Philibert Tsiranana (18 October 1912 – 16 April 1978) was a Malagasy politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Madagascar from 1958 to 1959, and subsequently as the country's first president from 1959 to 1972.
During the twelve years of his administration, the Republic of Madagascar experienced institutional stability that stood in contrast to the political turmoil many mainland African countries experienced in this period. This stability contributed to Tsiranana's popularity and his reputation as a remarkable statesman. Madagascar experienced moderate economic growth under his social democratic policies and came to be known as "the Happy Island." However, the electoral process was fraught with issues and his term ultimately terminated in a series of farmer and student protests that brought about the end of the First Republic and the establishment of the officially socialist Second Republic.
The "benevolent schoolmaster" public image that Tsiranana cultivated went alongside a firmness of convictions and actions that some believe tended toward authoritarianism. Nonetheless, he remains an esteemed Malagasy political figure remembered throughout the country as its "Father of Independence".
Early life (1910–1955)
From cattle herder to teacher
According to his official biography, Tsiranana was born on 18 October 1912 in Ambarikorano, Sofia Region, in northeastern Madagascar.Charles Cadoux. Philibert Tsiranana. In Encyclopédie Universalis. Universalia 1979 – Les évènements, les hommes, les problèmes en 1978. p.629André Saura. Philibert Tsiranana, 1910-1978 premier président de la République de Madagascar. Tome I. Éditions L’Harmattan. 2006. p.13 Born to Madiomanana and Fisadoha Tsiranana, Catholic cattle ranchers from the Tsimihety ethnic group, Philibert was destined to become a cattle rancher himself.Biographies des députés de la IVe République : Philibert TsirananaCharles Cadoux. Philibert Tsiranana. In Encyclopédie Universalis. 2002 Edition. However, following the death of his father in 1923, Tsiranana's brother, Zamanisambo, suggested that he attend a primary school in Anjiamangirana.André Saura. op. cit. Tome I. p.14
A brilliant student, Tsiranana was admitted into the Analalava regional school in 1926, where he graduated with a brevet des collèges.André Saura. op. cit. Tome I. p.15 In 1930, he enrolled in the Le Myre de Vilers normal school in Tananarive, named after former resident-general of Madagascar Charles Le Myre de Vilers, where he entered the "Section Normale" program, preparing him for a career teaching in primary schools. After completing his studies, he started a teaching career in his hometown. In 1942, he began receiving instruction in Tananarive for middle school teaching and in 1945, he succeeded in the teacher assistant competitive examinations, allowing him to serve as a professor in a regional school. In 1946, he obtained a scholarship to the École normale d'instituteurs in Montpellier, France, where he worked as a teacher assistant. He left Madagascar on 6 November.André Saura. op. cit. Tome I. p.17
From communism to PADESM In 1943, Philibert Tsiranana joined the professional teachers' union and in 1944 entered the General Confederation of Labor (CGT). With the end of World War II and the creation of the French Union by the Fourth Republic, the colonial society of Madagascar experienced a liberalization. The colonized peoples now had the right to be politically organized. Tsiranana joined the Group of Student Communists (GEC) of Madagascar in January 1946, on the advice of his mentor Paul Ralaivoavy. He assumed the role of treasurer. The GEC enabled him to meet future leaders of the PADESM (Party of the Disinherited of Madagascar), which he became a founding member of in June 1946.
The PADESM was a political organization composed mainly of and from the coastal region. The PADESM came about as a result of the holding of the French constituent elections of 1945 and 1946. For the first time, the people of Madagascar were allowed to participate in French elections, with electing settlers and indigenous people to the French National Assembly. To ensure that they won one of the two seats allotted to native people of Madagascar, the inhabitants of the coastal region made an agreement with the Mouvement démocratique de la rénovation malgache (MDRM) which was controlled by the Merina of the uplands.In the precolonial period, the Malagasy aristocracy had been almost entirely composed of the Merina. The coastal people agreed to seek the election of Paul Ralaivoavy in the west, while leaving the east to the Merina candidate, Joseph Ravoahangy.Assemblée nationale - Les députés de la IVe République : Joseph Ravoahangy This agreement was not honoured and the Merina Joseph Raseta won the second seat in October 1945 and June 1946. Concerned about the possible return of "Merina control," the coastal people founded PADESM in order to counter the nationalist goals of the MDRM and oppose Malagasy independence - a position justified by Tsiranana in 1968:
In July 1946, Tsiranana refused the post of secretary general of PADESM on account of his impending departure for the École normale de Montpellier. Tsiranana had become known for his contributions to PADESM's journal Voromahery,André Saura. op. cit. Tome I. p.16 authored under the pseudonym "Tsimihety" (derived from his birthplace).
Period in France
As a result of his journey to France, Tsiranana escaped the Malagasy Uprising of 1947 and its bloody suppression. Moved by the events, Tsiranana participated in an anti-colonial protest in Montpellier on 21 February 1949, although not a supporter of independence.
During his time in France, Tsiranana became conscious of the bias towards the Malagasy elite in education. He found that only 17 of the 198 Malagasy students in France were coastal people. In his view, there could never be a free union between all Malagasy while a cultural gap remained between the coastal people and the people of the highlands. To remedy this gap, he established two organisations in Madagascar: the Association of Coastal Malagasy Students (AEMC) in August 1949, and then the Cultural Association of Coastal Malagasy Intellectuals (ACIMCO) in September 1951. These organisations were resented by the Merina and were held against him.
On his return to Madagascar in 1950, Tsiranana was appointed professor of technical education at the École industrielle in Tananarive in the highlands. There he taught French and mathematics. But he was uncomfortable at this school and transferred to the École « Le Myre de Vilers », where his abilities were more appreciated.André Saura. op. cit. Tome I. p.18
Progressivist ambitions
Renewing his activities with PADESM, Tsiranana campaigned to reform the left wing of the party. He considered the directorial committee very disloyal to the administration. In article published on 24 April 1951 in Varomahery, entitled "Mba Hiraisantsika" (To unite us), he called for reconciliation between the coastal people and the Merina in advance of the forthcoming legislative elections.André Saura. op. cit. Tome I. p.20 In October he launched an appeal in the bimonthly Ny Antsika ("Our thing") which he had founded, an appeal to the Malagasy elites to "form a single tribe". This appeal to unity concealed a political plan: Tsiranana aspired to take part in the 1951 legislative elections as a candidate for the west coast.André Saura. op. cit. Tome I. p.21 The tactic failed because far from creating agreement, it led to suspicion among the coastal political class that he was a communist, and he was forced to renounce his candidature in favour of the "moderate" Raveloson-Mahasampo.Assemblée nationale - Les députés de la IVe République : Raveloson-Mahasampo
On 30 March 1952, Tsiranana was elected provincial counsellor for the 3rd district of Majunga on the "Social Progress" list. He combined this role with that of Counsellor on the Representative Assembly of Madagascar. Seeking a position in the French government, he offered himself as a candidate in the elections organised by the Territorial Assembly of Madagascar in May 1952 for the five senators of the Council of the Republic. Since two of these seats were reserved for French citizens,The participation of the French colonies in the French parliament was introduced in 1945. In order to ensure the representation of natives and colonists, elections were conducted by a "double electoral college." In this system, each of the colleges woted for its own candidates. The native college was the college of the "Citizens of the French Union", also called the "College of the natives" or the "second college". Initially, citizenship of the French Union was granted to natives on the basis of their status as chiefs, veterans, officials, etc. Citizens of France were also granted citizenship of the French Union and could vote either in the college reserved for them or in the second college. Tsiranana was only allowed to stand for one of the three seats reserved for native people. He was beaten by Pierre Ramampy, Norbert Zafimahova, and Ralijaona Laingo. Effected by this defeat, Tsiranana accused the administration of "racial discrimination." Along with other native counsellors, he proposed the establishment of a single electoral college to French Prime Minister Pierre Mendès France.André Saura. op. cit. Tome I. p.22
In the same year, Tsiranana joined the new Malagasy Action, a "third party between radical nationalists and supporters of the status quo," which sought to establish social harmony through equality and justice.André Saura. op. cit. Tome I. p.19 Tsiranana hoped to establish a national profile for himself and transcend the coastal and regional character of PADESM, especially since he no longer supported Madagascar simply being a free state of the French Union, but sought full independence from France.
Rise to power (1956–1958) Deputy in the French National Assembly
In 1955, while visiting France on administrative live, Tsiranana joined the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), in advance of the January 1956 elections for seats in the French National Assembly. During his electoral campaign, Tsiranana was able to count on the support of the Malagasy National Front (FNM), led by Merina who had left Malagasy Action, and especially on the support of the High Commissioner André Soucadaux, who saw Tsiranana as the most reasonable of the nationalists seeking election. Thanks to this support and the following which he had built up over the previous five years,André Saura. op. cit. Tome I. p.23 Tsiranana was elected as deputy for the western region, with 253,094 of the 330,915 votes.
In the Palais Bourbon, Tsiranana joined the socialist group. He rapidly gained a reputation as a frank talker; in March 1956, he affirmed the dissatisfaction of the Malagasy with the French Union which he characterised as simply a continuation of savage colonialism: "All this is just a facade - the foundation remains the same." On arrival, he demanded the repeal of the annexation law of August 1896. Finally, in July 1956, he called for reconciliation, demanding the release of all prisoners from the 1947 insurrection. By combining calls for friendship with France, political independence and national unity, Tsiranana acquired a national profile.