Gabriel Ramanantsoa (13 April 1906 – 9 May 1979) was a Malagasy politician who served as the second

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and eighth prime minister of Madagascar from 1972 to 1975. Ramanantsoa was a member of the

Merina The Merina people (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina, Borizany or Ambaniandro) formerly called Amboalambo are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar.

ethnic group, and came from a wealthy family. He graduated from Saint-Cyr in 1931. He was a career officer in the French army. After Madagascar became independent, he joined the Madagascar military, rising to the rank of Major General. In May 1972, amidst massive political protests, he became prime minister of the country with tacit French backing, and President

Philibert Tsiranana Philibert Tsiranana (18 October 1912 – 16 April 1978) was a Malagasy politician and leader who served as the seventh prime minister of Madagascar from 1958 to 1959, and then later the first president of Madagascar from 1959 to 1972. Duri ...

vested him with full executive powers. Tsiranana resigned altogether on 11 October 1972 following a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

that approved a five-year transition period under military leadership, and Ramanantsoa became president as well. He tried to start political reconciliation. His popularity faded due to rumors of corruption involving him and his wife, and government was nearly overthrown in December 1974 by an anti-Merina coup led by Bréchard Rajaonarison. He lost the backing of Richard Ratsimandrava and

Didier Ratsiraka Didier Ignace Ratsiraka (; 4 November 1936 – 28 March 2021) was a Malagasy politician and naval officer who was the third president of Madagascar from 1975 to 1993 and the fifth from 1997 to 2002. At the time of his death, he was the longest ...

, and on 5 February 1975, he was forced to resign amidst ethnic and social class tensions. 4 years later, he died in Paris, France on 9 May 1979. His nephew, Bernard Ramanantsoa, served as dean of the French business school

HEC Paris HEC Paris () is a business school and ''grande école'' located in Jouy-en-Josas, a southwestern outer suburb of Paris, France. It offers Bachelor, MiM, MSc in International Finance, MBA, EMBA, executive education, professional developm ...

from 1996 to 2015.

References

1906 births 1978 deaths Presidents of Madagascar People from Antananarivo Merina people Prime ministers of Madagascar Academic staff of HEC Paris {{Madagascar-politician-stub