Joseph Houessou Gnonlonfoun (born 1943) is 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 diplomat. Gnonlonfoun was born in

Porto Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...

and was educated locally and abroad. He was an associate of Albert Tévoédjrè and chaired his political party Ensemble National. Gnonlonfoun was the vice-president of the Cotonou Court of First Instance between 1970 and 1970 and substitute member of the Superior Council of Magistracy in 1973. Between 1980 and 1982 he was a political prisoner in military camps. He was Secretary General of the Beninese Human Rights Commission (CBHD) from 1989 to 1991 and served 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 r ...

from 1991 to 1995. He spent years working as a legal consultant for World Bank (1995-1997) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva (1996-1998). Gnonlonfoun served as the justice minister under

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 ...

from 1998 to 2003. He was the foreign minister of Benin in 2003. In 2011, Gnonlonfoun was named in charge of the electoral commission by President

Thomas Boni Yayi Thomas Boni Yayi (born 1 July 1951) is a Beninese banker and politician who was President of Benin from 2006 to 2016. He took office after winning the March 2006 presidential election and was re-elected to a second term in March 2011. He also s ...

and was accused of engineering Boni Yayi's victory. He is currently the mediator of the Beninese Republic. Joseph Gnonlonfoun has 3 children.

References

1943 births Living people Foreign ministers of Benin Beninese diplomats {{Benin-politician-stub