PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, May 14 (UPI) -- Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean has begun a four-day trip to Haiti, returning to her birth country for the first time since her 2005 appointment.
During the visit, Jean witnessed Sunday's swearing-in of President René Préval and planned to visit a number of Canadian development projects, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Préval, a former president and prime minister, won a presidential election held in February. He is Haiti's first elected president since a bloody revolt in February 2004 ousted then-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and plunged the country deeper into chaos.
Jean and her family left Haiti in 1968, when she was 11, and settled in Quebec. Her father had been arrested, jailed and tortured under Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier's regime.
Because of the continuing violence in Haiti, details of Jean's itinerary were not being disclosed.
Préval was in Canada two weeks ago, to remind Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government of the challenges Haiti faces. Canada announced it was handing over an additional $48 million to Haiti to "promote good governance and democracy."
