Nassirou Bako Arifari (born 30 October 1962) is a Beninese politician and academic who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Benin from 2011 to 2015. He came from an academic background before entering politics.

Early life and academic career

Arifari was born on 30 October 1962 in Karimama in the

Alibori Department Alibori is the largest and northernmost department (French: ''département'') of Benin. Externally the department borders the countries of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria, and internally the departments of Atakora and Borgou. The department o ...

of northern Benin. Educated locally, he earned a baccalaureat in Kandi and served in the military. He earned a master's degree in history at the Université Nationale du Bénin in 1989. He obtained a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences at the

Aix-Marseille University Aix-Marseille University (AMU; french: Aix-Marseille Université; formally incorporated as ''Université d'Aix-Marseille'') is a public research university located in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II o ...

in 1994. After further study in Germany, Arifari returned to Marseille and earned a PhD in Sociology and Social Anthropology in 1999. He was a Senior Lecturer in the department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Abomey and associate lecturer at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

in Germany. Arifari was Scientific Director of the Laboratory of Studies and Research on Social Dynamics and Local Development (LASDEL-Benin). He has written several studies including on decentralization and local authorities in rural Benin and Niger, anthropological analyses of corruption in West Africa and the democratization process in Africa.

Political career

In the 2007 legislative election, he was elected as a Deputy 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 r ...

. He was reelected in 2011 on the Amana Alliance ticket, which he founded. In the Assembly, he was appointed as National Coordinator of the

G13 Baobab Alliance The G13 Baobab Alliance (french: Alliance G13 Baobab, AG13B) is a political alliance in Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in ...

. He became an important deputy in the National Assembly and won acclaim as an orator. In 2011, he set up the first computerized permanent electoral list in Benin. He became the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

on 28 May 2011. Arifari proposed a permanent African seat in the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

to pre-empt crises in September 2011. He also advocated stronger international help to fight

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

in the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is i ...

. In 2012, he argued for the abolition of the death penalty. He visited Cuba in October 2014. On 12 January 2015, Arifari welcomed exiled former

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

President

Michel Djotodia Michel Am-Nondokro Djotodia (born c. 1949) is a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 2013 to 2014. He was the first Muslim to hold that office in the predominantly Christian country. Djotodia was a l ...

at Cotonou Airport and said that Benin received Djotodia "at the request of member states of the

Economic Community of Central African States The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS; french: Communauté Économique des États de l'Afrique Centrale, CEEAC; es, Comunidad Económica de los Estados de África Central, CEEAC; pt, Comunidade Económica dos Estados da Áfr ...

" as a "contribution to the search for peace in central Africa." In a March 2015 speech to the United Nations, Arifari stressed the need for environmental sustainability in the cotton industry and emphasized a fast resolution in World Trade Organization negotiations. On 22 June 2015, he was succeeded as Minister of Foreign Affairs by Saliou Akadiri. After leaving office, Arifari returned to his seat in the National Assembly, where he became President of the International Relations Committee. In January 2015, Arifari announced his candidacy for President on the Amana Alliance ticket in the March 2011 presidential election. The move was seen as an expression of dissent with the candidacy of Lionel Zinsou. In the election, Arifari received 19,061 votes, or 0.63 percent.

Personal life

Arifari is married and has five children. He is a

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all Eu ...

and can speak French, English, German, Arabic, Dendi, Haoussa, Fon, and Bariba.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arifari, Nasirou Bako Foreign ministers of Benin 1962 births Living people People from Alibori Department Beninese academics