Marcel Alain de Souza
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Marcel Alain de Souza (30 October 1953 – 17 July 2019) was a Beninese politician and banker. He served as President of the
ECOWAS The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...
Commission from April 2016 until February 2018. He was Minister for Development, Economic Analysis and Forecast of Benin from May 2011 until June 2015.


Early life and career

Marcel Alain de Souza was born on 30 October 1953 in Pobè. His family was originally of Portuguese descent and centred around
Ouidah Ouidah () or Whydah (; ''Ouidah'', ''Juida'', and ''Juda'' by the French; ''Ajudá'' by the Portuguese; and ''Fida'' by the Dutch) and known locally as Glexwe, formerly the chief port of the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on the coast of the Repub ...
. He had 10 siblings. His younger sister, Chantal De Souza, a future
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 ...
, later married Beninese 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 ...
, after having met through him. De Souza was a nephew of Archbishop
Isidore de Souza Isidore de Souza (4 April 1934 – 13 March 1999) was a Beninese priest who was Archbishop of Cotonou from 1990 to 1999. He was born into the aristocratic De Souza family of Ouidah on 4 April 1934. He was the uncle of Chantal Yayi, who serve ...
. He obtained a master's degree in economics from the
University of Dakar Cheikh Anta Diop University (french: Université Cheikh Anta Diop or UCAD), also known as the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, is a university in Dakar, Senegal. It is named after the Senegalese physicist, historian and anthropologist Cheikh ...
. De Souza later obtained a further master's degree in banking and management from the West African Training Centre for Banking Studies. He received further training at the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
. From the 1970s de Souza worked for the
Central Bank of West African States The Central Bank of West African States (french: Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, BCEAO) is a central bank serving the eight west African countries which share the common West African CFA franc currency and comprise the West Af ...
(BCEAO) in
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 ...
as internal controller and later as national director for Benin. He later became Director of Administration at the headquarters of the institute in Dakar. During his time at BCEAO de Souza was colleagues with later President Thomas Boni Yayi.


Political career

In 2009 de Souza became chairperson of the Republican Front of Benin. Administratively he held the position of Head of Department of Economic and Financial Affairs in the Office of the President. He later was Special Adviser to the President on Monetary and Banking Affairs. He was spokesperson for 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 ...
for the 2011 Beninese presidential election. From May 2011 until June 2015 he was Minister for Development, Economic Analysis and Forecast under him. De Souza 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 repre ...
during the 2015 Beninese parliamentary election. On 17 December 2015, during the 48th Ordinary Session of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, the post of President of the ECOWAS Commission was allocated to Benin and de Souza was nominated. De Souza publicly disagreed with President Boni Yayi's decision to have Prime Minister
Lionel Zinsou Lionel Zinsou (born 23 October 1953) is a French–Beninese economist and investment banker who was Prime Minister of Benin from 2015 to 2016. Since June 2017, he has been the president of Terra Nova, a centre-left French think tank. Early ...
be the candidate for the
Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin The Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin (french: Forces Cauris pour un Bénin émergent, FCBE) is a political party of Benin, formed by supporters of president Yayi Boni. In the parliamentary election held on 31 March 2007, the party won 35 out ...
during March 2016 Beninese presidential election. De Souza ran as a candidate himself in the election for the Republican Front for a Patriotic Alternative, or ''Front républicain pour une alternative patriotique'' (Frap), but received only 0.13% of the vote and was not elected. He subsequently supported candidate
Patrice Talon Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon (born 1 May 1958) is a Beninese politician and businessman who has been President of Benin since 6 April 2016. Early life and career Talon is of Fon origin and was born in Ouidah. He descends from slave trader ...
in the run-off. Having won the elections, Talon confirmed Boni Yayi's decision to have de Souza be Benin's nominee as President of the ECOWAS Commission. On 8 April 2016 de Souza took over the position from
Kadré Désiré Ouédraogo Kadré Désiré Ouédraogo, (b. December 31, 1953 Boussouma) Burkinabè statesman. He was the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso from 1996 to 2000 and Chairman of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Educatio ...
. De Souza subsequently laid down his seat in the National Assembly and was succeeded by Justin Adjovi. As President of the ECOWAS Commission he had to deal with the poor financial situation of ECOWAS and immediately temporarily suspended travel of staff members to missions, seminars and workshops outside of the
Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...
ECOWAS headquarters. He also limited the staff attendance to statutory ECOWAS meetings. During his time in office he had to deal with the
2016–2017 Gambian constitutional crisis The Gambian constitutional crisis occurred following Gambian presidential election, 2016, presidential elections in December 2016, in which challenger Adama Barrow achieved an upset victory over longtime incumbent Yahya Jammeh. It eventually con ...
. In October 2017 he showed hesitation about the pace of ECOWAS its goal of having a single currency by 2020. His term in office ended on 28 February 2018. He was succeeded by
Jean-Claude Brou Jean-Claude Kassi Brou (born 1953) is an Ivorian politician and economist. He has been President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission since March 2018. He previously served as Minister of Industry and Mines of Ivory Coast ...
. He died of
cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...
on 17 July 2019 in Paris, France, aged 65.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Souza, Marcel Alain de 1953 births 2019 deaths Beninese bankers Cheikh Anta Diop University alumni Executive Secretaries of the Economic Community of West African States Government ministers of Benin Members of the National Assembly (Benin) Beninese people of Brazilian descent Beninese people of Portuguese descent People from Plateau Department