Facts about François Duvalier
François “Papa Doc” Duvalier Biography
François Duvalier was the notorious ruler of Haiti throughout the 1960s.
François Duvalier got his start as a physician (which was the source of his nickname, “Papa Doc”) who worked in the Haitian government beginning in the mid-1940s. With the army’s support, he was elected to the presidency in 1957. In 1964 he declared himself president for life and indeed, stayed president until his death in 1971, when his son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, succeeded him.
Papa Doc Duvalier was not a benevolent dictator. An expert in voodoo, he ruled Haiti with brute force and terror. His ruthless security force, the Tontons Macoutes, acted as real-life bogeymen who routinely executed his opponents. the family reign finally ended in 1986, when “Baby Doc” Duvalier was finally sent into exile in France after an upraising in Haiti.
Extra credit
The name Tonton Macoutes translates roughly to “Uncle Knapsack.” Per Encyclopedia.com, it is “a Haitian term that describes an old folktale character (Uncle Knapsack) who snatches children into a knapsack or basket (makout) and often eats them alive.”