Field Marshal Rainiharo (died on 18 October 1852 in Rabodomiarana) was from 1833 to 1852 prime minister of the
Kingdom of Imerina in the central highlands of
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
.
Biography
Rainiharo was born as ''Ravoninahitriniarivo'' into the Hova (freeman) class of the
Merina
The Merina people (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina, or Hova) are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar.[Merina ...]
people in the central highlands of Madagascar. His father, Andriantsilavonandriana, served as an adviser to the king
Andrianampoinimerina. After distinguishing himself as a military officer in a series of campaigns of pacification in the southeastern part of the island, he was chosen as a spouse by
Queen Ranavalona I following the death of her first husband in 1833, and was thereupon promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the military and
Prime Minister of Madagascar.
[Madagascar prime ministers]
rulers.org, accessed 15 August 2008 He retained these roles until his death in 1853,
accessed 15 August 2008 when he was interred in a distinctive tomb constructed in central
Antananarivo
Antananarivo ( French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("Antananarivo-Mother Hill" or "An ...
by Frenchman
Jean Laborde. This tomb would later hold the bodies of Rainiharo's two sons,
Rainivoninahitriniony and
Rainilaiarivony, who would each succeed him as Commander-in-Chief, Prime Minister and consort.
[
He was buried in Fasan-dRainiharo, Isoraka.
]
Literary
Rainiharo is mentioned in ''The Fugitives'' by R. M. Ballantyne.The Fugitives
, R.M.Ballantyne, athelstane.co.uk
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rainiharo
Year of birth missing
1852 deaths
Prime Ministers of Madagascar
Merina people