Jean-Claude Duvalier Jean-Claude Duvalier Jean-Claude Duvalier (), nicknamed “Baby Doc” () (3 July 19514 October 2014), was the President of Haiti from 1971 until he was overthrown by a popular uprising in 1986. He succeeded his father François "Papa Doc" Duvalier as the ruler of Haiti after his death in 1971. After assuming power, he introduced cosmetic changes to his father's regime and delegated much authority to his advisors. Thousands of Haitians were killed or tortured, and hundreds of thousands fled the country during his presidency. He maintained a notoriously lavish lifestyle (including a state-sponsored US$3million wedding in 1980) while poverty among
François Duvalier December 1956, Magloire conceded defeat. The two frontrunners in the 1957 campaign for the presidency were Duvalier and Louis Déjoie, a landowner and industrialist from the north. During their campaigning, Haiti was ruled by five temporary administrations, none lasting longer than a few months. Duvalier promised to rebuild and renew the country and rural Haiti solidly supported him as did the military. He resorted to " populism, stoking the majority irritation at being governed by the few mulatto elite, which is how he described his opponent, Déjoie. François Duvalier was elected president on 22 September 1957. Duvalier received 679,884 votes