Léhady Vinagnon Soglo (born December 18, 1960) is a

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

ese politician and economist. He was Mayor of Cotonou from 2015 until his dismissal in 2017. Born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, Soglo is the son of

Nicéphore Soglo Nicéphore Dieudonné Soglo (born November 29, 1934) is a Beninese politician who was Prime Minister of Benin from 1990 to 1991 and President from 1991 to 1996. He was Mayor of Cotonou from 2003 to 2015. Soglo was married to Rosine Vieyra Soglo, ...

, the former

President of Benin The president of Benin () is both head of state and head of government in Benin. The Cabinet of Benin is under the authority of the President, and serves to advise and help formulate strategies. It also liaises with ministries and other governme ...

from 1991 to 1996, and Rosine Vieyra Soglo, the former

First Lady of Benin First Lady of Benin ( French: ''Première Dame de la République de Bénin'') is the title attributed to the wife of the President of Benin. Claudine Talon, wife of Patrice Talon, became first lady on her husband's election as president on April ...

and founder of the

Benin Rebirth Party The Benin Rebirth Party (french: Parti de la renaissance du Bénin) is a liberal political party in Benin. The party was founded on 24 March 1992 by then- First Lady Rosine Vieyra Soglo, who became the first Beninese woman to establish a new polit ...

. He was the candidate of the

(RB) in the March 2006 presidential election, in which his father was barred from running due to a maximum age limit on candidates. He is an

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

by training, with a degree from the

University of Montréal A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which rou ...

. In the March 2007 parliamentary election, he was elected to the

National Assembly of Benin The unicameral National Assembly is Benin's legislative body. The National Assembly in Porto-Novo as it exists today was formed in 1990. The current National Assembly has 83 members who are directly elected through a system of party-list proporti ...

as a candidate of the

Alliance for a Dynamic Democracy The Alliance for a Democratic Dynamic (french: Alliance pour une Dynamique Démocratique) is an opposition alliance of Benin which contested the Beninese parliamentary election of 2007. It comprised the Social Democratic Party of Bruno Amoussou, t ...

, which included the RB. After serving as his father's deputy while the latter was Mayor of Cotonou, Léhady Soglo succeeded his father as Mayor on 14 August 2015.Yao Hervé Kingbêwé
"Mairie de Cotonou : Léhady Soglo prend services des mains de son père"
''La Nouvelle Tribune'', 15 August 2015 . He was dismissed from his position as Mayor of Cotonou by the national Council of Ministers on August 2, 2017, and has lived in

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

in France since his removal office.

References

1960 births Living people Beninese Muslims Members of the National Assembly (Benin) Benin Rebirth Party politicians Université de Montréal alumni {{Benin-politician-stub