Madsen, Michael

▪ 2008

      Haitian business executive and politician

born Aug. 27, 1942, Port-au-Prince, Haiti

died March 24, 2007, Kenscoff, Haiti

became a powerful figure in Haiti as the founder of the Haitian National Brewery, which introduced the country's first national beer (Prestige), and as the founder in 2004 of the Haitian Liberal Party, which he launched following the overthrow of Haitian Pres. Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Madsen, the grandson of a Danish entrepreneur who arrived in the country in 1889, was a member of the handful of families who remained among the richest in Haiti. Madsen studied in France and later attended Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., before returning to Haiti to help run the family firm. Madsen supported the brutal regime of François (“Papa Doc”) Duvalier and that of his son, Jean-Claude (“Baby Doc”), and when the latter was overthrown in 1986, Madsen's warehouses were looted. Madsen's labour practices came under international scrutiny for human rights abuses, but fellow businessmen maintained that he provided needed jobs for destitute Haitians. In a country accustomed to drinking rum, Madsen was able to boost the annual consumption of beer from about 30,000 cases of imports to 1,500,000 cases, 98% of which were Prestige.

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