Raymond Joseph
Encyclopedia
Raymond Alcide Joseph is a Haiti
an diplomat, political activist and journalist. He was the Haitian ambassador to the United States
from 2005 to 2010, when he resigned to present himself as a candidate in the 2010 Presidential Election in Haiti. He is the uncle of singer and rapper Wyclef Jean
.
, Haiti
, and spent his early years surrounded by Christian missionaries. By age 10 he was fluent in Haitian Creole, French
, Spanish and English
. In 1954, he volunteered as an interpreter for a Baptist preacher, who assisted Joseph in coming to the United States. Joseph enrolled in the Moody Bible Institute
in Chicago, Illinois in 1954. Joseph remained in Chicago and later earned a BA in Anthropology from Wheaton College
.
During his time in Chicago, Joseph became fluent in Hebrew and Greek. After graduating he returned to Haiti and created the first translation of the New Testament
and Psalms into Haitian Creole.
In 1957, the dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier was elected President of Haiti, and Joseph became increasingly uncomfortable with the government. Joseph returned to the United States in 1961 and enrolled in the University of Chicago
where he earned an MA
in Social Anthropology
. In 1964, for publicly opposing the brutal practices of the Duvalier regime, Joseph was condemned to death by the Government of Haiti. By remaining in the United States, however, Joseph avoided execution.
.
The regime of François Duvalier's son
collapsed in 1986. In 1990, Joseph was appointed the Haitian Government's chargé d’affaires in Washington, DC, and the representative of the Haitian Government to the Organization of American States
. In this role, Joseph organized election observers from the international community to participate in the Haitian Presidential Election.
In 1991 Joseph returned to the Haiti Observateur where he remained until 2004, when he was again appointed Chargé d'Affaires in Washington, DC. In 2005 acting president Boniface Alexandre
chose Joseph to be Haiti's ambassador to the United States. In the aftermath of the catastrophic January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti
, Joseph played an active role in mobilizing the international community's response to Haiti.
. Joseph was dismissed from the Haitian presidential race by Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council.
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an diplomat, political activist and journalist. He was the Haitian ambassador to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from 2005 to 2010, when he resigned to present himself as a candidate in the 2010 Presidential Election in Haiti. He is the uncle of singer and rapper Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...
.
Early life and education
Joseph was born on August 31, 1931, in Les CayesLes Cayes
Les Cayes , is a town and seaport in southwestern Haiti, with a population of approximately 45,904 people . Estimates from 2008 place the population at close to 70,000 people...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, and spent his early years surrounded by Christian missionaries. By age 10 he was fluent in Haitian Creole, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Spanish and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. In 1954, he volunteered as an interpreter for a Baptist preacher, who assisted Joseph in coming to the United States. Joseph enrolled in the Moody Bible Institute
Moody Bible Institute
Moody Bible Institute is a Christian institution of higher education and related ministries that was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Since its founding, MBI's main campus has been located in the Near North Side of Chicago. MBI's primary ministries are education,...
in Chicago, Illinois in 1954. Joseph remained in Chicago and later earned a BA in Anthropology from Wheaton College
Wheaton College (Illinois)
Wheaton College is a private, evangelical Protestant liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago in the United States...
.
During his time in Chicago, Joseph became fluent in Hebrew and Greek. After graduating he returned to Haiti and created the first translation of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
and Psalms into Haitian Creole.
In 1957, the dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier was elected President of Haiti, and Joseph became increasingly uncomfortable with the government. Joseph returned to the United States in 1961 and enrolled in the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
where he earned an MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Social Anthropology
Social anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
. In 1964, for publicly opposing the brutal practices of the Duvalier regime, Joseph was condemned to death by the Government of Haiti. By remaining in the United States, however, Joseph avoided execution.
Career
Joseph subsequently moved to New York and became a leader in the opposition movement against the Duvalier regime. Along with his brother, Joseph founded the Haiti Observateur in 1971, which became influential and widely circulated among the Haitian Diaspora. Joseph subsequently worked as a reporter at the Wall Street Journal and a columnist at the New York SunNew York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...
.
The regime of François Duvalier's son
Jean-Claude Duvalier
Jean-Claude Duvalier, nicknamed "Bébé Doc" or "Baby Doc" was the President of Haiti from 1971 until his overthrow by a popular uprising in 1986. He succeeded his father, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, as the ruler of Haiti upon his father's death in 1971...
collapsed in 1986. In 1990, Joseph was appointed the Haitian Government's chargé d’affaires in Washington, DC, and the representative of the Haitian Government to the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
. In this role, Joseph organized election observers from the international community to participate in the Haitian Presidential Election.
In 1991 Joseph returned to the Haiti Observateur where he remained until 2004, when he was again appointed Chargé d'Affaires in Washington, DC. In 2005 acting president Boniface Alexandre
Boniface Alexandre
Boniface Alexandre is a politician in Haïti. He served as acting president of Haïti from 2004 to 2006. The 2004 Haitian coup d'état removed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from the Americas on February 29, 2004...
chose Joseph to be Haiti's ambassador to the United States. In the aftermath of the catastrophic January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
, Joseph played an active role in mobilizing the international community's response to Haiti.
Presidential candidate
On July 27, 2010, Joseph confirmed his intention to run for President of Haiti in the November 28, 2010 election. He resigned the ambassadorship on August 1, 2010 and moved to Port-au-PrincePort-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
. Joseph was dismissed from the Haitian presidential race by Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council.