Former President Clinton Appointed U.N. Special Envoy for Haiti
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Monday, May 18, 2009; 6:25 PM
UNITED NATIONS, May 17 -- Bill Clinton has been appointed U.N. special envoy for Haiti, a part-time position in which the former U.S. president will aim to attract private and government investment and aid for the poor Caribbean island nation, Clinton's office and a senior U.N. official said Monday.
Clinton has long shown an interest in Haiti, where he played a role in restoring to power the ousted Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1994. Aristide was forced out of office again a decade later.
The appointment comes more than two months after U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, Clinton and a delegation of business leaders traveled to Haiti to highlight the important of restoring economic security there. The country has been buffeted over the past year by soaring oil and food prices and a devastating series of hurricanes.
A U.N. official said that Clinton would act as a "cheerleader" for the economically distressed country, cajoling government and business leaders into pouring fresh money into a place that is largely dependent on foreign assistance. It is similar to a role he played, alongside former president George H.W. Bush, following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
U.N. officials said that they planned to announce the appointment Tuesday, but Clinton jumped the gun, issuing a statement Monday that he was honored to accept Ban's offer. "Last year's natural disasters took a great toll, but Haiti's government and people have the determination to build back better," he said in the statement, which was published in the Miami Herald.
