Patrice Talon
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Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon (born 1 May 1958) is a
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 ...
ese 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 Ouidah (English: ; French: ) or Whydah (; ''Ouidah'', ''Juida'', and ''Juda'' by the French; ''Ajudá'' by the Portuguese; and ''Fida'' by the Dutch), and known locally as Glexwe, formerly the chief port of the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on t ...
. He descends from slave traders. His father was from Ouidah while his mother came from a Guédégbé family in
Abomey Agbome or Abomey is the capital of the Zou Department of Benin. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2012, had a population of 90,195 people. Abomey houses the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collection of small tr ...
. He obtained a baccalaureate 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 ...
. After obtaining a "C" grade in his bachelor's degree in science at the University of Dakar, he was transferred to the
École nationale de l'aviation civile École nationale de l'aviation civile (; "National School of Civil Aviation"; abbr. ENAC) is one of 205 colleges (as of September 2018) accredited to award engineering degrees in Education in France, France. ENAC is designated as a grande école ...
in Paris. With dreams of becoming a pilot, Talon failed a medical test and this dream became impossible. In 1983, Talon became involved in trading packaging and agricultural inputs. In 1985, he returned to Benin and established the Intercontinental Distribution Company ''(Société Distribution Intercontinentale''; ''SDI)'', which supplies agricultural inputs to cotton producers. In 1990, after recommendations by the World Bank to liberalize economies in West African countries, Benin was called upon to withdraw from the cotton production chain. Talon then won the chance to establish three cotton ginning factories in Benin. He was also known as the "King of Cotton" for his involvement in the cotton industry. He built his empire due to connections with the Beninese political class. Talon was one of President Thomas Boni Yayi's chief financial backers, financing his campaigns in the
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
and 2011 elections. His company, Benin Control, acquired two nationally owned enterprises, Sodeco in 2009 and PVI in 2011. In 2011, Talon received management of Cotonou's imports at the Port of Cotonou. In 2012, he fled to France after he was accused of embezzling more than 18 million euros in taxes. He fell out with Boni Yayi and was accused of involvement in a plot to kill him. He was pardoned in 2014. In 2015, ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' listed Talon as sub-Saharan Africa's 15th-richest person, with wealth valued at approximately US$400 million.


President

Talon ran as an independent candidate in the March 2016 presidential election. He finished second to Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou of the Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin in the first round of voting, but won the second round with 65% of the vote. Zinsou conceded on election night. On 25 March 2016, Talon said that he would "first and foremost tackle constitutional reform", discussing his plan to limit presidents to a single term of five years in order to combat "complacency". He also said that he planned to reduce the government from 28 to 16 members. Talon was sworn in on 6 April 2016. The composition of his government was announced later that day. There was no
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 ...
, and two defeated presidential candidates who had backed Talon in the second round, Pascal Koupaki and Abdoulaye Bio-Tchane, were appointed to key posts, Secretary-General of the Presidency and Minister of State for Planning and Development, respectively. Talon pledged to increase Benin's fortunes in five years and improve its relationship with France. Some of his policy goals are to reduce the power of the executive and limit presidents to single terms of five years. He appointed 22 ministers, four of which were women. On 4 April 2017, 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 ...
failed to pass a bill that would have led to a referendum on Talon's proposal to limit presidents to a single five-year term. 63 votes in the 83-member National Assembly were required for passage, and the bill received 60 votes. Talon said a few days later that he would not pursue the matter any further. He said he was saddened by the outcome of the vote but respected it because of his commitment to democracy. He declined to say whether he would stand for reelection in 2021, but eventually it became apparent that he would. Benin's democratic reputation has declined during Talon's presidency. Changes in the law mean that presidential candidates need the support of 16 members of parliament, and nearly all current MPs are members of parties that support Talon. It was predicted that Talon could be reelected unopposed. Ultimately, he was reelected with 86% of the vote. In 2018, Sébastien Ajavon, an opponent who came third in the 2016 presidential election, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for "drug trafficking" and "forgery and fraud". Several opposition figures were sentenced to heavy prison terms in December 2021. Former Minister of Justice Rekaya Madougou was sentenced to twenty years in prison for "terrorism", and the law professor Joël Aïvo to ten years for "money laundering" and "undermining state security". According to journalist and teacher Francis Kpatindé, Talon's policies have led to a decline in human rights and the right to strike. In March 2022, Patrice Talon was appointed the new president of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) at the end of a double ECOWAS-WAEMU summit. In July 2023, after the coup d'état in neighboring Niger and the ensuing Nigerien crisis, Talon expressed support for ousted president
Mohamed Bazoum Mohamed Bazoum (; born 1 January 1960) is a Nigerien politician who served as the 10th List of heads of state of Niger, president of Niger from 2021 to 2023. He assumed office in April 2021 after winning the 2020–21 Nigerien general election, ...
and condemned the coup. In September 2024 authorities announced the discovery of a coup plot against Talon, scheduled for 27 September and led by businessman and Talon ally Olivier Boko. Former sports minister Oswald Homéky and the commander of the Republican Guard were named as co-conspirators, leading to the arrest of Boko and Homéky. Both were convicted and sentenced in January 2025 to 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of 60 billion CFA francs ($95 million). On 23 January 2025, Talon announced that he would not seek a third presidential term. On March 14, 2025, Patrice Talon reaffirmed that he would not run in the 2026 presidential election.


Personal life

Talon is married to Claudine Gbènagnon from
Porto-Novo , , ; ; ; also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Benin, second-largest city of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. In 1863, following Bri ...
and has two children.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talon, Patrice 1958 births Beninese businesspeople Cheikh Anta Diop University alumni Fon people Living people Beninese Roman Catholics People from Ouidah Presidents of Benin 21st-century Beninese politicians