Adrien Houngbédji (born 5 March 1942) is a Beninese politician and the leader of the Democratic Renewal Party (Parti du renouveau démocratique,PRD),one of Benin's main political parties. He was President of the National Assembly of Benin from 1991 to 1995,Prime Minister of Benin from 1996 to 1998,and President of the National Assembly again from 1999 to 2003. [1] Beginning in 1991,he stood repeatedly as a presidential candidate;he placed second in 2006,but was heavily defeated by Yayi Boni in a second round of voting. From 2015 to 2019,he served for a third time as President of the National Assembly.
Adrien Houngbédji was born in Aplahoué (Benin) in 1942. [2] He earned a Doctorate in Law from the University of Paris in 1967 and graduated the same year from the French National School of Magistrate,first in his class.[ citation needed ] In August 1968 he joined the bar [2] [3] in Cotonou where he ran a prominent law office.[ citation needed ] After agreeing to represent an opponent of the regime of Mathieu Kérékou,he was arrested in February 1975. [2] On March 5,1975,Houngbédji escaped from prison and fled into exile;shortly afterward he was sentenced to death. He went to Paris,then to Dakar,Senegal,where he taught law,before going to Libreville,Gabon,where he again practiced law. [3]
In Gabon he was close to President Omar Bongo,and Bongo encouraged Houngbédji to return to Benin in December 1989 after an amnesty was issued by the Kérékou regime,providing him with a plane and sending a Gabonese Minister of State to accompany him. [3] Houngbédji participated in the February 1990 National Conference that led the country towards a multi-party democracy. [2] He was favored by Kérékou to become prime minister at the National Conference,but Nicéphore Soglo found more favor with the delegates,and Houngbédji withdrew from the contest prior to the vote,in which Soglo was elected. [4] [5] Although considered by many to have been an ally of the Kérékou regime at the time of the National Conference,Houngbédji has written that he was actually an "enlightened adversary" of the regime. [3] In March 1990 he founded the Democratic Renewal Party,and in early 1991 he was elected to the National Assembly of Benin. [2] He ran in the March 1991 presidential election,taking fifth place with 4.54% of the vote. [6] He was elected as President of the National Assembly in 1991,serving until 1995. [7] [8]
In the March 1995 parliamentary election,the PRD,along with other parties opposed to President Nicéphore Soglo,won a majority of seats in the National Assembly, [9] and Houngbédji was re-elected to the Assembly. [2] He took third place,with 19.71% of the vote,in the first round of the March 1996 presidential election, [6] and he supported Kérékou in the second round of the election. [2] [10] Houngbédji was then appointed Prime Minister (a position which was recreated on this occasion) by Kérékou in April 1996, [11] serving in that position for two years. On May 8,1998,Houngbédji resigned,along with the three other PRD ministers in the government; [12] [13] the position of prime minister was eliminated in the next government,named on May 14. [13]
Houngbédji and the PRD were part of the opposition in the March 1999 parliamentary election,and the opposition succeeded in winning a majority of seats; [14] Houngbédji was re-elected to the National Assembly [2] [15] and was elected President of the National Assembly for a second time on April 29,defeating Kérékou's favored candidate Bruno Amoussou with 45 votes against Amoussou's 38 votes. [14] He remained in the post until 2003. [8] He was also elected co-president of the Africa Caribbean Pacific - European Union (ACP-EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly in 2001. [16]
In the March 2001 presidential election,he took third place and 12.62% of the vote;along with former President Soglo,who finished second,he refused to participate in a second round because of alleged fraud. Fourth-place candidate Bruno Amoussou therefore faced Kérékou in the second round,and Amoussou lost by a large margin. [6] [17]
On February 13,2003,Houngbédji was elected as mayor of Benin's administrative capital,Porto Novo,by the city's council; [18] he took office on the same day. [19] Houngbédji was re-elected to the National Assembly in the March 2003 parliamentary election, [20] and in April 2003 he left the opposition to join the presidential majority. [21] He resigned as Mayor of Porto Novo in June 2003. [22] [23]
Houngbédji ran for president again in the March 2006 presidential election,and on this occasion an article in the constitution excluding Kérékou and Soglo from the race made Houngbédji a favorite. In the first round,held on March 5,he placed second,with about 24% of the vote according to official results,behind Yayi Boni with about 35%;therefore a run-off between Houngbédji and Boni was held on March 19. Houngbédji lost this round,with Yayi Boni receiving almost 75% of the vote. [6]
Houngbédji was re-elected to the National Assembly in the March 2007 parliamentary election. [24] He was again defeated by Yayi Boni in the March 2011 presidential election,although he disputed the official results,which showed Boni winning a first-round majority. At the PRD's Third Ordinary Congress,held in February 2012,Houngbédji was re-elected as President of the PRD. [25]
In the April 2015 parliamentary election,Houngbédji was re-elected to the National Assembly as a PRD candidate in the 19th constituency. [26] When the National Assembly began meeting for its new term,Houngbédji was elected as President of the National Assembly on the night of 19–20 May 2015;as the candidate representing the opposition,he received 42 votes,while the candidate representing Boni's supporters,Komi Koutché,received 41. [27] [28] He took office on 22 May,succeeding Mathurin Nago. [29]
A member of the Académie des sciences d'outre-mer,Houngbédji published a book in October 2005 presenting his political vision of Benin and Africa titled Il n’y a de richesse que d’hommes (publisher:éditions l'Archipel).
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 2022.
Mathieu Kérékou was a Beninese politician who served as president of the People's Republic of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and the Republic of Benin from 1996 to 2006.
Antoine Idji Kolawolé is a Beninese politician. He was the minister of foreign affairs of Benin from 1998 to 2003 and the President of the National Assembly from 2003 to 2007.
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).
Bruno Ange-Marie Amoussou is a Beninese politician who was President of the National Assembly of Benin from 1995 to 1999 and Minister of State for Planning and Prospective Development under President Mathieu Kérékou from 1999 to 2005. He is currently a Deputy in the National Assembly. As the long-time leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD),Amoussou stood as a presidential candidate in 1991,1996,2001,and 2006.
The Democratic Renewal Party was a political party of Benin led by Adrien Houngbédji. Houngbédji lived in exile for several years,but returned to Benin to take part in the National Conference of 1990. He built up his party largely around other exiled Beninese. PRD was legally recognized on September 24,1990.
The Social Democratic Party is a political party in Benin.
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 the 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. The constitution not only stipulated an absolute two-term limit,but required presidents to be 70 years old or younger when taking office;Kérékou had turned 70 in 2003. 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.
The unicameral National Assembly is Benin's legislative body.
Presidential elections were held in Benin on 4 March 2001,with a second round run-off on 18 March. They controversially resulted in the re-election of Mathieu Kérékou for a second term. Kérékou's rival Nicéphore Soglo,who had been president from 1991 to 1996,failed in his bid to reclaim the presidency;although he qualified to participate in the second round of the election against Kérékou,he refused to do so,alleging electoral fraud. Adrien Houngbédji,the parliament speaker and third-placed candidate,also refused to participate in a second round. As a result,Kérékou faced fourth-place candidate Bruno Amoussou,who was planning minister and had already given his support to Kérékou,in the second round;Kérékou won an easy victory with 84% of the vote.
Mathurin Coffi Nago is a Beninese politician who was President of the National Assembly of Benin from 2007 to 2015. Previously he was Minister of Higher Education and Vocational Training from 2006 to 2007.
Kamarou Fassassi was a Beninese politician.
Ganiou Soglo is a Beninese politician of the Benin Rebirth Party (RB) who served in the government for a time as Minister of Culture,Literacy,and the Promotion of National Languages. He is the son of former President Nicéphore Soglo and brother of Léhady Soglo.
Benin,officially the Republic of Benin,is a country in Western Africa. It borders Togo to the west,Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north;its short coastline to the south leads to the Bight of Benin. Its size is just over 110000 km2 with a population of almost 8500000. Its capital is the Yoruba founded city of Porto Novo,but the seat of government is the Fon city of Cotonou. About half the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 per day.
Parliamentary elections were held in Benin on 30 April 2011,after being delayed from 17 April 2011. Turnout was reportedly low. The election saw a six-seat increase for the Cauri Forces for an Emerging Benin,composed of allies of the president Yayi Boni,which took nearly half the parliamentary seats. The election consolidated Boni's victory in the 2011 presidential elections the previous month;Adrien Houngbédji,the second-placed candidate,had rejected the validity of the presidential election results.
Union Makes the Nation is an alliance of opposition political parties in Benin. It is composed of the MADEP,PSD,RB,Key Force,MDS,UNDP,MARCHE,PDPS and RDL VIVOTEN,and therefore represents an expansion of the Alliance for a Democratic Dynamic to embrace most of the significant Beninese parties opposed to the government of President Yayi Boni. The Union contested the 2011 presidential and parliamentary elections. Their presidential candidate,Adrien Houngbédji,was credited with 35.7% of the vote;he issued a statement rejecting the validity of the election results. In the parliamentary elections,the Union took 30 seats out of 83 to become by far the largest opposition party.
Parliamentary elections were held in Benin on 26 April 2015.
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