Find a Grave Didier Ignace Ratsiraka (1936-2021)

Find a Grave Didier Ignace Ratsiraka (1936-2021)
Didier Ignace Ratsiraka
Birth 4 Nov 1936
Death 28 Mar 2021 (aged 84)
Antananarivo-Renivohitra, Analamanga, Madagascar
Burial
Cimetiere etranger Antananarivo
Antananarivo Renivohitra, Analamanga, Madagascar

Malagasy Statesman. He served as the 3rd President of Madagascar for two different tenures (June 15, 1975 – March 27, 1993) and (February 9, 1997 to July 5, 2002).

He was educated at Lycee School Tananarive and he later earned a scholarship to the Naval Officers School. He rose to the rank of admiral in the navy and served as foreign minister to Gabriel Ramanantsoa from 1972 to 1975. In 1975, he was named president by the Supreme Revolutionary Council. He served in this position until 1993, when he stepped down after losing a multiparty presidential election in February of 1993 to Albert Zafy.

His first tenure was marked by his abandonment of early socialist policies and later opposition to his rule. After leaving office, he went into exile in France, but came back and won the presidential election in 1996 after Zafy had been impeached. He served as president for a second time until 2002 when a disputed election divided the country into two armed camps – one side backed Marc Ravalomanana and the other backed him.

By mid June of that year, Ravalomanana had gained control of the country and he went to France. In August of 2003, he was tried for stealing money from the annex of the country’s central bank and sentenced to ten years of hard labor. He did not serve his sentence since he was in exile in France. In 2011, he came back to Madagascar and continued to commentate about the political situation in his country.

Find a Grave Didier Ignace Ratsiraka (1936-2021)