Théophile Nata (1947
– 11 June 2022) was a

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 nort ...

ese politician and a former member of the Pan-African Parliament.

Education

Nata attended

Natitingou Natitingou, informally referred to as Nati, is a city and commune in north western Benin and the capital of Atakora Department. The commune covers an area of 3045 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 104,010 people. History The t ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

for four years starting in 1954 and ended in 1960. He graduated from the Sainte Jeanne d' Arc de Oudah, Southern

after seven years. He studied French and literature for two years at the Higher Education Centre of

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

, as well as at Abidjan University in Côte d'Ivoire and the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. He received a

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

which dealt with colonisation and decolonisation in the novels of

Aimé Césaire Aimé Fernand David Césaire (; ; 26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a French poet, author, and politician. He was "one of the founders of the Négritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word in French. He founded the Par ...

. Nata acquired a PhD in Comparative Literature at the Sorbonne in 1976. He obtained a

Bachelor's Degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

, a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

and a

Postgraduate diploma A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award pos ...

from the International Institute of Phonetics, Paris III University. He was appointed associate professor of French Language, Literature and Linguistics at the National University of Benin in 1976 as well.

International and governmental work

Nata was the co-coordinator of the AGECOOP Project within the Directorate of National Commissions and Councils. He became director of the Asia Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in 1978. In 1988, Nata was appointed as Benin's Ambassador to

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

and then as Beninese Ambassador to the United States. He was a participant in the 1990 National Conference and was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Benin's transitional government that same year. In 1991, he was made Commander of the National Order of Benin. Nata served as Minister of Youth and Sports from 1991 to 1993. He founded a political party in 1992. 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 rep ...

in the 1995 parliamentary election and was elected by the National Assembly as its Second Vice-president. In 1999, he was appointed Minister of Rural Development; he gained the rank of High Officer of the National Order of Benin in 2000. From 2001 to 2003, he served as Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. He was again elected as a deputy in the National Assembly in the March 2003 parliamentary election.List of deputies elected in the 2003 election
, Benin government page . Nata has served in the Pan-African Parliament since 2004. Following the death of

Jerome Sacca Kina Guezere Jerome Sacca Kina Guezere (1952"Séminaire parlementaire"
Assemblée Parl ...

in 2005, he became Fourth Vice-president of the Pan-African Parliament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nata, Theophile 1947 births 2022 deaths University of Paris alumni Members of the National Assembly (Benin) Members of the Pan-African Parliament from Benin Foreign ministers of Benin Ambassadors of Benin to the United States Ambassadors of Benin to Algeria

Education

International and governmental work

See also

References