Biography of former Haitian president with particular emphasis on this rise to power and his downfall. Prosper Avril (1938) was president of Haiti from 1988 to 1990. He was closely associated to the Duvalier regime, both to François Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude. He led the Haitian coup d'état in September 1988 against a transition military government installed after Jean-Claude Duvalier's 1986 overthrow. He was President until March 1990, in a period which according to Amnesty International was "marred by serious human rights violations". He was arrested in 2001, but released in March 2004 after the 2004 Haitian coup d'état overthrew Jean-Bertrand Aristide.