Republic of Côte d’Ivoire
Ivory Coast, 1960 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed
Ivory Coast was traditionally home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. The area became a protectorate of France in 1843 and was consolidated as a French colony in 1893 amid the Scramble for Africa. It achieved independence in 1960, led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who ruled the country until 1993. Its stability was diminished by a coup d'état in 1999 and two civil wars, first between 2002 and 2007 and again during 2010 to 2011.
Seat of power: Yamoussoukro
Rulers
Félix Houphouët-Boigny
President of the Ivory Coast, 1960–1993
He served as the first president of Ivory Coast, from 1960 until his death in 1993. Under his politically moderate leadership, Ivory Coast prospered economically, a success that became known as the Ivorian miracle. Throughout his presidency, he maintained a close relationship with France, a policy known as Françafrique.
Portrait of Félix Houphouët-Boigny: GPO, Public domain, file
Henri Konan Bédié
President of the Ivory Coast, 1993–1999
He was President of Côte d'Ivoire from 1993 to 1999. He announced that he was assuming the presidency on state television a few hours after Houphouët-Boigny's death on 7 December 1993.
Portrait of Henri Konan Bédié: Benoît Bourgeois / European Communities, 1997 / EC - Audiovisual Service, CC BY 4.0, file
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Robert Guéï
President of the Ivory Coast, 1999–2000
He served as the third president of the Ivory Coast from 24 December 1999 to 26 October 2000. He succeeded President Henri Konan Bédié after the 1999 Ivorian coup d'état and lost to Laurent Gbagbo in the ensuing 2000 Ivorian presidential election.
Laurent Gbagbo
President of the Ivory Coast, 2000–2011
He served as the president of Côte d'Ivoire from 2000 until his arrest in April 2011. In the 2010 presidential election, Alassane Ouattara defeated Gbagbo and was recognized as the winner by election observers, the international community, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, but Gbagbo refused to step down. The Constitutional Council, a body dominated by pro-Gbagbo members, annulled the results in Ouattara's electoral strongholds in the north, claiming fraud, and declared Gbagbo the winner with 51% of the vote.
Portrait of Laurent Gbagbo: Zenman, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
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Alassane Ouattara
President of the Ivory Coast, 2010 to today
He has been President of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) since 2010. He worked for the International Monetary Fund and the Central Bank of West African States, and was the Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire from November 1990 to December 1993.
Portrait of Alassane Ouattara: Dario Pignatelli / European Union, Attribution, file
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Culture
- Its official language is French, and indigenous languages are also widely used, including Bété, Baoulé, Dyula, Dan, Anyin, and Cebaara Senufo. In total, there are around 78 languages spoken in Ivory Coast.
- The country has a religiously diverse population, including numerous followers of Islam, Christianity and traditional faiths often entailing animism.
- Through the production of coffee and cocoa, it was an economic powerhouse in West Africa during the 1960s and 1970s, then experienced an economic crisis in the 1980s, contributing to a period of political and social turmoil that extended until 2011.
- As of 2023, Ivory Coast is the world's largest exporter of cocoa beans and has high levels of income for its region.
Picture
The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace is a Catholic minor basilica in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital of Ivory Coast, that Guinness World Records lists as the largest church in the world.
Image: Felix Krohn, CC-BY-SA-2.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.