Félix Houphouët-Boigny
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Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | Ivorian politicians | Heads of government of Côte d'Ivoire | 1905 births | 1993 deaths | Presidents of Côte d'Ivoire | Ivorian anti-communists | French Ministers of Health | French West Africa | Cold War leaders
Félix Houphouët-Boigny (pronounced [felis ufuɛ bwaˈɲi]) (October 18, 1905 - December 7, 1993) was the first President of Côte d'Ivoire (1960 - 1993) and was previously elected to the French parliament and appointed minister in the government of France several times between 1957 and 1961. His name is African spelled with French orthography; using an English-based one, as in Ghana or Nigeria, it would likely be spelled Ufuwe-Bwanyi. Under Houphouët-Boigny's ideologically moderate leadership, Côte d'Ivoire prospered economically due to a combination of sound planning, strong and moderate leadership, the maintenance of strong ties with the West[1] (particularly France),[2] and the development of the country's significant cocoa industry. Houphouët-Boigny moved the country's capital from Abidjan to his hometown of Yamoussoukro, and built the world's largest church there, the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro at a cost of $300 million.[3] He also built a presidential palace at great cost. Houphouët-Boigny maintained an ardently anticommunist foreign policy, which included severing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1969 (after first establishing relations in 1967), refusing to recognize China until 1983, and providing assistance to UNITA, a United States-supported, anti-communist rebel movement in Angola. He considered the two major communist powers a malevolent influence in the Third World, and frequently denounced their actions, especially China's. He was one of the last African leaders to recognize China. Relations with the Soviet Union were not renewed until February 1986.[4] Houphouët-Boigny was commonly known in the West as the "Sage of Africa" or the "Grand Old Man of Africa." In 1989, UNESCO created the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize for the "safeguarding, maintaining and seeking of peace." It should be noted, however, that he is believed to have diverted significant funds for his personal use and for patronage. After his death, conditions in Côte d'Ivoire deteriorated quickly. From 1994 until 2002, there were a number of coups, a currency devaluation, an economic recession, and beginning in 2002, the Civil war in Côte d'Ivoire.
ChronologyHouphouët-Boigny was born in Yamoussoukro in 1905, descended from wealthy Baoulé chieftains, who possessed large cocoa and coffee plantations. He practiced medicine from 1925 to 1940, and then entered government service. He was elected chairman of the African Democratic Rally in 1946. From 1956-1957, he was minister delegate, involved in forming French colonial policy. He rose to prominence during the colonial period, when he founded the multinational party Rassemblement Démocratique Africain, which advocated independence for European colonies in Africa. In 1960, Côte d'Ivoire achieved independence, and Houphouët-Boigny was president of the constituent assembly. In 1959, he became prime minister of the colonial government, and became president of the republic in 1960. From 1960 to 1990, he was repeatedly elected president of Côte d'Ivoire for five year terms; however, no opposition parties were legal. During this period, Côte d'Ivoire grew to be the most stable and prosperous country in West Africa, growth that was attributed to Houphouët-Boigny's strong and politically moderate leadership, and the maintenance of strong ties to France and South Africa. The reality was somewhat different. After cocoa and coffee prices collapsed at the end of 1978, the Ivorian economy began a slide that was made much worse by the mismanagement of state-controlled industries that Houphouët-Boigny had established.[citation needed] In October 1990, he was elected to his seventh five-year term and, for the first time, with the participation of legal opposition parties. He won with 81.7% of the vote.[5] At that time, the Ivorian economy had already begun a disastrous slide that would lead the country to declare insolvency in 1997. After that time, he grew increasingly feeble, and died in December 1993 after a lengthy illness. Image:Houphouet-Boigny Kennedy.jpg
Félix Houphouët-Boigny and his wife Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny with John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy in 1962.
Félix Houphouët-Boigny divorced from his first wife to marry the much younger Marie-Therese Houphouet-Boigny, then dubbed "Africa's Jackie" after the couple visited the Kennedy White House in 1962.[6] Félix and Marie-Thérèse had three children together. See alsoSourcesLinks
Books
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