Manandafy Rakotonirina (30 October 1938 - 15 March 2019
.
, ''Afrique Express'', N° 246, March 14, 2002 .) was a
Malagasy politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. He had been a significant political figure in Madagascar since the 1970s, and in April 2009 he was appointed as Prime Minister by ousted President
Marc Ravalomanana
Marc Ravalomanana (; born 12 December 1949) is a Malagasy politician who was the President of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009. Born into a farming Merina family in Imerinkasinina, near the capital city of Antananarivo, Ravalomanana first rose to ...
.
Early life
Born in
Fandriana
Fandriana is a town and commune in Central Highlands of Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Fandriana, which is a part of Amoron'i Mania Region. It has a population of 29,232 inhabitants (2018).
The town provides access to hospital servi ...
,
Amoron'i Mania
Amoron'i Mania is a region in central Madagascar bordering Vakinankaratra Region in north, Atsinanana in northeast, Vatovavy-Fitovinany in southeast, Haute Matsiatra in south, Atsimo-Andrefana in southwest and Menabe in west.
The capital of the r ...
, he received his primary and secondary education in
Ambositra
Ambositra is a city (commune urbaine) in central Madagascar.
Ambositra is the capital of the Amoron'i Mania region, and of Ambositra District.
It is the centre of Madagascar's' wood-carving industry due to the presence of the Zafimaniry tribe ...
and
Antsirabe
Antsirabe () is the third largest city in Madagascar and the capital of the Vakinankaratra region, with a population of 265,018 in 2014.
In Madagascar, Antsirabe is known for its relatively cool climate (like the rest of the central region), it ...
and attended the
University of Antananarivo
University of Antananarivo (french: Université d'Antananarivo) is the primary public university of Madagascar, located in the capital Antananarivo.
History
The university traces its founding to 16 December 1955 and the formation of the Instit ...
. He then became an assistant at the ''
Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Agronomie'' and a Professor of Sociology. As a convinced
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
, he joined the
Madagasikara Otronin'ny Malagasy party,
[ within which he called for the involvement of the ]proletariat
The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...
of 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 ...
.[
]
Political career
Rakotonirina was in favor of a popular uprising, and in April 1971 he was arrested.[ He helped organize the May 1972 protests against President ]Philibert Tsiranana
Philibert Tsiranana (18 October 1912 – 16 April 1978) was a Malagasy politician and leader, who served as the first President of Madagascar from 1959 to 1972.
During the twelve years of his administration, the Republic of Madagascar expe ...
.[ On December 27, 1972, he founded the Movement for Proletarian Power (MFM) with Rakotonirainy Germain. In May 1973, he was again arrested in connection with a commemoration of May 1972.][
Although the MFM did not actively oppose the regime of ]Didier Ratsiraka
Didier Ignace Ratsiraka (; 4 November 1936 – 28 March 2021) was a Malagasy people, Malagasy politician and Madagascar Navy, naval officer who was President of Madagascar from 1975 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2002. At the time of his death, he was ...
when it came to power in 1975, Ratsiraka dissolved the party in September 1976 and Rakotonirina was placed under house arrest, which lasted until January 1977. Following this, he agreed to reform his party within the ruling National Front for the Defence of the Revolution coalition; he became a member of the Supreme Council of the Revolution and was entrusted with heading the Economic Commission.[
Rakotonirina later contested the March 1989 presidential election, receiving just under 20% of the vote and taking second place, behind Ratsiraka.][Elections in Madagascar]
African Elections Database. From late 1991 to 1993, he was co-president of the transitional Committee for Economic and Social Recovery along with Richard Andriamanjato
Richard Mahitsison Andriamanjato (31 July 1930 – 16 May 2013) was a Madagascar, Malagasy politician.
After leaving education, Andriamanjato became a Pastor. He also became involved with the nationalist cause. From 1950 to 1957, he studied in Fra ...
.[ Rakotonirina was a candidate in the November 1992 presidential election, taking third place with 10.2% of the votes cast, behind ]Albert Zafy
Albert Zafy (1 May 1927 – 13 October 2017) was a Malagasy politician and educator who served as President of Madagascar from 27 March 1993 to 5 September 1996. In 1988, he founded the National Union for Democracy and Development (UNDD).
In ...
and Ratsiraka.[ He was elected to the ]National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
from Manandrina in the 1993 parliamentary election, serving until 1998.[ He was a candidate for Prime Minister in the National Assembly vote on August 9, 1993, but came in third place, receiving 32 votes against 55 for the winner, Francisque Ravony, and 46 for Roger Ralison (both of whom were from the pro-Zafy Committee of Active Forces).
Rakotonirina's party had moved towards ]liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
,["Mfm de Manandafy Rakotonirina :Trente trois années de lutte…"]
and it renamed itself the Militant Party for the Development of Madagascar. He continued to lead the party. In 2001, he played a major role in convincing Marc Ravalomanana
Marc Ravalomanana (; born 12 December 1949) is a Malagasy politician who was the President of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009. Born into a farming Merina family in Imerinkasinina, near the capital city of Antananarivo, Ravalomanana first rose to ...
to claim a majority in the first round of the presidential election and to refuse to participate in a second round of voting. His alternative strategy of taking to the streets proved ultimately successful; Ravalomanana took over the Presidency, and Rakotonirina became a Special Advisor to the President.[
Later, Rakotonirina stood against Ravalomanana in the December 2006 presidential election. In the election, he received only 0.33% of the votes][ after experiencing difficulties distributing ]ballot
A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in secret voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16t ...
s to polling station
A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English and British English, although polling place is the building s. After being prevented from taking ballot papers to stations on the day of the election, he refused to cast his own vote and called for the election to be held over again.
2009 Malagasy political crisis
President Ravalomanana was forced out of office by popular protests led by Andry Rajoelina
Andry Nirina Rajoelina (Malagasy: ; born 30 May 1974) is a Malagasy politician and businessman who has been the president of Madagascar since 2019. He was previously president of a provisional government from 2009 to 2014 following a political ...
and military intervention in March 2009. He nevertheless insisted that he was the legitimate President, and on 16 April 2009 he announced from exile that he was appointing Rakotonirina as Prime Minister. Ravalomanana made this announcement by phone at a rally of his supporters in 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 ...
, with Rakotonirina in attendance. Rakotonirina subsequently began working out of the Carlton hotel in Antananarivo, and he appointed ministers to occupy the key government portfolios on 28 April;["Madagascar military arrests prime minister"]
AFP, 29 April 2009. he assigned himself responsibility for national defense. Soldiers with a warrant for Rakotonirina's arrest stormed the Carlton and arrested him on 29 April; they found him hiding in a bathroom after searching for about an hour. A spokesperson for Rajoelina described Rakotonirina as "the mastermind of last week's violence".[
Rakotonirina was placed under ]house arrest
In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...
and put on trial for various charges, including incitement of disorder and usurpation of public office. He was, however, released from house arrest so that he could participate in talks between the Malagasy political factions that were held in Maputo
Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...
later in 2009 and were aimed at producing a political agreement to resolve the crisis. Subsequently, on 22 September 2009, Rakotonirina received a two-year suspended sentence
A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...
."Madagascar court hands Ravalomanana-appointed PM two years"
AFP, 22 September 2009.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rakotonirina, Manandafy
1938 births
Living people
People from Amoron'i Mania
Betsileo people
Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar politicians
Movement for the Progress of Madagascar politicians
Members of the National Assembly (Madagascar)