Hippolite Rarison Ramaroson (born 28 September 1951) is a Malagasy vice admiral and politician. During the

2009 Malagasy political crisis The 2009 Malagasy political crisis began on 26 January 2009 with the political opposition movement led by Antananarivo mayor Andry Rajoelina, which sought to oust President Marc Ravalomanana from the presidency. The crisis reached its climax in ...

and after President

Marc Ravalomanana Marc Ravalomanana (; born 12 December 1949) is a Malagasy politician who served as the sixth List of presidents of Madagascar, president of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009. Born into a farming Merina people, Merina family in Imerinkasinina, near th ...

stepped down, he became acting

president of Madagascar This is a list of presidents of Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Af ...

for several hours on 17 March 2009, before transferring power to

Andry Rajoelina Andry Nirina Rajoelina (, ; born 30 May 1974) is a Malagasy-French politician and businessman who has served as president of Madagascar since 2019. He was previously president of a provisional government from 2009 to 2014 following a politica ...

. He went on to serve as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

and one of three Vice Prime Ministers in the

High Transitional Authority The High Transitional Authority ( Malagasy: ''Fitondrana Avon'ny Tetezamita'' (FAT); or HAT) was a provisional executive body that came to power in Madagascar following the coup that forced Marc Ravalomanana to leave the country on March 17, 200 ...

from 2010 to 2011.

Early life

Ramaroson was born on 28 September 1951 in Tananarive (Antananarivo), then the capital of

French Madagascar The Colony of Madagascar and Dependencies () 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 known as Malagasy Protectorate. The protecto ...

Career

Ramaroson joined the Madagascar Armed Forces, enlisting in the Aeronaval Force, which includes both Madagascar's navy and air force. He rose to the rank of

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

President of Madagascar

On 17 March 2009, after months of intense protests, President

resigned. He left a signed note in which he assigned power to Ramaroson as president of the new "military directorate." As a result, Ramaroson was

President of Madagascar This is a list of presidents of Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Af ...

for a few hours on that day. The military leadership called Ravalomanana's action a "ploy" and supported opposition leader

. In a ceremony broadcast from a military camp in Antananarivo, Ramaroson and two generals announced that they were ending the military directorate and installing Rajoeline in power. He said in the video, "We have categorically rejected the ilitaryauthority that Ravalomanana asked us to set up after his resignation."

Later career

On 24 February 2010, Ramaroson was appointed Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs by President Rajoelina. He took possession of his offices the next morning, 25 February. He succeeded

Ny Hasina Andriamanjato Ny Hasina Andriamanjato is a Malagasy politician who served in the government of Madagascar as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2010. Life and career The son of Pastor Richard Andriamanjato and Bao Andriamanjato,

, who resigned earlier that month because he was "convince there would be no international recognition of Rajoelina unless he formed a unity government before elections. He became foreign minister at a time when foreign nations were concerned with the new administration's legitimacy and commitment to democracy, and the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

's threat of sanctions should a power-sharing agreement not be in force by mid-March. Ramaroson told

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

on the day of his appointment, "My principal mission is to explain to the international community what really happened in Madagascar. I will also talk to our ambassadors so they work for the country." The ''

Madagascar Tribune The ''Madagascar Tribune'' is a daily newspaper published in Antananarivo, Madagascar. It is primarily in French, with several articles in Malagasy. The Madagascar-tribune.com is an independent online newspaper, published by the Society Malagas ...

'' noted that Ramaroson caused some embarrassment for the president when he announced his appointment as deputy prime minister and foreign minister to the press before the High Transitional Authority had even done so. In addition, the ''Tribune'' speculated that Ramaroson's status as a vice admiral in the armed forces could be a source of embarrassment, given that he, as Deputy Prime Minister, outranked

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Albert Camille Vital Brigadier General Albert Camille Vital (born 18 July 1952 in Toliara) is a Malagasy Army officer, politician and civil engineer who was Prime Minister of Madagascar from 2009 to 2011 after the 2009 Coup d'Etat. He is the president of the Parti ...

, a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

. At the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

in 2010, Madagascar was the only country not to make an address. The reason cited were the events of the 2009 General Assembly, in which a majority of African countries voted to prevent President Rajoelina from speaking. Ramaroson explained to Reuters, "We didn't want a repeat of that... It's not worth squabbling in this General Assembly. That's why we decided not to speak... No one told us to pull out." Ramaroson stepped down as Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in March 2011.

Personal life

Ramaroson is married to Joelle Jacky Rajao. They have three children, Hary, Tantely, and Geraldine.

References