Joseph Lamothe was the provisional President of Haiti from 26 July 1879 to 2 October 1879, when he was succeeded by Lysius Salomon. Following a stormy debate in the House of Representatives on 30 June 1879, there were riots in Port-au-Prince in which the Liberal leader Jean-Pierre Boyer-Bazelais exerted a significant role. Although the government eventually managed to restore law and order, President Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal resigned as president on 17 July 1879, unable to mediate between the Liberal and National parties. Lamothe was then appointed as provisional president.