Ariel Henry (French pronunciation: [aʁjɛl ɑ̃ʁi]; born 6 November 1949) is a Haitian neurosurgeon and politician who served as the acting prime minister of Haiti after the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, until his formal resignation on 24 April 2024.

Henry became involved in a controversy due to his refusal to cooperate with the authorities regarding his connections with Joseph-Félix Badio, one of the suspects accused of orchestrating the assassination of Moïse.

[23] From January 1982 to December 1983, he was employed as an assistant in neurosurgery to Professor Claude Gros at the Gui de Chauliac [fr] university hospital in Montpellier.

[22] From December 1987 to January 2010, Henry was a consultant in neurosurgery and neurology at the Saint Vincent Centre for Disabled Children in Port-au-Prince.

[26] On 26 March 2020, President Jovenel Moïse chose him as a member of the 17-member scientific council tasked to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Haiti.

[27] Henry entered politics as a leader of the Democratic Convergence movement which sought to topple President Jean-Bertrand Aristide,[26] who was accused of rigging the 2000 Haitian parliamentary election.

[28] Henry supported René Préval after he was elected as the President and was appointed as the director general of the Ministry of Health in June 2006.

[26][29] During his tenure, he dealt with the strikes at the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, worked alongside the United States in managing the public health response after the 2010 earthquake, and streamlined the ministry's finances, enabling direct American funding of its programs.

Meanwhile, the government also agreed to hold a trial for the PetroCaribe scandal; in addition to conducting investigations into the massacres that occurred in La Saline, Bel Air and Delmas 32.

The agreement contains provisions for the establishment of a two-headed executive of Haiti, while the country will be governed by the Council of Ministers under the leadership of Henry.

[48] At the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly on 25 September, Henry spoke about the recent expulsion of Haitian migrants by the United States from its border with Mexico and stated that while he did not wish to challenge its right to expel illegal migrants, migration would continue until wealth inequality no longer existed in the world.

He urged wealthy countries to help less-developed ones improve their living standards more quickly to prevent it, and criticized the United States Border Patrol agents for their conduct while stopping the Haitian migrants.

[59] Henry however stated on Twitter that the next President would be elected by the Haitian people, apparently rejecting attempts at a transitional government.

[60] After the Montana Accord signatories chose Jean as the interim President and Steven Benoît as the Prime Minister in late January,[61] Henry rejected giving recognition to it on 7 February.

He also promised to announce the date of the elections soon, while his opponents demanded that he step down since the legal mandate of late President Jovenel Moïse, who had appointed him, formally expired that day.

He also stated that he supported appointing a judge from another country to oversee the case independently in Haiti and he would seek the assistance of the Caribbean Community for it.

[71] On 21 December 2022, Henry along with representatives of political parties, civil society organizations and the private sector signed an agreement to hold the general elections in 2023, with the new government taking office on 7 February 2024.

[79] Renan Hédouville, the head of the Office of Citizen Protection [fr], demanded Henry's resignation on 13 September, and also called on him to cooperate with the investigation into Moïse's assassination.

[80] Claude on 14 September requested the judge investigating the assassination to charge Henry and told the immigration authority to ban him from leaving the country.

[83] Renald Lubérice, the secretary general of the Council of Ministers, resigned on 15 September due to the allegations against Henry and accused him of trying to obstruct justice.

Henry meanwhile fired the Minister of Justice Rockefeller Vincent, who had ordered increased security for Bedford Claude citing threats to him.

[15] Henry's office addressed the allegations against him on 16 September, stating that he had received calls from numerous people inquiring about his safety after Moïse's assassination, and it could not identify every caller.

Another of the prime suspects, Rodolphe Jaar, while admitting to having financed and planned the assassination, stated that Badio had described Henry as someone he could count on as an ally and could control after overthrowing Moïse.

[63] Henry traveled to Guyana on 25 February 2024, and days later to Kenya to sign an agreement on the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan policemen in Haiti.

[86] When he tried to return to Haiti, he was unable to land as gang attacks shuttered the Toussaint Louverture International Airport and freed more than 4,000 prison inmates.