Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
Richard Ratsimandrava (March 21, 1931
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 ...
– February 11, 1975 Antananarivo) was
President of Madagascar for six days in February 1975 before his assassination in office.
Biography
Military career
He was born in 1931 and was a
Merina
The Merina people (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina, or Hova) are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar.[Merina ...]
from a Merina family. A graduate of the
French Saint Cyr military college, Ratsimandrava served throughout French Africa before returning to Madagascar when that country gained independence in 1960. He joined the army, attaining the rank of lieutenant-colonel by 1968. In 1972 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 ...
established a military government to replace the independence government of
Philibert Tsiranana
Philibert Tsiranana (18 October 1912 – 16 April 1978) was a Malagasy politician and leader, who served as the first President of Madagascar from 1959 to 1972.
During the twelve years of his administration, the Republic of Madagascar expe ...
, and Ratsimandrava was appointed
Minister of the Interior
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
. Several senior officers were able to manipulate the army, which led to the ousting of Ramanantsoa on February 5, 1975.
Death
Six days following his taking office, Ratsimandrava was assassinated at 8 p.m. while driving from the presidential palace to his home. His death was announced by the new ruling military committee. It claimed that the President had been killed by members of the Republican Security Forces (Groupe Mobile de Police-GMP), a counterinsurgency outfit dissolved by his predecessor. The event nearly plunged the country into civil war between supporters of the military government and former President Tsiranana. In 2006, on the 31st anniversary of colonel's murder, a conference was held in Madagascar.
MAD on line
, Conference called on the tragedy of Ratsimandrava, 17 March 2006, accessed 9 March 2009
Further reading
''L'assassinat du president Ratsimandrava'', Le Journal La Croix (1975)
on assassination of Ratsimandrava
References
External links
Biography
- in Malagasy.
- Photo
of Ratsimandrava.
1931 births
1975 deaths
People from Antananarivo
Merina people
Malagasy military personnel
Assassinated Malagasy politicians
Assassinated heads of state
People murdered in Madagascar
Interior ministers of Madagascar
{{Madagascar-politician-stub
20th-century Malagasy people
1975 murders in Africa
1975 crimes in Madagascar