The Benin Rebirth Party (french: Parti de la renaissance du Bénin) is a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

political party in

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 ...

. The party was founded on 24 March 1992 by then-

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Rosine Vieyra Soglo, who became the first Beninese woman to establish a new political party. The party was also headed by Vieyra Soglo after its foundation. It is led by

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, ...

, who was

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 later Mayor of

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

. Rosine Vieyra Soglo established the party to provide political support for her husband, then-President

, who lacked backing from Benin's political elite. It initially worked, as the Benin Rebirth Party won 20 of the 83 seats in 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 ...

in the

1995 Beninese parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Benin on 28 March 1995, although voting for thirteen seats was re-run on 28 May after the Supreme Court invalidated the results due to irregularities. The Democratic Renewal Party emerged as the largest party ...

. However, President Nicéphore Soglo, who was seeking re-election, was defeated by former President

Mathieu Kérékou Mathieu Kérékou (; 2 September 1933 – 14 October 2015) was a Beninese politician who served as President of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2006. After seizing power in a military coup, he ruled the country for 19 years, for ...

in the

1996 Beninese presidential election Presidential elections were held in Benin in March 1996. The first round, held on 3 March, saw no candidate gain over 50% of the vote, resulting in a second round held on 18 March. Mathieu Kérékou, a former military dictator who had come second i ...

. Soglo was the RB candidate in the March 2001 presidential election, taking second place with 27.1% of the popular vote in the first round, but he boycotted the second round. In the

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held on 30 March 2003, the party won 15 out of 83 seats. In early August 2005, the RB chose Soglo's son Lehady Soglo as its candidate for the March 2006 presidential election. The elder Soglo could not run because of the constitutional age limit of 70 years for candidates. In the election, Lehady Soglo obtained 7.92% of the vote and placed fourth. In the March 2007 parliamentary election, the RB participated in 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 won a total of 20 seats."Coalition supported by President Boni tops Benin’s legislative polls"
African Press Agency, April 8, 2007.

References

Liberal parties in Africa Political parties in Benin {{Benin-party-stub