The History of Benin since the 16th century, for the geographical area included in 1960 in what was then called the Republic of Dahomey before becoming the People's Republic of Benin.
The Politics of Benin take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, wherein the President of Benin is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the legislature. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The current political system is derived from the 1990 Constitution of Benin and the subsequent transition to democracy in 1991. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Benin a "hybrid regime" in 2019.
Émile Derlin Zinsou was a Beninese politician and physician who was the President of Dahomey from 17 July 1968 until 10 December 1969, supported by the military regime that took power in 1967. Zinsou was present at the signing of the treaty that formed the African Union on 12 July 2000 in Togo.
Elections in Benin take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. Both the President and the National Assembly are directly elected by voters, with elections organised by the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA).
Rosine Honorine Vieyra Soglo was a Beninese politician. Soglo served as First Lady of Benin from 1991 to 1996 during the presidency of her husband, Nicéphore Soglo. She is considered the first First Lady of the democratic era following Benin's transition to a multi-party democracy.
Thomas Boni Yayi is a Beninese banker and politician who was President of Benin from 2006 to 2016. He took office after winning the March 2006 presidential election and was re-elected to a second term in March 2011. He also served as the Chairperson of the African Union from 29 January 2012 to 27 January 2013.
Presidential elections were held in Benin on 5 March 2006. Long-term president Mathieu Kérékou, who had led the country for all but four years since 1972, was barred from running for a third term. In July 2005, Kérékou signalled that he would not seek to change the constitution, as has been done in some other African countries, so that he could run again. Kérékou's long-time rival Nicéphore Soglo was also barred from standing due to his age. With the men who had been among the country's leading political figures since the return of democracy barred from running, the campaign had a level of openness and unpredictability not common for African presidential elections. Since no candidate won a majority, a second round was held between the two leading candidates on 19 March; Yayi Boni won the election and took office in April.
Sacca Lafia is a Beninese politician who has served in the government of Benin as Minister of the Interior since 2016. Previously he was Minister of Mines, Energy, and Water under President Yayi Boni, beginning in 2007. He is president of the Union for Democracy and National Solidarity (UDS), a political party.
The Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin is a political party of Benin, formed by supporters of president Yayi Boni. In the parliamentary election held on 31 March 2007, the party won 35 out of 83 seats. The party expanded its plurality to 41 seats in the 2011 election that followed the contested reelection of Yayi Boni as president.
Presidential elections were held in Benin on 13 March 2011 after being postponed twice from 27 February and 6 March 2011. Incumbent President Yayi Boni ran for re-election against thirteen other candidates, including former National Assembly head and political veteran Adrien Houngbédji and Abdoulaye Bio-Tchané, president of the West African Development Bank. He won 53.18% of the vote, enough to win a second term without a run-off. It is the first time since the restoration of democracy in Benin that a candidate has won the presidency in a single round. A second round run-off would have been held on 27 March 2011 if it had been necessary.
Pascal Irénée Koupaki is a Beninese politician who served as Prime Minister of Benin from May 2011 to August 2013. Koupaki worked as an official at the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and he was Director of the Cabinet of the Prime Minister from 1996 to 1998. Under President Yayi Boni, Koupaki was Minister of Finance from 2006 to 2007 and then Minister of State for the Exploration, Development, and Evaluation of Public Policy from 2007 to 2011.
This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/federal direct elections that were held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
Lionel Zinsou is a French–Beninese economist and investment banker who was Prime Minister of Benin from 2015 to 2016. Since June 2017, he has been the president of Terra Nova, a centre-left French think tank.
Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon is a Beninese politician and businessman who has been President of Benin since 6 April 2016.
Abdoulaye Bio Tchané is a Beninese economist and politician.
Marcel Alain de Souza was a Beninese politician and banker. He served as President of the ECOWAS Commission from April 2016 until February 2018. He was Minister for Development, Economic Analysis and Forecast of Benin from May 2011 until June 2015.
Parliamentary elections were held in Benin on 28 April 2019.
Presidential elections were held in Benin on 11 April 2021 to elect the President of the Republic of Benin for a five-year term. Incumbent president Patrice Talon was re-elected for a second term in office with 86% of the vote.
First Lady of Benin is the title attributed to the wife of the President of Benin. Claudine Talon, wife of Patrice Talon, became first lady on her husband's election as president on April 6, 2016. There had been no "first gentleman", or its equivalent, as of 2021.
Chantal de Souza Yayi (born ?) is a Beninese politician and former First Lady of Benin from 2006 until 2016. She is the wife of former Beninese President Thomas Boni Yayi.
Africaportal 