Lionel Zinsou (born 23 October 1953) is a French–

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

ese economist and investment banker who was Prime Minister of Benin from 2015 to 2016. Since June 2017, he has been the president of Terra Nova, a centre-left French think tank.

Early life and education

Zinsou's father was born in Benin, then known as Dahomey. Zinsou himself, who was born in Paris, is a nephew of Émile Derlin Zinsou, who was President of

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...

from 1968 to 1969.Edmond D'Almeida
"Bénin : cinq choses à savoir sur Lionel Zinsou, le nouveau Premier ministre"
''Jeune Afrique'', 19 June 2015 . Zinsou is a graduate of the ''

École Normale Supérieure 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, S ...

'' and the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...

Career

Zinsou developed a close association with the French Socialist politician Laurent Fabius and worked under Fabius in the mid-1980s while the latter was in government. Zinsou was a partner in bankers Rothschilds before joining the investment fund PAI Partners in 2008. He was also Special Adviser to the President of Benin,

Yayi Boni Yayi may refer to * China-Taiwan Yayi Cup, a Go competition *Thomas Boni Yayi Thomas Boni Yayi (born 1 July 1951) is a Beninese banker and politician who was President of Benin from 2006 to 2016. He took office after winning the March 2006 pres ...

, from 2006 to 2011. In 2013, his Zinsou Foundation opened in

Ouidah Ouidah () or Whydah (; ''Ouidah'', ''Juida'', and ''Juda'' by the French; ''Ajudá'' by the Portuguese; and ''Fida'' by the Dutch) and known locally as Glexwe, formerly the chief port of the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on the coast of the Repub ...

, Benin, the first museum of contemporary art in sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa. On 18 June 2015, President Yayi Boni appointed Zinsou as Prime Minister of Benin, along with a 27-member government, and assigned him responsibility for economic development. The post of Prime Minister does not exist in the 1990 constitution, and for most of Yayi Boni's presidency—and most of the period since the constitution came into effect—no one held the post. Zinsou's appointment came less than 10 months before the end of the President's second term, and as the latter is barred from seeking re-election, some viewed the appointment as possibly being a signal that Zinsou was his chosen successor. Zinsou announced on 1 December 2015 that he would stand as the candidate of the

Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin The Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin (french: Forces Cauris pour un Bénin émergent, FCBE) is a political party of Benin, formed by supporters of president Yayi Boni. In the parliamentary election held on 31 March 2007, the party won 35 out ...

in the 2016 presidential election. He said that he would focus on financing agriculture and helping informal workers obtain formal employment. During a visit to

Djougou Djougou is the largest city in northwestern Benin. It is an important market town. The commune covers an area of 3,966 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 181,895 people. Djougou is home to a constituent monarchy. General info ...

in northwestern Benin, Zinsou's helicopter crashed at a stadium on 27 December 2015. He was not harmed. In June 2017, Zinsou was appointed as the president of Terra Nova, a centre-left French think tanks.

Other activities

Danone Danone S.A. () is a French multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. Some of the company's products are ...

, Member of the Board of DirectorsBoard of Directors

. *

Atos Atos is a European multinational information technology (IT) service and consulting company headquartered in Bezons, France and offices worldwide. It specialises in hi-tech transactional services, unified communications, cloud, big data and ...

, Member of the Board of Directors (2010-2014) *

Chr. Hansen Chr. Hansen A/S is a bioscience company based in Hørsholm, Denmark. The company is a supplier of bacteria cultures, probiotics, enzymes and human milk oligosaccharides. Its products are used in the production of fresh dairy, cheese, meat, seafoo ...

, Member of the Board of Directors (2009-2011) * Kaufman & Broad S.A., Member of the Board of Directors (2009-2015)

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Zinsou, Lionel 1953 births Alumni of the London School of Economics Beninese bankers École Normale Supérieure alumni French bankers French economists French people of Beninese descent Living people Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni Politicians from Paris Prime Ministers of Benin Candidates for President of Benin