Maka Kotto (born December 7, 1961) is a

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

ian-born

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...

politician. Educated in France, Kotto immigrated to

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada, where he was an educator before entering politics. Kotto was a Parti Québécois member of the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

for the riding of Bourget. From 2012 to 2014, he served as the Minister of Culture and Communications. A former member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

for the Bloc Québécois, Kotto is also a published author and has appeared in films.

Early life and education

Kotto was born in

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Ai ...

, and graduated from high school at Lycée Henri-Martin in

Saint-Quentin, France Saint-Quentin (; pcd, Saint-Kintin; nl, label=older Dutch, Sint-Kwintens ) is a city in the Aisne department, Hauts-de-France, northern France. It has been identified as the ''Augusta Veromanduorum'' of antiquity. It is named after Saint Que ...

. He studied law, politics, dramatic art and cinema in

Nanterre Nanterre (, ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, bordering t ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Kotto immigrated to

in 2006. Before becoming a politician Kotto was an author, actor, and stage director. He appeared in the 1989 movie ''

How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired ''How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired'' (french: Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer) is a 1989 French-language Canadian drama film directed by , starring Isaach de Bankolé and Maka Kotto, and written by Haitian ...

(Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer)'', based on the novel by

Dany Laferrière Dany Laferrière (born Windsor Kléber Laferrière, 13 April 1953) is a Haitian-Canadian novelist and journalist who writes in French. He was elected to seat 2 of the Académie française on 12 December 2013, and inducted in May 2015. Life Bo ...

. He also appeared in a second film in 2000, '' Lumumba'', starring as

Joseph Kasa-Vubu Joseph Kasa-Vubu, alternatively Joseph Kasavubu, ( – 24 March 1969) was a Congolese politician who served as the first President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Republic of the Congo) from 1960 until 1965. A member of the Kong ...

. Kotto was also an educator in dramatic art for nearly 15 years in France and Quebec.

Federal political career

Kotto was elected to the House of Commons of Canada, representing the Bloc Québécois in the

2004 Canadian federal election The 2004 Canadian federal election was held on June 28, 2004, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority but was able to continue in ...

. In that election, he defeated incumbent

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 ...

MP Yolande Thibeault and five other candidates. Upon winning the Saint-Lambert riding, Kotto became the first

black Canadian Black Canadians (also known as Caribbean-Canadians or Afro-Canadians) are people of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin, though t ...

Member of Parliament for the Bloc. He was re-elected two years later, winning a comfortable, but reduced, popular vote and a much larger plurality in the 2006 Canadian federal election. He defeated five other candidates to win his second term in office. Kotto served as the Bloc's critic for

Canadian heritage The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage (french: Patrimoine canadien), is the Ministry (government department), department of the Cabinet of Canada, Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to init ...

Provincial political career

On November 12, 2007, Kotto announced that he would be the candidate for the Parti Québécois in the provincial riding of Bourget in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of former PQ House Leader

Diane Lemieux Diane Lemieux (born September 22, 1961) is a politician, feminist and Quebec administrator. Her early activist experiences involved advocating for women's rights, first for sexual assault victims, then in her role as president of the Conseil d ...

. It was his second attempt at provincial politics; he was defeated in his previous candidacy in

Viau Viau is a provincial electoral district in the city of Montreal in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It consists of the Districts of Saint-Michel and François-Perrault (east of Papineau Avenue) in the Borou ...

by former

MNA

William Cusano William Cusano (October 19, 1943 – November 14, 2012) was an Italian-born former politician in Quebec, Canada. He was a member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1981 to 2007. Born in Sepino, Sepino-Campobasso, Italy, Cusano and his ...

. Kotto resigned his seat in

on March 5, 2008, in order to run in the provincial by-election. His vacancy was officially recognized by the Speaker on March 13, 2008. On May 12, 2008, he won the Bourget by-election as a Parti Québécois candidate with 40% of the vote. With the election of the Parti Québécois on September 4, 2012, Kotto became Minister of Culture and Communications. Kotto was re-elected in the

2014 Quebec election The 2014 Quebec general election was held on April 7, 2014 to elect members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The incumbent Parti Québécois which had won a minority government in 2012 was defeated by the Quebec Liberal Party under Philippe C ...

with a smaller margin, but the Parti Québécois government of Pauline Marois was defeated and Kotto became a member of the

Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

caucus. He was defeated in the 2018 election.

Personal life

Kotto is the husband of former

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly acr ...

mayor and Bloc Québécois caucus colleague

Caroline St-Hilaire Caroline St-Hilaire (born November 16, 1969 in Longueuil, Quebec) is a Canadian politician, who served as Mayor of Longueuil under the banner of Action Longueuil from November 10, 2009 to November 5, 2017. She was previously a Member of Parliam ...

, and is the father of four children.

Selected filmography

* ''

(Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer)'' - 1989 * '' Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea'' - 1995 * ''

Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French polymath. At various times in his life, he was a watchmaker, inventor, playwright, musician, diplomat, spy, publisher, horticulturist, arms dealer, satirist, ...

'' - 1996 * '' Lumumba'' - 2000 * '' On Your Head (Le Ciel sur la tête)'' - 2001 * ''

A Silent Love ''A Silent Love'' ( es, Un amor silencioso) is a 2004 Canadian (Quebec) film written and directed by Federico Hidalgo and produced by Atopia. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2004 then opened in a limited release on ...

'' - 2004 * ''

Looking for Alexander ''Looking for Alexander'' (french: Mémoires affectives) is a Canadian drama film. It was directed and screenwriter, written by Francis Leclerc. Marcel Beaulieu also wrote the script. Plot summary Thought to be clinically dead, Alexander (Roy Dup ...

(Mémoires affectives)'' - 2004 * ''

On the Verge of a Fever ''On the Verge of a Fever'' (french: Le Goût des jeunes filles) is a 2004 Canadian drama film, directed by John L'Ecuyer. An adaptation of Dany Laferrière's novel ''Dining with the Dictator (Le Goût des jeunes filles)'', the film is set in Hai ...

(Le Goût des jeunes filles)'' - 2004 * ''

How to Conquer America in One Night ''How to Conquer America in One Night'' (french: Comment conquérir l'Amérique en une nuit) is a Canadian comedy film, directed by Dany Laferrière and released in 2004. The film centres on the relationship between Fanfan (Maka Kotto), a Haitian ...

(Comment conquérir l'Amérique en une nuit)'' - 2004 * ''

Zim and Co. ''Zim and Co.'' is a 2005 French film directed by Pierre Jolivet. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, the first time a film by Jolivet had been selected. The film won the Grand Prize of the third ...

'' - 2005 * ''

A Sunday in Kigali ''A Sunday in Kigali'' (original French title: ''Un dimanche à Kigali'') is a 2006 Canadian feature film set during the Rwandan genocide. It is directed by Robert Favreau based on the novel '' A Sunday at the pool in Kigali'' by Gil Courteman ...

(Un dimanche à Kigali)'' - 2006

Electoral record

, - , - , - , No designation , Yannick Duguay , align="right", 121 , align="right", 0.45 , align="right", –

Books

*Kotto, Maka. ''Femme : libre exaltation poétique''. Outremont, Québec: Lanctôt, 2002. 93 p.; 21 cm. (Series: J'aime la poésie 12^e)

References

External links

*
House of Commons of Canada: Maka Kotto
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kotto, Maka 1961 births Black Canadian male actors Black Canadian politicians Bloc Québécois MPs Canadian poets in French Cameroonian emigrants to Canada Francophone Quebec people Living people Male actors from Montreal Members of the Executive Council of Quebec Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Naturalized citizens of Canada Parti Québécois MNAs Politicians from Montreal Canadian actor-politicians People from Douala People from Saint-Quentin, Aisne 21st-century Canadian poets Writers from Montreal Black Canadian writers Canadian male poets 21st-century Canadian politicians Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors 21st-century Canadian male writers Quebecor people