Marc Ravalomanana, (born December 12, 1949 in Imerinkasinina) is a Malagasy politician. He comes from the Merina ethnicity. He is currently the President of Madagascar; he took office in 2002, during a dispute over the results of the December 2001 presidential election in which he successfully pressed his claim to have won a majority in the first round. He was re-elected in December 2006, again with a majority in the first round.
Before entering politics, Ravalomanana was a wealthy, self-made businessman who founded the island's largest dairy company, Tiko. He started his business career selling yogurt from his bicycle before he received a loan from the World Bank that enabled him to buy a factory.
In the municipal elections held on November 14, 1999, Ravalomanana was elected mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, receiving 45% of the vote. As mayor he was credited with successfully cleaning up the capital. He announced on August 5, 2001 that he would run for president in the election to be held later that year on December 16; two months later, polls showed him to be ahead of the incumbent president, Didier Ratsiraka. Following the election, official results put Ravalomanana in first place, with 46%, against Ratsiraka's 40%; [More]
Source: wikipedia.org |