Pascal Affi N'Guessan (born 1 January 1953) is an Ivorian politician who is the President of the
Ivorian Popular Front
The Ivorian Popular Front (french: Front populaire ivoirien; abbr. FPI) is a centre-left, democratic socialist and social democratic political party in Ivory Coast.
FPI was founded in exile in 1982 by history professor Laurent Gbagbo, Aboudrama ...
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
of the
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
from 27 October 2000 to 10 February 2003.
Biography
N'Guessan was born in Bouadikro in the sub-prefecture of Bongouanou."Les ambitions de Pascal Affi N'Guessan" ''Jeune Afrique'', 16 October 2001 . In 1986, he joined the FPI.Tidiane Dioh "Le FPI en ordre de bataille" ''Jeune Afrique'', 31 July 2001 . He was Mayor of Bongouanou from 1990 to 1996 and Vice-President of the Union of Towns and Communes of Côte d'Ivoire (UVICOCI) from 1990 to 1995.
Political career
N'Guessan joined the Secretariat-General of the FPI in 1990, and in 1994 he became Deputy Secretary-General. In January 2000, after a military coup in December 1999, he became Minister of Industry and Tourism under military leader Robert Gueï, serving in that position until October 2000. N'Guessan was the campaign director for FPI candidate
in the October 2000 presidential election, and after Gbagbo's victory he was appointed Prime Minister.
Gbagbo was constitutionally barred from being party leader after he became president, and at the FPI's Third Extraordinary Congress, held from 20 to 22 July 2001, N'Guessan was elected as President of the FPI, receiving 94.55% of the vote. He was elected as a Vice-President of the
Socialist International
The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...
at its 22nd Congress, held from 27 to 29 October 2003 in
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
Following the overthrow of the Gbagbo regime in April 2011 by forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara backed by French and UN forces, N'Guessan was arrested and held at a detention centre in Bouna, north-east Ivory Coast.
On 8 August 2015, N'Guessan was designated as the FPI's presidential candidate for the October 2015 presidential election. He denounced the incarceration of Gbagbo by the
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...
and political conditions under Ouattara: "Peace isn't only the silence of weapons. Can we say that Ivory Coast is in peace when President Gbagbo is in The Hague? With hundreds of political prisoners in jail, Ivory Coast is not in peace." Some hardliners in the FPI did not want to participate in elections as long as Gbagbo remained imprisoned, but others felt the party needed to remain engaged in the electoral process.
In the December 2016 parliamentary election, N'Guessan was elected to the National Assembly as an FPI candidate in Bongouanou Department, receiving 59% of the vote.
He was arrested during the night of 6 to 7 November, shortly after the
2020 Ivorian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Ivory Coast on 31 October 2020. Incumbent president Alassane Ouattara was re-elected with 95% of the vote amidst an opposition boycott.
Background
In January 2017 incumbent President Alassane Ouattara of t ...
. He was allegedly arrested for forming a rival government to that of President
Alassane Ouattara
Alassane Dramane Ouattara (; ; born 1 January 1942) is an Ivorian politician who has been President of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) since 2010. An economist by profession, Ouattara worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)"Présidentielle 2025: Pascal Affi N'guessan prêt à affronter Laurent Gbagbo son ex camarade" Linfodrone, 18 October 2021.