Iarovana Roland Ratsiraka (born August 15, 1966) is 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 ...

. In 1966 he was born in

Antananarivo Antananarivo (French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("An ...

. Roland is the nephew of former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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 studied both in Madagascar and in France, before founding several companies. In 1996, Roland's uncle appointed him as Campaign Director for the

Tamatave Toamasina (), meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and in French Tamatave, is the capital of the Atsinanana region on the east coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. The city is the chief seaport of the country, situated northeast of it ...

region. In 1998, he founded the regional political association Toamsina Tonga Saina (TTS), and was elected to the

National Assembly of Madagascar The National Assembly ( mg, Antenimieram-Pirenena; french: Assemblée Nationale) is the lower house of the Parliament of Madagascar. The Assembly has 151 members, elected for five-year terms in single-member and two-member constituencies. The P ...

as a Deputy for

Toamasina Toamasina (), meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and in French Tamatave, is the capital of the Atsinanana region on the east coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. The city is the chief seaport of the country, situated northeast of it ...

. In 1999, he was elected as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of the city, but the post was suspended in 2002. In the municipal election held on November 23, 2003, Ratsiraka, as the TTS candidate, was victorious, regaining his position as Mayor and defeating Barnest Andriamiarantsoa, the candidate of the ruling Tiako I Madagasikara (TIM). His victory was officially announced on December 8 by the provincial electoral court. Ratsiraka stood in the

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 ...

held on December 3, 2006, placing third, with 10.14% of the votes cast, according to final results. In his home province of

, he won 34.74% of the vote, two points less than the winner of the election, incumbent 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 ...

. He also received significant support in

Antsiranana Province Antsiranana is a former province of Madagascar with an area of 43,406 km2. It had a population of 1,188,425 (July, 2001). Its capital was Antsiranana. A diversity of ethnic groups are found in the province, including Anjoaty, Sakalava, Antaka ...

, where he won 20.39% of the vote. Following the release of the provisional results, which showed Ravalomanana winning in the first round, Ratsiraka, along with second place candidate

Jean Lahiniriko Jean Lahiniriko (born April 1, 1956

, said that the results were false, and on December 11 he filed a challenge with the Constitutional High Court regarding the election. Ratsiraka was suspended as Mayor beginning on February 15, 2007,"Roland Ratsiraka, le maire de Toamasina en Madagascar, placé sous mandat de dépôt"
African Press Agency, April 19, 2007 ."Le maire Roland Ratsiraka; Suspendu du 15 février au 15 mars"
''Madagascar Tribune'', N° 5489, February 17, 2007 . initially for a period of one month. On April 19, 2007, he was arrested and imprisoned for alleged corruption related to garbage collection. His supporters protested on his behalf in Toamasina, but after looting occurred they were banned from doing so. On October 5, 2007, Ratsiraka was given an 18-month deferred sentence; he was released on the same day. President Ravalomanana was forced to resign amidst a political crisis in March 2009, and 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 ...

took power. Rajoelina set up the

High Transitional Authority The High Transitional Authority ( Malagasy: ''Fitondrana Avon'ny Tetezamita'' (FAT); french: Haute autorité de transition or HAT) was a provisional executive body that came to power in Madagascar following the coup that forced Marc Ravalomanana t ...

(HAT) as the ruling body, and Ratsiraka was appointed as one of the 44 members of HAT on March 31, 2009.Andry Ratovo
"Un Tim et un Grad Iloafo dans la liste"
''L'Express de Madagascar'', April 1, 2009 .

References

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070325015031/http://www.rolandratsiraka.com/parcours.html RolandRatsiraka.com: Parcours {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratsiraka, Roland 1966 births Living people People from Antananarivo Betsimisaraka people Members of the National Assembly (Madagascar) Mayors of Toamasina Malagasy prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Madagascar