Pierre Osho (born May 5, 1945) is a Beninese politician. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Benin from April 1996 to May 1998, then Minister of Defense from May 1998 to January 2006, when he resigned. [1]
Osho submitted his resignation to President Mathieu Kérékou on January 11, 2006, [1] and was succeeded as Defense Minister by Martin Dohou Azonhiho later in the month. [2]
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.
The Action Front for Renewal and Development is a political party in Benin.
Benin has played an important role in the African music scene, producing one of the biggest stars to come out of the continent in Angélique Kidjo. Post-independence, the country was home to a vibrant and innovative music scene, where native folk music combined with Ghanaian highlife, French cabaret, American rock, funk and soul, and Congolese rumba. It also has a rich variety of ethnomusicological traditions.
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.
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.
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.
Nicéphore Dieudonné Soglo is a Beninese politician who was Prime Minister of Benin from 1990 to 1991 and President from 1991 to 1996. He was Mayor of Cotonou from 2003 to 2015. Soglo was married to Rosine Vieyra Soglo, the Beninois former First Lady and politician.
Adrien Houngbédji is a Beninese politician and the leader of the Democratic Renewal Party, 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. 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.
Col. Martin Dohou Azonhiho was a Beninese politician, native of Abomey. He was a confrontational, much-feared, and ultra-radical minister of information and ideologue in the leftist government of Mathieu Kérékou from 1974 to 1982. He is said to have played a part in the 1975 assassination of his primary rival within the government, Maj. Michel Aikpé.
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.
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.
Frédéric Dohou is a political figure from Benin.
The People's Republic of Benin was a socialist state located in the Gulf of Guinea on the African continent, which became present-day Benin in 1990. The People's Republic was established on 30 November 1975, after the 1972 coup d'état in the Republic of Dahomey. It effectively lasted until 1 March 1990, with the adoption of a new constitution, and the abolition of Marxism–Leninism in the nation in 1989.
Kamarou Fassassi was a Beninese politician.
Daniel Tawéma is a Beninese politician. During the regime of Mathieu Kérékou, he became Deputy Director of the Civil Cabinet in April 1979 and served as Director of the Cabinet from 1983 to 1989. From August 1989 to March 1990, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. Tawéma was a member of the National Assembly of Benin from 1991 to 1995. He was a founding member of the Action Front for Renewal and Development (FARD-Alafia) in 1994. During Kérékou's second period in office, Tawéma was Minister of the Interior from 1998 to February 2005. In February 2004, he was elected as the secretary general of FARD-Alafia, succeeding Jerome Sacca Kina Guezere. In December 2005, Tawéma was designated as his party's candidate for the March 2006 presidential election. In the election, he received 12th place and 0.60% of the vote.
Gatien Houngbédji is a Beninese politician and the president of the Union for Economic and Social Development (UDES). Under President Mathieu Kérékou, he was Minister of Trade, Craft Industry, and Tourism from April 1996 to May 1998. He unsuccessfully ran for the office of President of Benin as the candidate of UDES in the March 1991 presidential election, in which he received 0.89% of the vote. He also ran as the UDES candidate in the March 2001 presidential election, in which he received 0.33% of the vote. In January 2006, he was again designated as the UDES candidate for the March 2006 presidential election; in this election he received 0.22% of the vote.
Marie-Elise Akouavi Gbèdo is a Beninese politician who has run for president four times. She served as Minister of Justice of Benin from 2012 to 2013.
The 1972 Dahomeyan coup d'état was a military coup staged on 26 October 1972 by Major Mathieu Kérékou, who took control of the Republic of Dahomey and ended a system of government established following the annulled 1970 presidential election, in which three members of the Presidential Council were to rotate in power. Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin served as the Chairman at the time of the coup.