Sophia Saint Rémy Martelly

Sophia Saint-Rémy Martelly (born October 9, 1965) is a Haitian health activist, politician, and former first lady of Haiti from May 14, 2011, until February 7, 2016. She is the wife of the former president of Haiti, Michel Martelly. She focused on issues related to public health, healthcare and alleviating malnutrition during her tenure as first lady. Biography Early life and marriage Martelly was born by Sophia Saint-Rémy on October 9, 1965, in New York City in the United States. Her father, Charles Edouard Saint-Rémy, was from Gonaïves, and her mother, Mona Lisa Florez, is from Port-au-Prince. The Saint-Rémy family is originally from Gonaïves, where Sophia Saint Rémy was raised. The Saint-Remys suffered under the dictatorship of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier; her grandmother was arrested and detained by Duvalier and two of her paternal relatives were executed during his dictatorship. Saint-Rémy and her future husband, the singer and politician Michel Martelly, had been friends when they were children, but had lived separate lives as young adults. He migrated to the United States with his American first wife during the 1980s.