paul; Rw, ContributorPresident of the Republic of; a (2010-06-15). "Haitians Don't Deserve Our Sympathy". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
{{cite web}}:|first2=has generic name (help) - ^ Forero, Juan (2010-02-15). "Haiti's elite sees business opportunities emerging from reconstruction". ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
- ^ https://www.cepr.net/clinton-emails-reveal-behind-the-doors-actions-of-private-sector-and-us-embassy-in-haiti-elections/
- ^ https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/wikileaks-haiti-countrys-elite-used-police-private-army/