Boniface Alexandre, a former interim President of Haiti from 2004 to 2006, passed away last Friday at the age of 87, just four days after his birthday.

Before serving as president, Alexandre worked as a lawyer in Port-au-Prince for 25 years and was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1992.

In 2002, Jean-Bertrand Aristide appointed him Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Following Aristide’s removal in 2004, Haiti faced a constitutional challenge as there was no Vice President, and the Constitution dictated that the line of succession continued with the Presiding Magistrate of the Court on a provisional basis.

The UN Security Council responded by voting to establish the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in June of the same year due to the country’s volatile situation. On May 14, 2006, Alexandre handed over power to René Preval in the elections held that year.