Nazi Boni (December 31, 1909, in
Bwan,
Upper Senegal and Niger – May 16, 1969, in
Kokologho,
Upper Volta) was a politician from Upper Volta (now
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...
). In
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
Boni was elected to the
French National Assembly
The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...
on behalf of the
Voltaic Union (UV), and was re-elected in
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...
running on the Economic and Social Action in the Interests of Upper Volta list, although he remained a UV member. In 1955 Boni founded the
African Popular Movement (MPA) after a split from the UV.
[Englebert, Pierre. ''La Revolution Burkinabè''. Paris: L'Harmattan, 1986.] In January 1957, Boni's MPA took part in the founding of the
African Convention, a pan-African party that later merged into the
African Regroupment Party.
From December 1957 to February 1958 Boni served as President of the Territorial Assembly.
[Official website of the National Assembly of Burkina Faso] In 1959 he founded a new party, the
Republican Party for Liberty, in opposition to the attempts to make Upper Volta a
one-party state
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...
under the
Voltaic Democratic Union. Boni was forced into exile in
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
,
Senegal
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
.
In 1962, Boni wrote a novel, ''Le Crépuscule des temps anciens'' (''The Twilight of the Bygone Days''), which explored the precolonial existence of the
Bwa people and the
Volta-Bani War.
[
]
References
page on the French National Assembly website
1909 births
1969 deaths
People from Boucle du Mouhoun Region
People of French West Africa
Burkinabe politicians
Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic
Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic
Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic
Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic
Burkinabe novelists
Burkinabe expatriates in Senegal
20th-century novelists
20th-century Burkinabe people
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