Norbert Lala Ratsirahonana (born November 18, 1938) is a
Malagasy politician.
Life and career
He was born in
Antsiranana
Antsiranana ( mg, Antsiran̈ana ), named Diego-Suárez prior to 1975, is a city in the far north of Madagascar. Antsiranana is the capital of Diana Region. It had an estimated population of 115,015 in 2013.
History
The bay and city originally u ...
,
Diana Region
Diana is a region in Madagascar at the northeast part of the island. It borders the regions of Sava to the southeast and Sofia to the southwest. It covers an area of 19,266 km2, and had a population of 889,736 in 2018. The regional capital i ...
He founded and led the ''
Asa Vita no Ifampitsarana'' (Judged By Your Work) Party, which opposed President
Didier Ratsiraka
Didier Ignace Ratsiraka (; 4 November 1936 – 28 March 2021) was a Malagasy politician and naval officer who was President of Madagascar from 1975 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2002. At the time of his death, he was the longest-serving President o ...
. He and his party were part of the coalition which elected
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 ...
to the presidency in 1993. Ratsirahonana then became President of the High Constitutional Court.
On May 28, 1996, when the prime minister was deposed by Parliament in a no confidence vote, Zafy appointed Ratsirahonana to the post. Soon afterward, Zafy was impeached and, on September 5, 1996, Ratsirahonana became acting
President of Madagascar. A
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
was held on November 3, 1996, in which Ratsirahonana ran, taking fourth place (behind Ratsiraka, Zafy and
) and 10.14% of the vote.
[Elections in Madagascar]
African Elections Database. Ratsirahonana backed Zafy in the second round, which was held on December 29, but Ratsiraka narrowly prevailed; Ratsirahonana left office as President when Ratsiraka was sworn in, on February 9, 1997. Twelve days later, he also lost his position as Prime Minister when Ratsiraka appointed one of his own allies. The AVI then became the main opposition party, though it became very weak, winning only 13 of the 150 seats in the 1998 parliamentary election.
Ratsirahonana became Chairman of the National Executive Committee of the Panorama Group opposition coalition in September 1997.
Ratsirahonana withdrew from the
December 2001 presidential election and endorsed the candidacy of
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 ...
.
[Richard Cornwell, , ISS Paper 68, April 2003.] He was appointed as the president's "roaming ambassador" under the Ravalomanana administration. In 2006, however, Ratsirahonana resigned from his office; in August 2006 he announced his candidacy for the
December 2006 presidential election. According to official results, he received 4.22% of the vote and took fifth place. His best result was in
Antananarivo Province
Antananarivo Province is a former province of Madagascar with an area of . It had a population of 5,370,900 in 2004. Its capital was Antananarivo, which is also the capital of the country. Established in 1965, it was the most important province of ...
, where he received 7.14% of the vote.
Amidst the
2009 political crisis, when the military announced that it was installing opposition leader
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 High Transitional Authority, provisional government from 2009 t ...
as head of state on March 17, 2009, Ratsirahonana was present as master of ceremonies. Rajoelina then set up the
High Authority of the Transition (HAT) as the ruling body, and Ratsirahonana was appointed as one of the HAT's 44 members on March 31, 2009.
[Andry Ratovo]
"Un Tim et un Grad Iloafo dans la liste"
''L'Express de Madagascar'', April 1, 2009 .
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratsirahonana, Norbert
1938 births
Living people
People from Antsiranana
Merina people
Judged by Your Work Party politicians
Christian Peace Conference members
Prime Ministers of Madagascar