Michel Martelly for political office until 2010, when he became a candidate for President of Haiti. After the catastrophic earthquake, Martelly won the Haitian general election, 2010–11 for his party Repons Peyizan ("Farmers' Response Party"), after a run-off against candidate Mirlande Manigat. Martelly had come in third in the first round of the election, until the Organization of American States forced Jude Célestin to withdraw due to alleged fraud. Martelly assumed his position of the President of Haiti on 14 May 2011 after René Préval retired to his home in Marmelade. His election campaign included a promise to reinstate the nation's military,
Michel Clérié parliament for six years. During that time, he was president of the Commerce Industry and Tourism Committee and also a member of Justice and Public Works Committee. During his electoral campaign, he was widely supported by the local population in the Grand'Anse department, especially the farmers and fishermen, with whom he still works closely. He is the special advisor of President Michel Martelly. He is the son of Guy Clérié, a former army captain, and of Ginette Laroche, the daughter of an aristocratic family of the northern part of the country (Cap-Haïtien). He married Joelle Baker, whose father owned a