Raoul Cédras
The army general whose brutal 1991 coup upended Haiti's first democratic government, forcing a U.S. military intervention to remove him.
Born 1949 (age 77)·Haitian military officer and politician·Birthday: July 9·Baby Boomers
Biography
Raoul Cédras emerged from the shadows of Haiti's violent military tradition to become its most infamous late-20th century strongman. As a lieutenant general and head of the army, he initially served the government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti's first democratically elected president. In September 1991, just months after Aristide's inauguration, Cédras led a bloody coup that sent the president into exile. His three-year junta was characterized by systematic human rights abuses, economic collapse, and international isolation. The regime's violence triggered a massive exodus of refugees attempting to reach the United States by boat. Under intense pressure, Cédras finally relinquished power in 1994 only after the U.S. military, authorized by President Bill Clinton, was literally en route to invade and restore Aristide. He negotiated a comfortable exile for himself and his inner circle, relocating to Panama. Cédras's rule represents the last gasp of Haiti's old guard military power, an episode that profoundly destabilized the nation and set a tragic pattern for the political crises that followed.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Raoul was born in 1949, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Raoul Was Born
The biggest hits of 1949
#1 Movie
Samson and Delilah
Best Picture
All the King's Men
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Raoul's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1949Born
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1954Started school
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1962Became a teenager
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1965Could drive
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1967Could vote
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1970Turned 21
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1979Turned 30
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 40
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 50
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 60
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 70
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 77 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Led the military coup d'état that overthrew President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in September 1991.
- Ruled Haiti as the de facto head of state and military junta leader for three years from 1991 to 1994.
- Was the last military officer to rule Haiti before the dissolution of the Haitian Armed Forces.
- His regime's repression directly prompted a U.S.-led multinational military intervention to restore democratic order.
Did You Know?
He was trained at the United States Army School of the Americas.
Cédras and his family were flown out of Haiti on a U.S. Air Force plane as part of his negotiated departure.
He has lived in Panama since 1994 under terms granted by the Panamanian government.
During the coup, he was promoted from colonel to lieutenant general in a single day.
“Order is not a request; it is the foundation upon which a nation is built.”
