The "Founder of the Republic," Alexandre Pétion was born in Port-au-Prince in 1770, of a French father and a black mother. At 18 years of age, he became a soldier and was sent to France to study at the Military Academy of Paris. Jointly with Dessalines, he played a very important role in unifying blacks and mulattoes to fight together at the Independence War against the French army.

Pétion was elected President of the Republic of Haiti on March 9, 1806, elected again in 1811, and then in 1816 he was re-elected President for Life. He became the first President of Haiti. He designed the official flag and coat of arms of the second independent nation of the American continent. He also supported other countries of South America in their struggle to gain independence from Spain. After years of many hardships and challenges he confronted as a soldier and as president, Alexandre Pétion ill and tired died in Port-au-Prince on March 29, 1818.

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