He was excluded from the Roman Catholic church by his Salesian order in 1988, after he was accused of "inciting hatred, violence and the exaltation of the class struggle."
Two years later, with the support of the Catholic masses and the poor of the shanties and the countryside, Aristide was overwhelmingly elected president on a strongly populist, nationalist platform.
However, eight months after taking office, Aristide was overthrown on Sept. 30, 1991, in a bloody military coup led by army chief General Raoul Cedras.
Exiled first in Venezuela and then in Washington, Aristide galvanized Haitians abroad to put pressure on the US government, which finally sent a force of 20,000 to Haiti in 1994 to bring him back to power.
Aristide remained true to his radical roots, and before ending his term in 1996 -- to the anger of the US -- he recognized Cuba.
Once out of his vows to the Vatican, also in 1996, Aristide married Mildred Trouillot, a Haitian-American lawyer.
The couple has two children, both girls.
Out of office, Aristide remained the dominant force in Haitian politics, keeping a close watch on his protege Rene Preval, president from 1996 to 2001, before taking over again himself.
The opposition accused Aristide and his entourage of involvement in political assassinations, illegal enrichment and even links to drug trafficking.
Aristide denied the allegations as slander.
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