Haiti’s new leader vows unity, says he’s ‘very honored’ in first statement since being selected

PORT-AU-PRINCE (AP) — Garry Conille, Haiti’s new prime minister, said Wednesday that he was “very honored” to be chosen for the post, in his first statement since a transitional council selected him to lead the troubled Caribbean country under siege by gangs.

Conille thanked the civil society groups, political parties and members of the Haitian diaspora who proposed him as a candidate. “Together, we will work for a better tomorrow for all the children of our nation,” he wrote on X, the social media platform, in Haitian Creole.

Conille submitted his resignation Tuesday as UNICEF’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, a post he has held since January 2023. He previously served as prime minister of Haiti from October 2011 to May 2012 under then-President Michel Martelly.

Conille studied medicine and public health and helped develop health care in impoverished communities in Haiti, where he helped coordinate reconstruction efforts after the devastating 2010 earthquake. He also served as a U.N. development specialist before becoming a regional director with UNICEF.