Hélène Aholou Keke is a lawyer and politician in

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

Biography

She specialised in

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

for the first time in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. She would later become the first female to serve as the President of the Benin Bar Association. She was called to the bar of

Cotonou Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...

in 2008. For more than 20 years she worked as a lawyer for the Beninese government. Keke has served as a member of the

National Assembly of Benin The unicameral National Assembly () is Benin's legislative body. The National Assembly in Porto-Novo as it exists today was formed in 1990. The current National Assembly has 109 members, who are directly elected through a system of party-list pr ...

in its fifth (2007–11) and sixth (2011–2015) legislatures. She was president of the Assembly's Commission of Laws and Human Rights in December 2012 when the death penalty was abolished. Keke resigned from the governing

Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin The Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin (, 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 of 83 seats. The party expanded its plurality t ...

party in 2015. She raised electoral irregularities with the press and the authorities in February 2016 ahead of the

2016 Beninese presidential election Presidential elections were held in Benin on 6 March 2016, having been delayed by one week due to logistical constraints. Incumbent president Thomas Boni Yayi was at the end of his second presidential term and was constitutionally barred from ru ...

, including the registering of 51 more polling stations than were authorised by law. In May 2016 she was appointed as one of 30 members of the National Commission for Political and Institutional Reform by new, independent President

Patrice Talon Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon (born 1 May 1958) is a Beninese politician and businessman who has been president of Benin since 6 April 2016. Early life and career Talon is of Fon origin and was born in Ouidah. He descends from slave tra ...

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keke, Helene Aholou Living people Beninese lawyers 21st-century Beninese women politicians 21st-century Beninese politicians 21st-century women lawyers Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the National Assembly (Benin) Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin politicians