| History of Benin |
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| History of the Kingdom of Dahomey |
| Early history |
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| Modern period |
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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.
Dahomey was a French colony of and a part of French West Africa from 1904 to 1959. Under the French, a port was constructed at Cotonou, and railroads were built. School facilities were expanded by Roman Catholic missions. In 1946, Dahomey became an overseas territory with its own parliament and representation in the French national assembly. On December 4, 1958, it became the Republic of Dahomey.
Between 1960 and 1972, a succession of military coups brought about many changes of government. [1] The last of these brought to power Major Mathieu Kérékou as the head of a regime professing strict Marxist-Leninist principles. [2] By 1975 the Republic of Dahomey changed its name to the People's Republic of Benin. [3] The People's Revolutionary Party of Benin (PRPB) remained in complete power until the beginning of the 1990s. Kérékou, encouraged by France and other democratic powers, convened a national conference that introduced a new democratic constitution and held presidential and legislative elections. Kérékou's principal opponent at the presidential poll, and the ultimate victor, was Prime Minister Nicéphore Soglo. Supporters of Soglo also secured a majority in the National Assembly. [4] Benin was thus the first African country to successfully complete the transition from a dictatorship to a pluralistic political system. [5]
In the second round of National Assembly elections held in March 1995, Zoglo's political vehicle, the Parti de la Renaissance du Benin, was the largest single party but lacked an overall majority. The success of a party formed by supporters of ex-president Kérékou, who had officially retired from active politics, allowed him to stand successfully at both the 1996 and 2001 presidential elections. [4]
During the 2001 elections, however, alleged irregularities and dubious practices led to a boycott of the run-off poll by the main opposition candidates. The four top-ranking contenders following the first round presidential elections were Mathieu Kérékou (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore Soglo (former president) 27.1%, Adrien Houngbédji (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno Amoussou (Minister of State) 8.6%. The second round balloting, originally scheduled for March 18, 2001, was postponed for days because both Soglo and Houngbedji withdrew, alleging electoral fraud. This left Kérékou to run against his own Minister of State, Amoussou, in what was termed a "friendly match." [4]
In December 2002, Benin held its first municipal elections since before the institution of Marxism-Leninism. The process was smooth with the significant exception of the 12th district council for Cotonou, the contest that would ultimately determine who would be selected for the mayoralty of the capital city. That vote was marred by irregularities, and the electoral commission was forced to repeat that single election. Nicephore Soglo's Renaissance du Benin (RB) party won the new vote, paving the way for the former president to be elected Mayor of Cotonou by the new city council in February 2002. [4]
National Assembly elections took place in March 2003 and were generally considered to be free and fair. Although there were some irregularities, these were not significant and did not greatly disrupt the proceedings or the results. These elections resulted in a loss of seats by RB—the primary opposition party. The other opposition parties, the Party for Democratic Renewal (PRD) led by the former Prime Minister Adrien Houngbedji and the Alliance Etoile (AE), joined the government coalition. [4]
Former West African Development Bank Director Yayi Boni won the March 2006 election for the presidency in a field of 26 candidates. [6] International observers including the United Nations, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and others called the election free, fair, and transparent. President Kérékou was barred from running under the 1990 constitution due to term and age limitations. [7] President Yayi was inaugurated on April 6, 2006. [4] [8]
Benin held legislative elections on March 31, 2007, for the 83 seats in the National Assembly. The Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin (FCBE), a coalition of parties, closely linked to President Yayi, won a plurality of the seats in the National Assembly, providing the president with considerable influence over the legislative agenda. [4]
In March 2011, President Boni Yayi was re-elected with 53.13 percent of vote in the first-round of the election. His main rival rejected the results, claiming widespread irregularities. [9] [10]
In October 2015, Benin's former President Mathieu Kerekou, who ruled the country a total of 28 years during his two spells as president (1972-1991 and 1996–2006), died at the age of 82. [11]
After President Boni Yayi had served maximum two five-year terms, businessman Patrice Talon succeeded him. Talon defeated prime minister Lionel Zinsou, the candidate for Boni Yayi's Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin (FCBE), in the March 2016 presidential election. [12]
In April 2021, incumbent Patrice Talon won re-election with 86 percent of the votes in the first round of the election. The change in election laws resulted in total control of parliament by president Talon's supporters. [13] [14]
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 Peoples Republic of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and the Republic of Benin from 1996 to 2006.
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).
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.
The Benin Rebirth Party is a liberal political party in Benin. The party was founded on 24 March 1992 by then-First Lady Rosine Vieyra Soglo, who became the first Beninese woman to establish a new political party. The party was also headed by Vieyra Soglo after its foundation. It is led by Nicéphore Soglo, who was President of Benin from 1991 to 1996 and later Mayor of Cotonou.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Benin:
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 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 2023.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain . This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA. This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.| By decade | |
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