Rene was the first leader in Haiti's history to win a democratic election, serve a full term and peacefully hand power to a successor,, he died on Friday, February 3. 20017 after falling unconscious at his home. The cause of death for the two-time president was not made public. His sister, Marie-Claude Calvin, said an autopsy would determine the cause.

Preval was a central figure in Haitian politics from the early nineties through to his second presidency.

His legacy will always be tied to the 2010 earthquake that destroyed much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, killing more than 200,000 people and bringing the presidential palace crumbling to the ground.Haiti has been politically turbulent for much of its history since winning independence from France in 1804.