Three Things for January 19
1. Haiti’s only remaining elected officials step down
Haiti’s 10 senators, the only remaining elected officials in the country, recently stepped down from their offices, leaving the government in a state of political turmoil. National elections have been canceled since 2016, so the senators did not run for reelection upon the expiration of their terms in office.
The country has lacked a president since 2021 when Jovenel Moïse, the president at the time, was assassinated. According to NPR, Haiti’s Senate is intended to be comprised of 30 senators and 119 members of the lower chamber, but all seats are now unfilled.
Gang violence has run rampant in recent years, because of its lack of democratic officials. According to NPR, more than 150,000 people have been forced out of their homes because of ongoing and uncontrolled violence.
“The situation is catastrophic,” said Haitian-born Robert Fatton, a political scientist at the University of Virginia. He describes it as “one of the most severe crises that Haiti has ever confronted.”
For more information about the state of the Haitian government, click here.
2. Shafik named Columbia University’s first female president
Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, economist and president of the London School of Economics, will become Columbia University’s first female president when she replaces Lee Bollinger in July.
Her appointment is one among many recent presidential appointments of women in Ivy League institutions including Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and Dartmouth.
Columbia’s board of trustees described Shafik as a “brilliant and able global leader, a community builder, and a preeminent economist, who understands” higher education.
In addition to her presidency at the London School of Economics, she has held positions as the World Bank’s vice president, the Bank of England’s deputy governor, the International Monetary Fund’s deputy managing director and permanent secretary of the U.K. Department for International Development, according to NPR.
Columbia University is currently facing backlash over race-conscious admissions, high tuition costs, and the campus’s regulations on free speech. Shafik will assume her position while the university awaits decisions from the Supreme Court about the controversies, particularly about race relations.
For more information about Shafik’s appointment, click here.
3. Sister André, the world’s oldest person, dies at 118
The oldest known living person and oldest living nun, Sister André, died on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 25 days away from her 119 birthday. Born Lucile Randon in 1904, the native Frenchwoman spent most of her life as a nun in the Roman Catholic Church, taking the name Sister André upon her entrance into religious service.
Sister André survived COVID-19 in 2021, holding the record for the oldest survivor of the virus. According to NPR, she tested positive shortly before her 117 birthday.
The previous oldest living person, Kane Tanaka, died in April 2022. Since then, Sister André has held the record. Now, the oldest known person is Maria Branyas Morera, who is almost 116 years old, according to the Gerontology Research Group.
Sister André is known for her service in World War II, during which she cared for children, including orphans.
For more information, click here.
