was still a child. His uncle, Estilus Estimé, mayor of Verrettes (1936) and senator of the Republic (1938), cared for his education and exercised a great influence over his nephew. He opened his mind to Haitian social reality and convinced him of the need for courage and honesty in public affairs. Estilus Estimé sent the young Dumarsais to the friars of Saint-Louis de Gonzague in St Marc; he then attended Collège Pinchinat and went to Lycée Alexandre-Pétion in Port-au-Prince until his baccalaureate. He was taught by masters such as Jean Price-Mars, Catts Pressoir and Jean-Chrysostome Dorsainvil. In 1920, he was appointed as a tutor at Lycée Pétion while still attending law school. He taught mathematics there until 1926, graduating along the way. He was dismissed from his position after publicly expressing his opposition to the government of President Louis Borno and the American occupation. Estimé was fifteen when the American Occupation of Haiti began (July 1915-August 1934). This period left its mark on his teenage years and determined the direction of his adult life. Estimé was a scholar (passionate about French literature and philosophy) with a fierce desire to liberate Haiti from foreign occupation and change the society in which he lived. It was necessary, according to him, to fight against the abuses of the traditional elite and educate the masses. His thinking was marked by social concerns and a tireless determination to serve his people and his country. Early Policy Career Election to the Chamber of Deputies As a lawyer, he first practised in St. Marc before entering politics and being elected deputy in 1930 in the constituency of Verrettes. On February 21, 1935 he won the confidence of his colleagues who elected him President of the Chamber of Deputies with 27 votes out of 28². Minister of Public Instruction, Agriculture and Labour In 1937 he joined President Sténio Vincent’s government and was nominated Minister (Secretary of State, after the former terminology) for Public instruction, Agriculture and Labour, while he kept his seat at the Parliament4. During his two years as Head of Education, he showed a desire to extend education and culture to all Haitian people, in particular the underprivileged. Pursuing his goal, Estimé cared to improve the level and quality of teachers’ training, to raise the salaries of teachers and professors, to reorganise high schools, and to reform the Haitian baccalaureate and the organisation of exams, as