New Haiti PM hospitalized after asthma attack

Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille speaks at the State Department in Washington, DC on February 8, 2012. (File photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP)

Haiti’s new prime minister, Garry Conille, was rushed to hospital after suffering a respiratory emergency Saturday evening, a government source told AFP.

“He had an asthma attack. He has doctors at his bedside,” the source said on condition of anonymity, adding it was possible the prime minister would be evacuated abroad for treatment.

Conille, 58, was appointed to the premiership by Haiti’s Presidential Transitional Council on May 29 and was sworn in on Monday.

A medical doctor by training, Conille had served as Haiti’s premier for a short period in 2011-2012, and was until recently regional director for UN aid agency UNICEF.

Since his appointment, he has been holding a series of meetings with stakeholders and representatives, while working with the Council on forming a cabinet.

Before his collapse on Saturday, Garry visited the international airport in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, praising the efforts of the security forces which had enabled flights to resume after being halted for more than three months due to gang attacks.