Didier Ignace Ratsiraka (; 4 November 1936 – 28 March 2021) was a
Malagasy politician and
naval officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contextu ...
who was
President of Madagascar from 1975 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2002. At the time of his death, he was the longest-serving President of
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...
.
He was first appointed president in 1975 by the military leadership, he was then reelected twice in 1982 and 1989. While he lost to
Albert Zafy in 1992, Ratsiraka returned to office after winning the 1997 election. After the 2001 election, he and his opponent
Marc Ravalomanana
Marc Ravalomanana (; born 12 December 1949) is a Malagasy politician who was the President of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009. Born into a farming Merina family in Imerinkasinina, near the capital city of Antananarivo, Ravalomanana first rose to ...
engaged in a lengthy standoff after the latter refused to participate in a runoff election; Ratsiraka eventually stepped down.
Early life
Didier Ratsiraka was born in
Vatomandry
Vatomandry is a town in and the administrative center of the Vatomandry District, Atsinanana Region, Madagascar.(29 March 2006)MADAGASCAR: Maintaining the roads to prosperity '' IRIN'' An airport serves the city.
Etymology and location
Located o ...
,
Atsinanana
Atsinanana is a coastal region in eastern Madagascar. It borders Analanjirofo region in the north, Alaotra-Mangoro in the west, Vakinankaratra and Amoron'i Mania in the southwest, and Vatovavy and Fitovinany in south. The region contains over 285 ...
Region,
French Madagascar
The Colony of Madagascar and Dependencies (french: Colonie de Madagascar et dépendances) was a French colony off the coast of Southeast Africa between 1897 and 1958 in what is now Madagascar. The colony was formerly a protectorate of France ...
, on 4 November 1936.
His father, Albert Ratsiraka, was a member of the
Parti des déshérités de Madagascar
The Parti des déshérités de Madagascar (PADESM, "Party of the Disinherited of Madagascar") was a political party active in Madagascar from June 1946 into the First Republic (1960–1972). It was formed in reaction to the establishment and rapid ...
in the
Moramanga District and a Malagasy official in the French colonial administration.
[
Ratsiraka attended Lycée Henri-IV, a prestigious public ]secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
.[ He then graduated from ]École navale
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
, the French naval academy, as a naval officer with a bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...
in 1962.[ He returned to Madagascar, where he began his career as a naval ensign at the French naval and military base in ]Diego-Suarez
Antsiranana ( mg, Antsiran̈ana ), named Diego-Suárez prior to 1975, is a city in the far north of Madagascar. Antsiranana is the capital of Diana Region. It had an estimated population of 115,015 in 2013.
History
The bay and city originally u ...
.[
In 1964, Ratsiraka married Céline Velonjara in a ]Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
wedding ceremony. The couple had four children, namely Olga, Sophie, Annick and Xavier.[
]
Second Republic
Ratsiraka initially served as a military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...
at the Embassy of Madagascar in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, before being appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
with President Gabriel Ramanantsoa
Gabriel Ramanantsoa (13 April 1906 Antananarivo – 9 May 1979 Paris) was the President and Prime Minister of Madagascar from 1972 to 1975.
Ramanantsoa was a member of the Merina ethnic group, and came from a wealthy family. He graduated from Sai ...
's transitional government from 1972 until 1975.[ As foreign minister, Ratsiraka renegotiated the Franco-Malagasy cooperation agreements, which had originally been signed in 1960.][ He also oversaw Madagascar's departure from the ]CFA franc
The CFA franc (french: franc CFA, , Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, originally Franc of the French Colonies in Africa, or colloquially ; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight We ...
zone in 1972.[
Known as the "Red Admiral", he was made head of state, as President of the Supreme Revolutionary Council, by the military leadership on 15 June 1975.][Richard R. Marcus]
"POLITICAL CHANGE IN MADAGASCAR: POPULIST DEMOCRACY OR NEOPATRIMONIALISM BY ANOTHER NAME?"
, Institute for Security Studies, Occasional Paper 89, August 2004. He was also nicknamed "Deba", a Malagasy word which translates in English to "the Big Man". He began setting up a socialist system, guided by the Charter of the Malagasy Socialist Revolution
The Charter of the Malagasy Socialist Revolution (french: Charte de la Révolution Socialiste Malagasy) was the guiding document of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar, established by the "Red Admiral" Didier Ratsiraka, President of Madagascar a ...
, which was approved in a referendum held on 21 December 1975, establishing the Second Republic;["The Second Republic, 1975–92"]
U.S. Country Studies, Madagascar. Ratsiraka was also elected President for a seven-year term in this referendum, which received the backing of 95% of voters according to official results.[ The political party AREMA was founded in 1976 with Ratsiraka as its secretary-general; together with five other parties, AREMA formed the political alliance called the ]Vanguard of the Malagasy Revolution
The Malagasy Revolutionary Party, better known by its Malagasy acronym AREMA (from ), is a political party in Madagascar. It was the ruling party of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar, a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state, fr ...
(FNDR). All politicians were required to be members of FNDR; AREMA was the dominant party in election results.
In the midst of a poor economic situation, Ratsiraka abandoned socialist policies after a few years in power and implemented reforms recommended by the International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
. He was re-elected as President with 80% of the vote in 1982 and with 63% of the vote in 1989. The latter election was condemned as fraudulent by the opposition, which protested, and at least 75 people were killed in the resulting violence.[
Ratsiraka faced intense opposition to his rule in 1991. On 10 August 1991, tens of thousands people marched on the Presidential Palace,]["Deaths in Madagascar Unrest Put at 51"]
''The New York Times'', 13 August 1991. The government placed the death toll at 11, although other reports placed the toll higher.[ The incident severely undermined his already precarious position. On 31 October, he signed the Panorama Convention, which established a ]provisional government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...
and stripped him of most of his powers;[ although he remained President, opposition leader Albert Zafy became head of the newly established High Authority of the State.
]
1990s elections and second presidency
Ratsiraka ran in the multiparty November 1992 presidential election, placing second behind Zafy in the first round. In the second round, held in February 1993, Ratsiraka lost to Zafy, taking about one-third of the vote,[Elections in Madagascar]
African Elections Database. and left office on 27 March.[ Zafy was impeached by the National Assembly of Madagascar in 1996,][Gemma Pitcher and Patricia C. Wright, ''Madagascar and Comoros'' (2004), Lonely Planet, page 27.] and Ratsiraka, who had been in exile in France,[Philip M. Allen, "Impeachment as Parliamentary Coup d'Etat", in ''Checking Executive Power: Presidential Impeachment in Comparative Perspective'' (2003), ed. Jody C. Baumgartner, Naoko Kada, pages 91–92.] mounted a political comeback in late 1996 when he won that year's presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The p ...
, running as the candidate of the AREMA party. He came in first place in the first round with 36.6% of the vote,[ ahead of his three main opponents: Zafy, Herizo Razafimahaleo, and Prime Minister/Acting President ]Norbert Ratsirahonana
Norbert Lala Ratsirahonana (born November 18, 1938) is a Malagasy politician.
Life and career
He was born in Antsiranana, Diana Region He founded and led the '' Asa Vita no Ifampitsarana'' (Judged By Your Work) Party, which opposed President Di ...
.[ He narrowly defeated Zafy in the runoff with 50.7% of the vote][ and took office again on 9 February 1997.
Members of the opposition, including Zafy, unsuccessfully attempted to impeach Ratsiraka in February 1998, accusing him of violating the constitution through decentralizing reforms that would increase his own power at the expense of that of the ]National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
. The impeachment motion also accused him of perjury, nepotism, and failing to act as supreme arbiter of disputes, and it cited his ill-health. In the National Assembly vote on 4 February 60 deputies voted for the impeachment motion, well short of the required 92.[
On 15 March 1998, a constitutional referendum was held and approved by a narrow majority of voters; this resulted in a major increase in the president's powers, enabling him to dissolve the National Assembly and appoint the prime minister and government without the National Assembly's agreement. It also provided for decentralization, with the ]provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
gaining autonomy.[
]
2001 elections
Ratsiraka announced on 26 June 2001 that he would be a candidate for the presidential election to be held in December of that year.["Madagascar: Stumbling at the first hurdle?"]
, Institute for Security Studies, ISS Paper 68, April 2003. In the election, he took second place; according to the government, Marc Ravalomanana
Marc Ravalomanana (; born 12 December 1949) is a Malagasy politician who was the President of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009. Born into a farming Merina family in Imerinkasinina, near the capital city of Antananarivo, Ravalomanana first rose to ...
won first place with 46% of the vote, while Ratsiraka took 40%. Because, according to the official results, no candidate won a majority, a runoff was to take place, but due to disputes over the election it was never held. Ravalomanana claimed to have won over 50 percent of the vote, enough to win the presidency in a single round. Ravalomanana was sworn in as President by his supporters on 22 February 2002, and the two governments fought for control of the country. By the end of February 2002, Ravalomanana had control over the capital, which had always been his base, but Ratsiraka largely maintained control over the provinces and established himself at Toamasina
Toamasina (), meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and in French Tamatave, is the capital of the Atsinanana region on the east coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. The city is the chief seaport of the country, situated northeast of it ...
, his primary support base. However, within a few months Ravalomanana had gained the upper hand in a struggle. In mid-June Ratsiraka went to France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, leading many to believe he had fled into exile and lowering the morale of his supporters, although Ratsiraka said he would return.[ He did return to Madagascar after more than a week, but his position was continuing to weaken militarily.][ On 5 July, Ratsiraka fled Toamasina, taking a flight to the nearby ]Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...
. Two days later he arrived in France.
In exile
On 6 August 2003, Ratsiraka—who was accused of stealing nearly eight million dollars in public funds from the annex of the central bank in Toamasina in June 2002, just before going into exile—was sentenced to ten years of hard labor in Madagascar. Because he was living in France, he was tried ''in absentia''.["Madagascar: 10 Years' Hard Labor For Ex-President"]
''The New York Times'', 7 August 2003. The lawyer appointed for Ratsiraka by the court accepted the verdict and sentence as "fair" and said he would not appeal.[
On 4 August 2009, Ratsiraka met with President of the High Authority of Transition of Madagascar ]Andry Rajoelina
Andry Nirina Rajoelina (Malagasy: ; born 30 May 1974) is a Malagasy politician and businessman who has been the president of Madagascar since 2019. He was previously president of a provisional government from 2009 to 2014 following a politic ...
, as well as Ravalomanana (who had himself been ousted and forced into exile) and former president of the Malagasy Republic Albert Zafy, in crisis talks mediated by former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano
Joaquim Alberto Chissano (born 22 October 1939) is a politician who served as the second President of Mozambique, from 1986 to 2005. He is credited with transforming the war-torn country of Mozambique into one of the most successful African demo ...
and held in Maputo
Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,0 ...
. Ratsiraka's amnesty issue, related to the court sentence that prevented him from returning to Madagascar, was resolved at the talks.
Ratsiraka's nephew Roland Ratsiraka
Iarovana Roland Ratsiraka (born August 15, 1966) is a Malagasy politician.
In 1966 he was born in Antananarivo. Roland is the nephew of former President Didier Ratsiraka. He studied both in Madagascar and in France, before founding several com ...
is also a politician. He became the mayor of Toamasina
Toamasina (), meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and in French Tamatave, is the capital of the Atsinanana region on the east coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. The city is the chief seaport of the country, situated northeast of it ...
and ran unsuccessfully in the 2006 presidential election, placing third.["So far, so good in presidential election"](_blank)
IRIN, 4 December 2006.
Return from exile and death
Ratsiraka returned from exile on 24 November 2011, a move that was welcomed by the Rajoelina government as well as by former presidents (and former opponents) Ravalomanana and Zafy. Ratsiraka called for resolution of the political crisis through direct talks between all four political leaders, talks that should also involve other parties and civil society groups according to him.
Ratsiraka wrote a book with Cécile Lavrard-Meyer, a lecturer at Sciences Po
, motto_lang = fr
, mottoeng = Roots of the Future
, type = Public research university'' Grande école''
, established =
, founder = Émile Boutmy
, accreditation ...
in Paris, which was published by Éditions Karthala
Karthala is a French publishing house specializing in the history, sociology, religion, languages and geopolitics of developing countries.
Its headquarters is at 22-24 boulevard Arago in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, France.
Karthala was ...
in July 2015.
On 22 March 2021, Ratsiraka and his wife, Celine, were both admitted to the Soavinandriana Military Hospital (CENHOSOA) in Antananarivo
Antananarivo ( French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("Antananarivo-Mother Hill" or "A ...
, for treatment of a "small flu", according to their relatives.[ Ratsiraka had received a PCR ]diagnostic test
A medical test is a medical procedure performed to detect, diagnose, or monitor diseases, disease processes, susceptibility, or to determine a course of treatment. Medical tests such as, physical and visual exams, diagnostic imaging, genetic ...
for COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
, but the results were negative for coronavirus, according to relatives cited by ''Jeune Afrique
''Jeune Afrique'' (English: ''Young Africa'') is a French-language pan-African weekly news magazine, founded in 1960 in Tunis and subsequently published in Paris. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It is also a book publisher, under ...
''. Several days later, Ratsiraka died from cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possi ...
at CENHOSOA hospital in the early morning of 28 March 2021, at the age of 84.
Ratsiraka was buried in the Ambohitsaina Mausoleum (''Mausolée d'Ambohitsaina'') in Antananarivo on 29 March 2021. President Andry Rajoelina
Andry Nirina Rajoelina (Malagasy: ; born 30 May 1974) is a Malagasy politician and businessman who has been the president of Madagascar since 2019. He was previously president of a provisional government from 2009 to 2014 following a politic ...
also declared 29 March as a national day of mourning
A national day of mourning is a day or days marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of ...
.[
]
See also
*Elysé Ratsiraka Elysé Ratsiraka is a Malagasy politician and a medical practitioner.
He was the Minister of Energy in the government Vital after the 2009 Coup d'Etat. He is the Vice-President of the MAPAR party. He was the brother of former Malagasy Presiden ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratsiraka, Didier
1936 births
2021 deaths
Presidents of Madagascar
Foreign Ministers of Madagascar
Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar politicians
20th-century Malagasy people
21st-century Malagasy people
Betsimisaraka people
Exiled politicians
Leaders who took power by coup
École Navale alumni
Malagasy exiles
Malagasy expatriates in France
Malagasy military personnel
Malagasy Roman Catholics
Malagasy socialists
Military attachés
People from Atsinanana
Socialist rulers