In early February 1957, Haiti's first post-Magloire provisional president, Supreme Court Chief Justice Joseph Nemours Pierre-Louis, was forced from office after less than two months, a casualty of the intense factional maneuvering among rival presidential candidates that followed the fall of Paul Magloire. Pierre-Louis had taken over in December 1956 with a mandate to organize elections, but his tenure was consumed by strikes and disputes among the camps backing figures such as Francois Duvalier, Louis Dejoie, Daniel Fignole, and Clement Jumelle, each suspicious that the provisional government favored a rival. Under this pressure Pierre-Louis stepped down around February 4, and on February 7 Franck Sylvain, a lawyer, was installed by a coalition as the next provisional president.
He too would last only weeks, deposed in turn at the beginning of April, as Haiti churned through a rapid series of short-lived governments.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Joseph Nemours Pierre-Louis, provisional President of Haiti (forced to resign amid factional pressure)
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Joseph Nemours Pierre-Louis (provisional president forced out)
Franck Sylvain (lawyer who became the next provisional president)
Sources
A presidential succession list records Joseph Nemours Pierre-Louis as provisional president from 12 December 1956 to 4 February 1957, followed by Franck Sylvain from 7 February to 1 April 1957.
SOURCE REVIEWEDGeni, "Presidents of Haiti" project (succession list)open source ↗
Pierre-Louis assumed the presidency but lasted only briefly amid continued unrest and strikes, part of a period of rapid turnover with at least four short-lived governments in quick succession between Magloire's fall and Duvalier's election.
SOURCE REVIEWEDGrokipedia, "1957 Haitian general election"open source ↗
A new provisional government under Pierre-Louis was established with Magloire's departure and elections were set, but feuding presidential candidates and their parties created disorder, and multiple provisional presidents were appointed and deposed before Duvalier was elected.
SOURCE REVIEWEDGlobal Nonviolent Action Database, "Haitians strike and overthrow a dictator, 1956"open source ↗
The period between Magloire's fall and Duvalier's election was chaotic even by Haitian standards, with three provisional presidents in the interval; one resigned and the army deposed the other two, Franck Sylvain and Fignole.
INDIRECT CITATIONGlobalSecurity.org, "Haiti - 1950-1957 - Paul Magloire"open source ↗
Editorial Note
The Cline dataset codes 7 February 1957 with the leader not physically harmed. Sources date Pierre-Louis's departure to about 4 February and Sylvain's accession to 7 February, so the dataset date marks the transition. This is the second stage of the 1956-1957 Haitian succession crisis; the sources describe rapid turnover rather than a single decisive coup. A succession list, Grokipedia, and the Global Nonviolent Action Database were read directly, with GlobalSecurity as a chain source.
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Joseph Nemours Pierre-Louis, provisional President of Haiti (forced to resign amid factional pressure).
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.
Baseline Source-Document Entries
New York Times
“Haiti’s president quits amid strike: Army Maintaining Order As Politicians Dispute Course,”February 5, 1957
“Presidency Rule Studied in Haiti,” February 6, 1957
“Civil War Flares In Haiti; Army Groups Contest Rule Principals In The Haitian Revolt,”May 26,1957
Chicago Daily Tribune
“Haiti Leaders plan to Set Up Interim Regime,” February 5, 1957
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →