Gabriel Ramanantsoa was the President and Prime Minister of Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

 from 1972 to 1975.

Ramanantsoa was a member of the Merina

Merina

The Merina are an ethnic group from Madagascar. The Merina are concentrated in the Highlands and speak the official dialect of the Malagasy language, which is a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language group derived from the Barito languages, spoken in southern Borneo. Their ancestors, the...

 ethnic group, and came from a wealthy family. He was a career officer in the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 army. After Madagascar became independent, he joined the Madagascar military, rising to the rank of Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

. In May 1972, amidst massive political protests, he became prime minister of the country, and a few months later, when President Philibert Tsiranana

Philibert Tsiranana

Philibert Tsiranana was a Malagasy politician and leader, who served as the first President of Madagascar from 1959 to 1972....

gave up power, Ramanantsoa became President, taking office on October 11, 1972. He tried to start political reconciliation. His government was nearly overthrown in December 1974. On February 5, 1975 he resigned amidst ethnic and social class tensions.