Domitien Ndayizeye (born 2 May 1953) is a

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

an politician who was

President of Burundi The president of Burundi, officially the President of the Republic (French language, French: ''Président de la République''), is the head of state and head of government of the Burundi, Republic of Burundi. The president is also commander-in-c ...

from 2003 to 2005. He succeeded Pierre Buyoya, as president on 30 April 2003, after serving as Buyoya's vice president for 18 months. Ndayizeye remained in office until succeeded by

Pierre Nkurunziza Pierre Nkurunziza (18 December 1964 – 8 June 2020) was a Burundian politician who served as the ninth president of Burundi for almost 15 years from August 2005 until his death in June 2020. A member of the Hutu, Hutu ethnic group, Nkurunziza ...

on 26 August 2005. Ndayizeye currently serves as head of the National Gathering for Change (''Rassemblement National pour le Changement'', RANAC). In 1994 he was appointed director of the National Intelligence Service by President Cyprien Ntaryamira. In 2004, Ndayizeye proposed a draft constitution to the parliament prior to it being put to the electorate in referendum later in the year. Relations with the Tutsi group were strained, reflected in their boycotting of the legislative session due to consider the proposal. Due to a lack of preparation, the ballot was postponed to late November 2004. Burundi is still trying to emerge from a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

that began in 1993 when several groups drawn from the large Hutu majority took up arms against a government and army then dominated by a Tutsi elite. The interim government pledged to more equitably share power between the two main ethnic groups. On 21 August 2006, Ndayizeye was arrested in

Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's political capital. In la ...

in relation to his alleged role in a coup plot earlier in the year. The

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

lifted his immunity as Senator prior to his arrest. He denied the charges against him in court on December 19 and said that he had "never dreamed of organising a coup, in fact I had given up politics to do business and be with my family". On January 15, 2007, he was acquitted along with former vice president Alphonse-Marie Kadege and three other defendants; two others were sentenced to long prison terms. During 2010 general elections, as his party representative, he ran for the presidential seat but decided to withdraw from the race together with all opposition parties, after they accused the ruling party of rigging previous councilors' elections.Patrick Nduwimana
"Ndayizeye acquitted of coup plot in Burundi"
Reuters (''IOL''), January 16, 2007. After opposition politician Zedi Feruzi was killed during the 2015 Burundian unrest Ndayizeye and other opposition parties broke off talks with the government of President

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ndayizeye, Domitien 1953 births Living people People from Kayanza Province Hutu people Front for Democracy in Burundi politicians Presidents of Burundi Burundian life senators Vice-presidents of Burundi