Politics of Madagascar takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, with a pluralist multi-party system. The President of Madagascar is head of state and the Prime Minister of Madagascar is head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the bicameral parliament, which is composed of the Senate and the National Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Marc Ravalomanana is a Malagasy politician who served as the sixth President of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009. Born into a farming Merina family in Imerinkasinina, near the capital city of Antananarivo, Ravalomanana first rose to prominence as the founder and CEO of the vast dairy conglomerate TIKO, later launching successful wholesaler MAGRO and several additional companies.
Jacques Hugues Sylla was a Malagasy politician. He was the Prime Minister of Madagascar under President Marc Ravalomanana from February 2002 to January 2007. He subsequently served as the President of the National Assembly of Madagascar from October 2007 to March 2009.
Didier Ignace Ratsiraka was a Malagasy politician and naval officer who was the third President of Madagascar from 1975 to 1993 and the fifth from 1997 to 2002. At the time of his death, he was the longest-serving President of Madagascar.
René Tantely Gabrio Andrianarivo was a Malagasy politician who was Prime Minister of Madagascar from 23 July 1998 to 31 May 2002, under President Didier Ratsiraka.
Presidential elections were held in Madagascar on 3 December 2006. President Marc Ravalomanana, in office since he prevailed in a dispute over election results in 2002, ran for re-election. On 9 December, Ravalomanana was declared to have won in the first round with about 55 percent of the vote.
Pierrot Jocelyn Rajaonarivelo is a Malagasy politician who served in the government of Madagascar as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2013. He previously served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1997 to 2002, under President Didier Ratsiraka, and he was also National Secretary of the AREMA party at that time. He went into exile when Ratsiraka was ousted in 2002, and he was subsequently convicted of abuse of office in absentia. He was seen by many as the main potential challenger to President Marc Ravalomanana in the December 2006 presidential election; however, he was barred from standing.
Jean Lahiniriko is a Malagasy politician. He served in the government of Madagascar as Minister of Public Works from 2002 to 2003 and was president of the National Assembly of Madagascar from 2003 to 2006. Subsequently he was the second place candidate in the 2006 presidential election. He is now the president of the Socialist and Democratic Party for the Unity of Madagascar (PSDUM) and a member of the High Transitional Authority under President Andry Rajoelina.
Ny Hasina Andriamanjato is a Malagasy politician who served in the government of Madagadcar as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2010.
Manandafy Rakotonirina was a Malagasy politician. He had been a significant political figure in Madagascar since the 1970s, and in April 2009 he was appointed as Prime Minister by ousted President Marc Ravalomanana.
Narisoa Rajaonarivony (1955-2011) was a Malagasy diplomat and politician. He was Madagascar's Ambassador to France. Previously he was Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the Economy, Finance and the Budget in 2002, then Ambassador to the United States beginning in 2003.
Yvan Randriasandratriniony is a Malagasy politician. He served in the government of Madagascar as Minister of Agriculture, Breeding and Fishing from March 2002 to January 2004 and Minister of Decentralization and Regional Planning from January 2007 to April 2008. He became President of Tiako i Madagasikara (TIM), the ruling party, in October 2007, and he was President of the Senate of Madagascar from May 2008 to March 2009; he also served for a time as ambassador to South Africa.
Azaly Ben Marofo is a former Malagasy foreign minister. In February 2002, when President Marc Ravalomanana won election, Ben Marofo was his initial choice as foreign minister. However, he was replaced in May by Marcel Ranjeva. He was the second of three foreign ministers in 2002. He was the 14th person to hold the position since independence.
The Judged By Your Work Party is a centrist political party in Madagascar.
Andry Nirina Rajoelina is a French-Malagasy politician and businessman who has served as president of Madagascar since 2023. He previously served as president from 2019 to 2023, and was president of a provisional government from 2009 to 2014 following a political crisis and military-backed coup, having held the office of Mayor of Antananarivo for one year prior. Before entering the political arena, Rajoelina was involved in the private sector, including a printing and advertising company called Injet in 1999 and the Viva radio and television networks in 2007.
The 2009 Malagasy political crisis began on 26 January 2009 with the political opposition movement led by Antananarivo mayor Andry Rajoelina, which sought to oust President Marc Ravalomanana from the presidency. The crisis reached its climax in the 2009 Malagasy coup d'état when Andry Rajoelina was declared the president of the High Transitional Authority of Madagascar on 21 March 2009, five days after Ravalomanana transferred his power to a military council and fled to South Africa.
The High Transitional Authority was a provisional executive body that came to power in Madagascar following the coup that forced Marc Ravalomanana to leave the country on March 17, 2009, as a result of the 2009 Malagasy protests. It was headed by Andry Rajoelina, who appointed members to the body weeks prior to the handing of executive authority from Ravalomanana to the military, which subsequently gave the authority over to the High Transitional Authority.
General elections were held in Madagascar on 20 December 2013, following a first round of presidential elections on 25 October. The presidential elections in December were a runoff between Jean Louis Robinson and Hery Rajaonarimampianina, the top two candidates to emerge from the first round of voting in October. The official results of the second round were announced on 7 January 2014 with Rajaonarimampianina proclaimed the victor with nearly 54% of the vote.
Hippolite Rarison Ramaroson is a Malagasy vice admiral and politician. During the 2009 Malagasy political crisis and after President Marc Ravalomanana stepped down, he became acting President of Madagascar for several hours on 17 March 2009, before transferring power to Andry Rajoelina. He went on to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs and one of three Vice Prime Ministers in the High Transitional Authority from 2010 to 2011.
The 2002 Malagasy Political Crisis covers the period of mass protests and violent conflict following a dispute over the results of the 2001 Malagasy presidential election. It took place in Madagascar between January-July 2002 and ended with the swearing-in of President Marc Ravalomanana and flight of former president Didier Ratsiraka.
