Dany Laferrière is a Haitian-Canadian novelist and journalist who writes in French. He was elected to seat 2 of the Académie française on 12 December 2013, and inducted in May 2015.
Dany Laferrière in 2014
A statue of Laferrière by Roger Langevin sits outside the Grande Bibliothèque in Montreal.
The Académie Française, also known as the French Academy, is the principal French council for matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution, it was restored as a division of the Institut de France in 1803 by Napoleon Bonaparte. It is the oldest of the five académies of the institute. The body has the duty of acting as an official authority on the language; it is tasked with publishing an official dictionary of the language.
Institut de France building
Cardinal Richelieu, responsible for the establishment of the Académie
Raymond Poincaré was one of the five French heads of state who became members of the Académie Française. He is depicted wearing the habit vert, or green habit, of the Académie.
Bernard Dujon and his colleague Eric Westhof, wearing the "Habit vert" of the Institut de France