Designer Murielle Leconte, known as Minouche, died on Sunday, December 28, 2025, in the United States, at the age of 66. Born on December 8, 1959, in Port-au-Prince, she was the daughter of engineer Georges Richard Leconte, who in 1962 founded Haiti’s first private school for civil engineering education, commonly known as “Kay Leconte,” now transformed into the Université Leconte d’Haïti/Institut supérieur technique d’Haïti (ISTH). Her mother, originally from Léogâne, worked as an accounting secretary at the Central Bank.

She completed her primary studies at Externat La Providence and her secondary studies at Collège Marie Anne. From the age of 17, she began working alongside her father, handling student registrations at the school and leading practical topography classes on Saturdays. This collaboration continued for many years, alongside a twenty-seven-year career at the Ministry of Agriculture in Damien.