Alassane Dramane Ouattara (; ; born 1 January 1942) is an Ivorian politician and economist who has been President of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) since 2010. An economist by profession, he worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)"Ivory Coast's Alassane Ouattara in profile" , BBC News, 11 April 2011. and the Central Bank of West African States (, BCEAO), and was the Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire from November 1990 to December 1993, appointed to that post by then-President Félix Houphouët-Boigny., 12 December 2005.CV at Ouattara's website . Ouattara became the president of the Rally of the Republicans (RDR), an Ivorian political party, in 1999.
Early and personal life Ouattara was born on 1 January 1942, in Dimbokro in Cote d’IvoireLaing, Aislinn, "Ivory Coast: Alassane Ouattara profile" , The Telegraph, 6 April 2011. He is a descendant on his father's side from Sekou Ouattara and the Muslim rulers of the Kong Empire—also known as the Wattara (Ouattarra) Empire. Ouattara is Muslim"Côte d'Ivoire's new president – The king of Kong – Alassane Ouattara takes charge but can he keep the peace?" He studied at the High School Zinda Kaboré in Ouaga (Burkina Faso) The Economist, 20 April 2011. and is a member of the Dyula people. He received a B.Sc. in Business Administration in 1965 from the Drexel Institute of Technology (now Drexel University), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ouattara then obtained both his M.A. in economics in 1967 and a Ph.D. in economics in 1972 from the University of Pennsylvania.
Ouattara has two children, David Dramane Ouattara and Fanta Catherine Ouattara, from his first marriage to American Barbara Jean Davis. In 1991, Ouattara married Dominique Nouvian, a French Algerian-born Catholic businesswoman of maternal Jewish descent. Their wedding was held in the town hall of the 16th arrondissement of Paris.
Career at financial institutions Ouattara was an economist for the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. from 1968 to 1973, and afterwards he was the Chargé de Mission in Paris of the Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (West African Central Bank) from 1973 to 1975. With the BCEAO, he was then Special Advisor to the Governor and Director of Research from February 1975 to December 1982 and Vice Governor from January 1983 to October 1984. From November 1984 to October 1988 he was Director of the African Department at the IMF, and in May 1987 he additionally became Counsellor to the Managing Director at the IMF. On 28 October 1988 he was appointed as Governor of the BCEAO, and he was sworn in on 22 December 1988."Basic texts and milestones" , bceao.int. Ouattara has a reputation as a hard worker, keen on transparency and good governance.
Political career
Prime minister In April 1990, the IMF under the Structural Adjustment Program forced the Ivorian president, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, to accept Ouattara as Chairman of the Inter-ministerial Committee for Coordination of the Stabilization and Economic Recovery Programme of Côte d'Ivoire. While holding that position, Ouattara also remained in his post as BCEAO Governor. He subsequently became Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire on 7 November 1990, still under the IMF imposition, after which Charles Konan Banny replaced him as Interim BCEAO Governor. He also held the position of Minister of Economy and Finance from October 1990 to November 1993.
While serving as prime minister, Ouattara also tried, illegally and against the constitution, to carry out presidential duties for a total of 18 months, including the period from March to December 1993, when Houphouët-Boigny was ill."Houphouët-Boigny et ADO: du comité interministériel à la Primature" , ado.ci . Houphouët-Boigny died on 7 December 1993, and Ouattara announced his death to the nation, saying that "Côte d'Ivoire is orphaned"."Décès du Président Félix Houphouët-Boigny", ado.ci ."African Leader Dies", Newsday, 8 December 1993. A brief power struggle ensued between Ouattara and Henri Konan Bédié, the president of the National Assembly, over the presidential succession in total disregard for the constitution that clearly gave Bedié the legal right to lead the country if Houphouet became unfit. Bédié prevailed and Ouattara resigned as prime minister on 9 December."Prime minister decides to quit", Associated Press (San Antonio Express-News), 10 December 1993. Ouattara then returned to the IMF as Deputy Managing Director, holding that post from 1 July 1994 to 31 July 1999.
1995 election Prior to the October 1995 presidential election, the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire approved an electoral code that barred candidates if either of their parents were of a foreign nationality and if they had not lived in Côte d'Ivoire for the preceding five years. It was widely thought these provisions were aimed at Ouattara. Owing to his duties with the IMF, he had not resided in the country since 1990. Also, his father was born in Burkina Faso. The Rally of the Republicans (RDR), an opposition party formed as a split from the ruling Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI) in 1994, sought for Ouattara to be its presidential candidate. In late June 1995, RDR Secretary-General Djéni Kobina met with Ouattara, at which time, according to Kobina, Ouattara said: "I'm ready to join you." The party nominated Ouattara as its presidential candidate on 3 July 1995"Jul 1995 - Selection of Ouattara as RDR presidential candidate", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 41, July 1995 Cote d'Ivoire, p. 40630. at its first ordinary congress.Brahima, Coulibaly, "Côte d'Ivoire: Organisation du 2ème congrès ordinaire du Rdr, des cadres manoeuvrent pour le report" , Nord-Sud (allAfrica.com), 27 July 2007 . The government would not change the electoral code, however, and Ouattara declined the nomination."ADO est élu Président du RDR, le 1er Août 1999" , ado.ci ."Oct 1995 – Presidential elections", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 41, October 1995 Cote d'Ivoire, p. 40759. The RDR boycotted the election, along with the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) of Laurent Gbagbo, leaving the PDCI's candidate, incumbent president Henri Konan Bédié, to win an easy victory.
President of the RDR While serving as Deputy Managing Director at the IMF, in March 1998, Ouattara expressed his intention to return to Côte d'Ivoire and take part in politics again."Ivorian ex-premier to quit IMF for return to politics" , BBC News, 30 March 1998. After leaving the IMF in July 1999, he was elected President of the RDR on 1 August 1999 at an extraordinary congress of the party,Biography at Ouattara's website . as well as being chosen as its candidate for the next presidential election."Ivorian opposition elects former premier as presidential candidate", Associated Press, 1 August 1999. He said he was eligible to stand in the election, pointing to documents he said demonstrated that he and his parents were of Ivorian birth.
He was accused of forging these papers, prompting investigations."Côte d'Ivoire: Police arrest scores outside politician's home" , IRIN, 15 September 1999."Ivory Coast opposition leader under investigation" , BBC News, 22 September 1999. President Bédié described Ouattara as a Burkinabé and said that Houphouët-Boigny "wanted Alassane Ouattara to concern himself only with the economy"."Côte d'Ivoire: Former political foes strike pact to oust Gbagbo" , IRIN, 18 May 2005. Ouattara's nationality certificate, issued in late September 1999,"Cote d'Ivoire: Court annuls presidential candidate's nationality certificate", AFP, 27 October 1999. was annulled by a court on 27 October."Opposition leader blasts 'undemocratic' government" , BBC News, 29 October 1999. An arrest warrant for Ouattara was issued on 29 November, although he was out of the country at the time; he nevertheless said that he would return by late December."Côte d'Ivoire: Arrest warrant issued for opposition politician" , IRIN, 9 December 1999.
On 24 December, the military seized power, ousting Bédié. Ouattara returned to Côte d'Ivoire after three months in France on 29 December, hailing Bédié's ouster as "not a coup d'état", but "a revolution supported by all the Ivorian people"."Ivory Coast coup a 'popular revolution'" , BBC News, 29 December 1999."COTE D'IVOIRE: Former Prime Minister returns home" , IRIN, 4 January 2000.
A new constitution, approved by referendum in July 2000, controversially barred presidential candidates unless both of their parents were Ivorians,"Jul 2000 – Referendum on new constitution", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 46, July 2000 Cote d'Ivoire, p. 43661. and Ouattara was disqualified from the 2000 presidential election. The issues surrounding this were major factors in the First Ivorian Civil War, which broke out in 2002.
When asked in an interview about Ouattara's nationality, Burkinabé President Blaise Compaoré responded, "For us, things are simple: he does not come from Burkina Faso, neither by birth, marriage, or naturalization. This man has been Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire."
President Gbagbo affirmed on 6 August 2007 that Ouattara could stand in the next Ivorian presidential election."La présidentielle envisagée par Gbagbo pour fin 2007" , L'Humanité, 8 August 2007 . Ouattara was designated as the RDR's presidential candidate at its Second Ordinary Congress on 1–3 February 2008; he was also re-elected as President of the RDR for another five years. At the congress, he invited the former rebel New Forces, from whom he had previously distanced himself, to team up with the RDR for the election."Alassane Ouattara prêt à s'associer aux ex-rebelles" , AFP, 3 February 2008.
At the time, Ouattara said publicly that he did not believe Gbagbo would organize transparent and fair elections.
The RDR and the PDCI are both members of the Rally of Houphouëtistes, and while Ouattara and Bédié ran separately in the first round, each agreed to support the other if only one of them made it into a potential second round.
Presidency 2010 presidential election and aftermath
The presidential elections that should have been organized in 2005 were postponed until November 2010. The preliminary results announced independently by the president of the Electoral Commission from the headquarters of Ouattara due to concern about fraud in that commission. They showed a loss for Gbagbo in favour of former prime minister Alassane Ouattara.
The ruling FPI contested the results before the Constitutional Council, charging massive fraud in the northern departments controlled by the rebels of the New Forces. These charges were contradicted by United Nations observers (unlike African Union observers). The report of the results led to severe tension and violent incidents. The Constitutional Council, which consisted of Gbagbo supporters, declared the results of seven northern departments unlawful and that Gbagbo had won the elections with 51% of the vote – instead of Ouattara winning with 54%, as reported by the Electoral Commission. After the inauguration of Gbagbo, Ouattara—who was recognized as the winner by most countries and the United Nations—organized an alternative inauguration. These events raised fears of a resurgence of the civil war; thousands of refugees fled the country.
The African Union sent Thabo Mbeki, former president of South Africa, to mediate the conflict. The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution recognising Alassane Ouattara as winner of the elections, based on the position of the Economic Community of West African States, which suspended Ivory Coast from all its decision-making bodies"Final Communique on the Extraordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government on Cote D’Ivoire" , Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), 7 December 2010. while the African Union also suspended the country's membership."Communique of the 252nd Meeting of the Peace and Security Council" , African Union, 9 December 2010.