ALASSANE OUATTARA

'Alassane Dramane Ouattara' (born 1 January 1942 in Dimbokro) is a Muslim political leader in Côte d'Ivoire who was Prime Minister from November 1990 to December 1993.Profile at IMF website, July 26, 2005.CV at Ouattara's website . He is currently the President of the Rally of the Republicans (RDR), a party which has its support base in the north of the country. Besides being a politician he is also a technocrat, trained as an economist and having worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO).

Contents

Service with financial institutions

Prime Minister

1995 election

President of the RDR

References

Service with financial institutions

Ouattara was an economist for the IMF in Washington, D.C. from 1968 to 1973, and afterwards he was the BCEAO's ''Chargé de Mission'' in Paris from 1973 to 1975. With the BCEAO, he was then Special Advisor to the Governor and Director of Research from February 1975 to December 1982 and Vice Governor from January 1983 to October 1984. From November 1984 to October 1988 he was Director of the African Department at the IMF, and in May 1987 he additionally became Counsellor to the Managing Director at the IMF. On October 28 1988 he was appointed Governor of the BCEAO, and he was sworn in to this office on December 22 1988."Basic texts and milestones", bceao.int.

Prime Minister

In April 1990, Ouattara was appointed Chairman of the Interministerial Committee for Coordination of the Stabilization and Economic Recovery Programme of Côte d'Ivoire by President Felix Houphouët-Boigny, while remaining BCEAO Governor, before becoming Prime Minister on November 7 of that year, after which Charles Konan Banny became Interim BCEAO Governor.
While serving as Prime Minister, Ouattara also carried out presidential duties for a total of 18 months, including the period from March 1993 to December 1993, when Houphouët-Boigny was ill.^[1] Houphouët-Boigny died on December 7 1993, and Ouattara announced his death to the nation, saying that "Côte d'Ivoire is orphaned".^[2][3] A brief power struggle ensued between Ouattara and National Assembly President Henri Konan Bédié over the presidential succession; Bédié prevailed and Ouattara resigned as Prime Minister on December 9."Prime minister decides to quit", Associated Press (''San Antonio Express-News''), December 10, 1993. Ouattara returned to the IMF as Deputy Managing Director from July 1 1994 to July 31 1999.

1995 election

Prior to the October 1995 presidential election, in a move that was viewed as being intended to prevent Ouattara's potential presidential candidacy, the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire approved an electoral code which barred candidates if either of their parents were of a foreign nationality and if they had not lived in Côte d'Ivoire for the preceding five years. The Rally of the Republicans (RDR), an opposition party formed as a split from the ruling Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI) in 1994, sought for Ouattara to be its presidential candidate despite the electoral code. In late June 1995, RDR Secretary-General Djéni Kobina met with Ouattara, at which time, according to Kobina, Ouattara said "I'm ready to join you".Robert J. Mundt, "Côte d'Ivoire: Continuity and Change in a Semi-Democracy", Political Reform in Francophone Africa (1997), ed. Clark and Gardinier, pages 194–197. The party nominated Ouattara as its presidential candidate on July 3 1995^[4] at its first ordinary congress.^[5] The government would not change the electoral code, however, and Ouattara declined the nomination.^[6][7] The RDR boycotted the election, along with the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) of Laurent Gbagbo, leaving the PDCI's candidate, incumbent president Henri Konan Bédié, to win an easy victory.

President of the RDR

While serving as Deputy Managing Director at the IMF, in March 1998 Ouattara expressed his intention to return to Côte d'Ivoire and take part in politics again.^[8] After leaving the IMF in July 1999, he was elected President of the RDR on August 1 1999 at an extraordinary congress of the party,Biography at Ouattara's website . as well as being chosen as its candidate for the next presidential election.^[9] He said that he was eligible to stand in the election, pointing to documents which he said demonstrated that he and his parents were of Ivorian birth. He was accused of forging these papers, however, and an investigation was begun.^[10][11] President Bédié described Ouattara as a Burkinabe and said that Houphouët-Boigny "wanted Alassane Ouattara to concern himself only with the economy".^[12] Ouattara's nationality certificate, issued in late September 1999,"Cote d'Ivoire: Court annuls presidential candidate's nationality certificate", AFP, October 27, 1999. was annulled by a court on October 27.^[13] An arrest warrant for Ouattara was issued on November 29, although he was out of the country at the time; he nevertheless said that he would return by late December.^[14] On December 24, the military seized power, ousting Bédié. Ouattara returned to Côte d'Ivoire after three months in France on December 29, hailing Bédié's ouster as "not a coup d'etat", but "a revolution supported by all the Ivorian people".^[15][16]
A new constitution, approved by referendum in July 2000, controversially barred presidential candidates unless both of their parents were Ivorian,^[17] and Ouattara was disqualified from the 2000 presidential election.^[18] This issues surrounding this were major factors in the Civil war in Côte d'Ivoire, which broke out in 2002.
When asked in an interview about Ouattara's nationality, Burkinabé President Capt. Blaise Compaoré responded, "For us things are simple: he does not come from Burkina Faso, neither by birth, marriage, or naturalization. This man has been Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire."
President Gbagbo said on August 6 2007 that Ouattara could stand in the next Ivorian presidential election, expected in late 2007 or early 2008.^[19]

References

1. "Houphouët-Boigny et ADO: du comité interministériel à la Primature", ado.ci .
2. "Décès du Président Félix Houphouët-Boigny", ado.ci .
3. "African Leader Dies", Newsday, December 8, 1993.
4. "Jul 1995 - Selection of Ouattara as RDR presidential candidate", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 41, July, 1995 Cote d'Ivoire, Page 40630.
5. Coulibaly Brahima, "Côte d'Ivoire: Organisation du 2ème congrès ordinaire du Rdr, des cadres manoeuvrent pour le report", ''Nord-Sud'' (allAfrica.com), July 27, 2007 .
6. "ADO est élu Président du RDR, le 1er Août 1999", ado.ci .
7. "Oct 1995 - Presidential elections", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 41, October, 1995 Cote d'Ivoire, Page 40759.
8. "Ivorian ex-premier to quit IMF for return to politics", BBC News, March 30, 1998.
9. "Ivorian opposition elects former premier as presidential candidate", Associated Press, August 1, 1999.
10. "COTE D'IVOIRE: Police arrest scores outside politician's home", IRIN, September 15, 1999.
11. "Ivory Coast opposition leader under investigation", BBC News, September 22, 1999.
12. "COTE D'IVOIRE: Former political foes strike pact to oust Gbagbo", IRIN, May 18, 2005.
13. "Opposition leader blasts 'undemocratic' government", BBC News, October 29, 1999.
14. "COTE D'IVOIRE: Arrest warrant issued for opposition politician", IRIN, December 9, 1999.
15. "Ivory Coast coup a 'popular revolution'", BBC News, December 29, 1999.
16. "COTE D'IVOIRE: Former Prime Minister returns home", IRIN, January 4, 2000.
17. "Jul 2000 - Referendum on new constitution", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 46, July, 2000 Cote d'Ivoire, Page 43661.
18. Cyril K. Daddieh. 2001. "Elections and Ethnic Violence in Cote d'Ivoire," ''African Issues''. 29 (1&2)
19. "La présidentielle envisagée par Gbagbo pour fin 2007", ''L'Humanite'', August 8, 2007 .