Zacharie Séry Bailly, or Séry Bailly, (13 March 1948 – 2 December 2018) was an Ivorian academic, politician and short-story writer, born in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

. Chairperson of Harris Memel-Fotê-Jean Jaurès Fondation in Abidjan, he was also vice-chairman of the Academy of sciences, arts, and cultures of Africa and the African diaspora (ASCAD).

Biography

Born in Abidjan, on March 13, 1948, Bailly after his secondary and higher education embraces an academic career. He entered Abidjan-Cocody where he teaches English. He became Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Civilizations of the University of Cocody. In 1993, he became a member of the

Ivorian Popular Front The Ivorian Popular Front (; abbr. FPI) is a centre-left, democratic socialist and social democratic political party in Ivory Coast. History FPI was founded in exile in 1982 by history professor Laurent Gbagbo, Aboudramane Sangaré, and oth ...

(FPI) and joined the Government on 4 January 2000 as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and was elected on Dec. 10, 2000 ,as representative for the riding of

Daloa Daloa is a city in western Ivory Coast. It is the seat of both the Sassandra-Marahoué District and the Haut-Sassandra Region. It is also the seat of and a sub-prefecture of Daloa Department. Daloa is also a commune. In the 2014 census, the ci ...

in the FPI banner. It will be reappointed as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and will keep the same position in successive governments before being appointed on 5 August 2002, the Minister of Communication. Zacharie Séry Bailly leaves the Government on March 13, 2003, by giving the chair to

Guillaume Soro Guillaume Kigbafori Soro (born 8 May 1972) is an Ivorian politician who was the Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire from April 2007 to March 2012. Prior to his service as Prime Minister, Soro led the Patriotic Movement of Côte d'Ivoire, and later ...

. He was a figure of the Ivorian left and has been revealed to the Ivorian public by his columnist activities. His "Chroniques de notre temps", published each Wednesday at the latest coverage of the Ivorian weekly newspaper "Notre Temps" (1991-1994), helps build his image of an intellectual. He depicts the Ivorian society sores with a writing style too poetic and sarcastic. He was the author of two essays Hommage à Tiagouri Tapé "Vraiment" and Deux Guerres de transition : Guerres américaine et Guerre ivoirienne. He produced also numerous scientific publications in the field of art and civilization. The general public discovered Séry Bailly in the early 90s but he was already known in the 70s as belonging to the protesters circles which should generate the Ivorian left. In 1971, while a student, he was arrested following a protest on campus and forcibly taken to military service. Deported from March 1971 to January 1973 in

Séguéla Séguéla is a town in western Ivory Coast. It is the seat of both the Woroba District and the Worodougou Region. It is also a commune and the seat of and a sub-prefecture of Séguéla Department Séguéla Department is a Departments of Ivory C ...

-more than 500 kilometers from Abidjan- He will have

Laurent Gbagbo Koudou Laurent Gbagbo
, FPI website . ( G ...

as a prison life companion. Freed, he resumed studies he completed a doctoral thesis in the Department of English. Sery Bailly integrated the National University of Côte d'Ivoire, as assistant. Having risen through the ranks of the function, he was appointed dean of the languages and civilizations faculty of the University of Cocody until 2001. Bailly was an influential member of SYNARES, a major teachers union where he defends the interests of his corporation. As a politician, Sery Bailly had a reputation as a man of moderate views. This attitude raised the anger of some Ivorian patriots at the outbreak of the political and military crisis in Côte d'Ivoire on 19 September 2002. Minister of Communications at the time, Bailly wiped the recriminations of his political party. Faced with the frightening machine opponents of official discourse, a segment of the population considers insufficient his actions at the head of the Ministry of Communications. Artistically, Sery Bailly proved very critical of the

Zouglou Zouglou ( , ) is a dance oriented style of music originated from Ivory Coast during the mid-1990s. It started with students from a college of Gagnoa drawing on elements of other styles of music. Zouglou recounts the various social realities e ...

, he considered it "music of the low self-esteem".

Notable work

* 1976 : ''Le désenchantement dans les romans des écrivains africains anglophones de la deuxième génération (A. K. Armah, K. Awoonor, W.T. Ngugi, W. Soyinka)'' (Université de Paris III) * 1999 : ''Hommage à Tiagouri Tapé "Vraiment"'' (PUCI) * 2003 : ''Deux guerres de transition : guerres civiles américaine et ivoirienne'' (EDUCI) * 2005 : ''Ne pas perdre le nord'' (EDUCI) * 2005 : ''Réflexion sur la crise ivoirienne : vivre en paix dans un Etat-nation souverain'' (L'Harmattan) * 2009 : ''Ecrits pour la démocratie : la roue tourne'' (Editions du CERAP) * 2009 : ''Regards culturels : que tombe la pluie diluvienne !'' (PUCI) * 2010 : ''Des paroles de Côte-d'Ivoire pour Haïti, notre devoir de solidarité'' (Ceda/Nei), Collectif.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailly, Sery 1948 births 2018 deaths Government ministers of Ivory Coast Ivorian writers People from Abidjan Ivorian Popular Front politicians Academic staff of Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny People from Daloa Ivorian male writers