Jean‐Marie Ngendahayo (born 1956) is a Burundian politician.

Early life and education

Jean‐Marie Ngendahayo was born in 1956 in Cibitoke Province,

Ruanda-Urundi Ruanda-Urundi (), later Rwanda-Burundi, was a geopolitical entity, once part of German East Africa, that was occupied by troops from the Belgian Congo during the East African campaign in World War I and was administered by Belgium under milit ...

. Ethnically, he is

Ganwa Ganwa is the name for the princely group that traditionally ruled Burundi. They formed a distinct social class that was neither Hutu nor Tutsi The Tutsi ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great ...

, though this category has been subsumed into the

Tutsi The Tutsi ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi ( ...

ethnic group. He attended primary school from 1961 to 1969 and thereafter attended the Holy Spirit Lycée until 1976. That year he enrolled at the University of Burundi, and he graduated from the institution in 1981 with a degree in Roman philology. He later married, having two daughters from his first marriage and a son from his second marriage. Ngendahayo initially worked as a teacher, but eventually took up a position with the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

. He then worked for the

United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to childre ...

's Burundi office and the

United Nations Population Fund The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a United Nations System, UN agency aimed at improving reproductive health, reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies and protocols, incr ...

Political career

In the early 1990s Burundi underwent a democratic transition and returned to multi-party politics. In February 1991 Ngendahayo became one of the twelve founding members of the Iteka League, a

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

association. He joined

Melchior Ndadaye Melchior Ndadaye (28 March 1953 – 21 October 1993) was a Burundian banker and politician who became the first democratically elected and first Hutu president of Burundi after winning the landmark 1993 Burundian presidential election, 1993 electi ...

's political party, the

Front for Democracy in Burundi The Front for Democracy in Burundi (, FRODEBU) is a democratic socialist political party in Burundi. History It was formed by followers of Melchior Ndadaye from the disbanded Burundi Workers' Party in 1986. FRODEBU was legalized as a politic ...

(FRODEBU). In Burundi's

legislative elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

held in June 1993, Ngendahayo was elected to a seat in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

representing Cibitoke. He became Minister of Communications in Prime Minister

Sylvie Kinigi Sylvie Kinigi ( Ntigashira; born 24 November 1953) is a Burundian politician and economist who served as prime minister of Burundi from 10 July 1993 to 7 February 1994, and acting president from November 1993 to 5 February 1994, making her the ...

's government on 10 July. In this capacity he suspended a newspaper's publication for attacking the president, but the Commission on Press Freedom overturned his decision. Later in 1993 Ngendahayo was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. In June 1995 he and United States Ambassador

Bob Krueger Robert Charles Krueger (September 19, 1935 – April 30, 2022) was an American diplomat, politician, and U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Texas, a U.S. Ambassador, and a member of the Democratic Party. , he is the last Democrat to ...

were ambushed by rebels while traveling in a convoy in the countryside. The two escaped and were flown by helicopter back to the capital. He resigned from his post on 25 June and fled to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, South Africa, saying that the government was unable to provide for the safety of Burundian citizens. He came back to Burundi in 2002. In the

2005 Burundian legislative election Parliamentary elections were held in Burundi on 4 July 2005. The result was a victory for the National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD–FDD), which won 64 of the 118 seats in the National Assembl ...

Ngendahayo won a seat in the National Assembly on a

National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy The National Council for the Defense of DemocracyForces for the Defense of Democracy (, CNDD–FDD) is the major political party in Burundi. During the Burundian Civil War, the CNDD–FDD was the most significant rebel group active and became a m ...

(CNDD-FDD) ticket. He subsequently rose to become chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs. In May he was appointed Minister of Interior. In September 2007 he left the CNDD-FDD, citing his unhappiness with the government's actions, particularly concerning human rights.

Later life

In 2008 Ngendahayo went into exile in the United States. He returned to Burundi two years later and began writing and teaching.

References

Works cited

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ngendahayo, Jean-Marie 1956 births People from Cibitoke Province Ganwa people Foreign ministers of Burundi Living people Front for Democracy in Burundi politicians National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy politicians University of Burundi alumni