Marc Ravalomanana
Encyclopedia
Marc Ravalomanana (born December 12, 1949, in Imerinkasinina) is a Malagasy
politician
who was the President of Madagascar
from 2002 to 2009. A member of the Merina
ethnic group, Ravalomanana served as Mayor of Antananarivo
before becoming President in 2002. He took office as President amidst a dispute over the results of the December 2001 presidential election
in which he successfully pressed his claim to have won a majority in the first round. He was re-elected in December 2006, again with a majority in the first round.
(FJKM), a Reformed Protestant church in Madagascar with 2.5 million adherents. In office, he has been outspoken about his religion and in 2005 he said that he "dream[s] of a Christian nation"; critics called this a violation of the constitution, which described the state as secular until a 2007 constitutional referendum
removed that, along with other changes.
He claims also to be an avid farmer. Upon becoming president he set up a dairy farm and rice fields to be displayed on the property of the presidential palace in Iavoloha outside the capital.
Three of his children have been married while he was in office. His eldest daughter runs the MBS media group which controls the second largest radio and television network in the country as well as a number of minor newspapers.
His personal residence is in Faravohitra, a neighbourhood of the old city of Antananarivo
.
. Following the election, official results put Ravalomanana in first place, with 46%, against Ratsiraka's 40%; without a majority, a run-off would be required between the two. Ravalomanana, however, claimed to have won a majority in the first round, and he refused to participate in a run-off, instead demanding that the High Constitutional Court review the votes. Ratsiraka's supporters then blockaded the capital, which Ravalomanana's supporters controlled. Ravalomanana declared himself president on February 22, 2002. After a recount, on April 29, 2002 the High Constitutional Court pronounced Ravalomanana the winner of the election, and he was sworn in for a second time on May 6. The Presidency remained disputed, however, until fighting forced Ratsiraka to flee into exile on July 5, 2002, after he had lost control of most of the country's provinces.
Ravalomanana is the founder of Tiako I Madagasikara
, which was the ruling party during his presidency, although he is not currently a member because, as President, he was barred from membership in a political party.
is said to have declined during his time in office. On November 18, 2006, his plane was forced to divert from Madagascar's capital during a return trip from Europe following reports of a coup
underway in Antananarivo and shooting near the airport; however, this coup attempt was unsuccessful.
Ravalomanana ran for a second term in the presidential election
held on December 3, 2006. According to official results, he won the election with 54.79% of the vote in the first round; his best results were in Antananarivo Province
, where he received the support of 75.39% of voters. He was sworn in for his second term on January 19, 2007.
Ravalomanana dissolved the National Assembly in July 2007, prior to the end of its term, following a constitutional referendum
earlier in the year. Ravalomanana said that a new election
needed to be held so that the National Assembly would reflect the changes made in this referendum.
In December 2008 the major donors of Madagascar (IMF, World Bank, European Union, African Development Bank) suspended the disbursement of direct budget support due to budgetary misconduct mainly involving mixing the president's business interests with state interests.
, then mayor of Antananarivo, announced he was taking control of the government saying a request would be put to parliament for Ravalomanana immediate resignation from the presidency, calling Ravalomanana a dictator, a scoundrel and a thief. The African Union
(AU) immediately warned Rajoelina that it would not accept an unconstitutional power grab in Madagascar: "It's totally forbidden to take power by non-constitutional means."
Ravalomanana responded by firing Rajoelina, citing a law which allows the government to remove officials who fail to do their job. This move, however, is considered not in line with the country's laws by constitutional lawyers, but rather another sign of abuse of the president's executive powers to repress the mayor, who won a landslide victory in December 2007 against the President's candidate for the job of mayor of the capital. Several pleas by the churches, the Secretary General of the UN and the local diplomatic community to the President to begin a dialogue with his political opponent in order to find a peaceful solution to the political crisis were ignored.
On January 26, after the burning of his factory and his store by his opponents, many people were found to have been burnt to death. On February 7, 2009, an opposition rally was held with 20,000 in attendance. Following the lead of opposition leader Andry Rajoelina, the crowd started to march toward the president's office in downtown Antananarivo, even though that was commonly known as a red zone. As the demonstrators tried to enter the presidential palace the presidential guards opened fire, killing at least 30 people and leaving dozens injured. By doing so, Ravalomanana becomes the third president (after his predecessors Didier Ratsiraka and Philbert Tsiranana) in recent Malagasy history to allow the defence forces to shoot at the crowd. Afterwards, Ravalomanana addressed his people on national television urging them to remain calm.
There followed two weeks of extreme tensions between the two rival political camps in the capital – with Ravalomanana applying force based on the constitutional grounds of being the supreme leader of the armed forces. On March 10, army leaders forced the recently appointed defence secretary to resign (the previous one had decided to resign after the killings by the presidential guard on February 7, 2009). They also announced that they gave the opponents 72 hours to find a solution to the crisis through dialogue before they would take further action. This move came after the leaders of the main military camp had announced a day earlier that they would not execute orders coming from the presidency any more since their duty was to protect the people, and not to oppress them, as had been done over the previous few days.
Directly after the resignation of the defence secretary, Ravalomanana addressed the people. He accepted having made mistakes and promised to listen to the grievances of the protesters.
On March 16 the army seized the Ambohitsorohitra presidential palace
in the centre of Antananarivo. Ravalomanana was not in the palace at the time.
.
Rajoelina had already declared himself the new leader a month earlier and has since assumed the role of acting President. He has appointed Monja Roindefo
as Prime Minister. Rajoelina announced that elections would be held in two years and that the constitution would be amended.
The European Union
, amongst other international entities, has refused to recognise the new government, due to it being installed by force. The African Union
and the Southern Africa Development Community both criticised the forced resignation of Ravalomanana. United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
's spokesperson said he is "gravely concerned about the evolving developments in Madagascar".
Ravalomanana was in exile in South Africa
at the time. He had been prevented from returning to Madagascar the previous month. He had previously spent time in Swaziland
.
On August 28, Ravalomanana was sentenced in absentia to hard labour for life for his role in the protests and ensuing deaths. An arrest warrant was issued for him and General Heriniaina Roelina and Colonel Anatole Ramlamboarison.
and the Special class of the Grand Cross (Sonderstufe des Großkreuzes) of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2006.
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Malagasy people
The Malagasy ethnic group forms nearly the entire population of Madagascar. They are divided into two subgroups: the "Highlander" Merina, Sihanaka and Betsileo of the central plateau around Antananarivo, Alaotra and Fianarantsoa, and the côtiers elsewhere in the country. This division has its...
politician
Politics of Madagascar
Politics of Madagascar takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Madagascar is head of state and the Prime Minister of Madagascar is head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the...
who was the President of Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
from 2002 to 2009. 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, Ravalomanana served as Mayor of Antananarivo
Antananarivo
Antananarivo , formerly Tananarive , is the capital and largest city in Madagascar. It is also known by its French colonial shorthand form Tana....
before becoming President in 2002. He took office as President amidst a dispute over the results of the December 2001 presidential election
Malagasy presidential election, 2001
Presidential elections were held in Madagascar on 16 December 2001. Initial results suggested a second round was necessary, with neither of the main candidates, incumbent President Didier Ratsiraka and Marc Ravalomanana. However, Ravalomanana rejected the results and declared himself President in...
in which he successfully pressed his claim to have won a majority in the first round. He was re-elected in December 2006, again with a majority in the first round.
Biography
Ravalomanana is known for his fervent Christian faith. He is at present the head layman of the Church of Jesus Christ in MadagascarChurch of Jesus Christ in Madagascar
The Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar is the second-largest Christian denomination in Madagascar. The FJKM is the national church of Madagascar, but it is not the established church of the state....
(FJKM), a Reformed Protestant church in Madagascar with 2.5 million adherents. In office, he has been outspoken about his religion and in 2005 he said that he "dream[s] of a Christian nation"; critics called this a violation of the constitution, which described the state as secular until a 2007 constitutional referendum
Malagasy constitutional referendum, 2007
A constitutional referendum was held in Madagascar on 4 April 2007. The proposed changes, which voters were asked to approve or reject as a whole, included:*expansion of presidential powers in cases of emergency...
removed that, along with other changes.
He claims also to be an avid farmer. Upon becoming president he set up a dairy farm and rice fields to be displayed on the property of the presidential palace in Iavoloha outside the capital.
Three of his children have been married while he was in office. His eldest daughter runs the MBS media group which controls the second largest radio and television network in the country as well as a number of minor newspapers.
His personal residence is in Faravohitra, a neighbourhood of the old city of Antananarivo
Antananarivo
Antananarivo , formerly Tananarive , is the capital and largest city in Madagascar. It is also known by its French colonial shorthand form Tana....
.
Political career
In the municipal elections held on November 14, 1999, Ravalomanana was elected as mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, receiving 45% of the vote and defeating former Prime Minister Guy Willy Razanamasy. As mayor he was credited with successfully cleaning up the capital. He announced on August 5, 2001 that he would run for President in the election to be held later that year on December 16; two months later, polls showed him to be ahead of the incumbent president, Didier RatsirakaDidier Ratsiraka
Vice Admiral Didier Ratsiraka is a Malagasy politician who was President of Madagascar from 1975 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2002.-Second Republic:...
. Following the election, official results put Ravalomanana in first place, with 46%, against Ratsiraka's 40%; without a majority, a run-off would be required between the two. Ravalomanana, however, claimed to have won a majority in the first round, and he refused to participate in a run-off, instead demanding that the High Constitutional Court review the votes. Ratsiraka's supporters then blockaded the capital, which Ravalomanana's supporters controlled. Ravalomanana declared himself president on February 22, 2002. After a recount, on April 29, 2002 the High Constitutional Court pronounced Ravalomanana the winner of the election, and he was sworn in for a second time on May 6. The Presidency remained disputed, however, until fighting forced Ratsiraka to flee into exile on July 5, 2002, after he had lost control of most of the country's provinces.
Ravalomanana is the founder of Tiako I Madagasikara
Tiako I Madagasikara
Tiako I Madagasikara is a political party in Madagascar founded by a group of individuals on July 3, 2002 to support President Marc Ravalomanana. It is now the largest party in the National Assembly of Madagascar with 106 of 127 seats, after the parliamentary election held on September 23, 2007....
, which was the ruling party during his presidency, although he is not currently a member because, as President, he was barred from membership in a political party.
Presidency
Ravalomanana is credited with improving the country's infrastructure, such as roads, along with making improvements in education and health, but has faced criticism for his lack of progress against poverty; purchasing powerPurchasing power
Purchasing power is the number of goods/services that can be purchased with a unit of currency. For example, if you had taken one dollar to a store in the 1950s, you would have been able to buy a greater number of items than you would today, indicating that you would have had a greater purchasing...
is said to have declined during his time in office. On November 18, 2006, his plane was forced to divert from Madagascar's capital during a return trip from Europe following reports of a coup
2006 Malagasy coup d'état attempt
An alleged coup d'état attempt occurred in Madagascar on November 18, 2006, during the lead-up to the December 3 presidential election, when retired army General Andrianafidisoa, also known as Fidy , declared military rule.According to judicial authorities, Andrianafidisoa was not allowed to run...
underway in Antananarivo and shooting near the airport; however, this coup attempt was unsuccessful.
Ravalomanana ran for a second term in the presidential election
Malagasy presidential election, 2006
Presidential elections were held in Madagascar on 3 December 2006. President Marc Ravalomanana, in office since he prevailed in a dispute over election results in 2002, ran for re-election...
held on December 3, 2006. According to official results, he won the election with 54.79% of the vote in the first round; his best results were in Antananarivo Province
Antananarivo Province
Antananarivo is a former province of Madagascar with an area of 58,283 km². It had a population of 5,370,900 . Its capital was Antananarivo.Except for Antsiranana, Antananarivo Province bordered all of the country's other provinces:*Mahajanga - north...
, where he received the support of 75.39% of voters. He was sworn in for his second term on January 19, 2007.
Ravalomanana dissolved the National Assembly in July 2007, prior to the end of its term, following a constitutional referendum
Malagasy constitutional referendum, 2007
A constitutional referendum was held in Madagascar on 4 April 2007. The proposed changes, which voters were asked to approve or reject as a whole, included:*expansion of presidential powers in cases of emergency...
earlier in the year. Ravalomanana said that a new election
Malagasy parliamentary election, 2007
A parliamentary election was held in Madagascar on 23 September 2007, with the vote to be repeated in two constituencies on 14 November 2007. 637 candidates contested the election, in which the 127 seats in the National Assembly were at stake....
needed to be held so that the National Assembly would reflect the changes made in this referendum.
In December 2008 the major donors of Madagascar (IMF, World Bank, European Union, African Development Bank) suspended the disbursement of direct budget support due to budgetary misconduct mainly involving mixing the president's business interests with state interests.
Malagasy political crisis (2009)
On January 31, 2009, following a week of political protests in Antananarivo, Andry RajoelinaAndry Rajoelina
Andry Nirina Rajoelina , born May 30 1974, is the former mayor of Antananarivo who became transitional head of state of Madagascar on March 21, 2009 after the 2009 Malagasy political crisis....
, then mayor of Antananarivo, announced he was taking control of the government saying a request would be put to parliament for Ravalomanana immediate resignation from the presidency, calling Ravalomanana a dictator, a scoundrel and a thief. The African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
(AU) immediately warned Rajoelina that it would not accept an unconstitutional power grab in Madagascar: "It's totally forbidden to take power by non-constitutional means."
Ravalomanana responded by firing Rajoelina, citing a law which allows the government to remove officials who fail to do their job. This move, however, is considered not in line with the country's laws by constitutional lawyers, but rather another sign of abuse of the president's executive powers to repress the mayor, who won a landslide victory in December 2007 against the President's candidate for the job of mayor of the capital. Several pleas by the churches, the Secretary General of the UN and the local diplomatic community to the President to begin a dialogue with his political opponent in order to find a peaceful solution to the political crisis were ignored.
On January 26, after the burning of his factory and his store by his opponents, many people were found to have been burnt to death. On February 7, 2009, an opposition rally was held with 20,000 in attendance. Following the lead of opposition leader Andry Rajoelina, the crowd started to march toward the president's office in downtown Antananarivo, even though that was commonly known as a red zone. As the demonstrators tried to enter the presidential palace the presidential guards opened fire, killing at least 30 people and leaving dozens injured. By doing so, Ravalomanana becomes the third president (after his predecessors Didier Ratsiraka and Philbert Tsiranana) in recent Malagasy history to allow the defence forces to shoot at the crowd. Afterwards, Ravalomanana addressed his people on national television urging them to remain calm.
There followed two weeks of extreme tensions between the two rival political camps in the capital – with Ravalomanana applying force based on the constitutional grounds of being the supreme leader of the armed forces. On March 10, army leaders forced the recently appointed defence secretary to resign (the previous one had decided to resign after the killings by the presidential guard on February 7, 2009). They also announced that they gave the opponents 72 hours to find a solution to the crisis through dialogue before they would take further action. This move came after the leaders of the main military camp had announced a day earlier that they would not execute orders coming from the presidency any more since their duty was to protect the people, and not to oppress them, as had been done over the previous few days.
Directly after the resignation of the defence secretary, Ravalomanana addressed the people. He accepted having made mistakes and promised to listen to the grievances of the protesters.
On March 16 the army seized the Ambohitsorohitra presidential palace
Ambohitsorohitra Palace
The Ambohitsorohitra Palace is a presidential palace in the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo. It has only a symbolic role and is not a residence of the president.-Political events:...
in the centre of Antananarivo. Ravalomanana was not in the palace at the time.
Resignation from the Presidency
Some thought that Ravalomanana resigned on 17 March 2009 after losing support of the military and under intense pressure from Rajoelina. In truth, Ravalomanana assigned his powers to a military council loyal to himself headed by Vice-Admiral Hyppolite Ramaroson. The military called the move by Ravalomanana a "ploy" and said that it would support Rajoelina as leader. Ravalomanana fled to SwazilandSwaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
.
Rajoelina had already declared himself the new leader a month earlier and has since assumed the role of acting President. He has appointed Monja Roindefo
Monja Roindefo
Monja Roindefo Zafitsimivalo is a Malagasy politician who was Prime Minister of Madagascar from March 2009 to October 2009. He was appointed on 7 February 2009 by opposition leader Andry Rajoelina at the head of Rajoelina's rival government; later, on 17 March, Rajoelina was installed in power by...
as Prime Minister. Rajoelina announced that elections would be held in two years and that the constitution would be amended.
The European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, amongst other international entities, has refused to recognise the new government, due to it being installed by force. The African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
and the Southern Africa Development Community both criticised the forced resignation of Ravalomanana. United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
's spokesperson said he is "gravely concerned about the evolving developments in Madagascar".
Sentencing
President Ravalomanana was sentenced to four years in prison on 2 June 2009. The jail term was granted for an "alleged abuse of office" which, according to Justice Minister Christine Razanamahasoa, included the purchase of a presidential jet. The jet, said to be worth $60 million, was bought in December 2008. Razanamahasoa claimed Ravalomanana "mixed public interests with his personal interests". Ravalomanana was also fined $70 million (£42 million).Ravalomanana was in exile in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
at the time. He had been prevented from returning to Madagascar the previous month. He had previously spent time in Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
.
On August 28, Ravalomanana was sentenced in absentia to hard labour for life for his role in the protests and ensuing deaths. An arrest warrant was issued for him and General Heriniaina Roelina and Colonel Anatole Ramlamboarison.
Honours
Awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean from the Republic of MauritiusMauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
and the Special class of the Grand Cross (Sonderstufe des Großkreuzes) of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2006.
See also
- Tokyo International Conference on African DevelopmentTokyo International Conference on African Developmentis a conference held every five years in Tokyo, Japan, with the objective "to promote high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and development partners." Japan is a co-host of these conferences. Other co-organizers of TICAD are the United Nations Office of the Special Advisor on Africa...
(TICAD-IV), 2008.
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