History of Benin: Difference between revisions
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==Post-colonial Benin== |
==Post-colonial Benin== |
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{{seealso|Republic of Dahomey}} |
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On [[August 1]], [[1960]], the Republic of Dahomey gained full [[independence]] from France. The first president was [[Hubert Maga]], who bore the title Prime Minister during the country's last year under French rule. Instability caused by economic troubles, social unrest and ethnic tensions brought about a [[coup]] in 1963. [[Justin Ahomadegbé]] was appointed president until he was deposed in 1969 and Lt. Col.[[Paul-Émile de Souza]] was made president. |
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Between 1960 and 1972, a succession of military coups brought about many changes of government. The last of these brought to power Major Mathieu Kérékou as the head of a regime professing strict Marxist-Leninist principles. The Revolutionary Party of the People 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.<ref name=bn>[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/6761.htm "Background Note: Benin"]. U.S. Department of State (June 2008). {{PD-notice}}</ref> |
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Benin was thus the first African country to effect successfully the transition from dictatorship to a pluralistic political system. In the second round of National Assembly elections held in March 1995, Soglo'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, encouraged him to stand successfully at both the 1996 and 2001 presidential elections.<ref name=bn/> |
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When elections were cancelled in 1970, a three-man presidential council was appointed, including Maga, his politically ally [[Sourou Migan Apithy]] and Ahomadegbé. Another coup was staged in 1972, which led to the installation of a government led by Major [[Mathieu Kérékou]]. The name of the country was changed to [[Benin]] in [[1975]]. |
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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 Houngbedji (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."<ref name=bn/> |
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From [[1974]] to [[1989]] Kérékou ran the country as a [[socialist]] state, earning the label of "Africa's [[Cuba]]". Free elections were reestablished in [[1991]], and Kérékou was defeated by [[Nicéphore Soglo]], Soglo however lost the 1996 election to Kérékou. He remained in power despite allegations of electoral fraud in the 2001 election. |
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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 Renaisance 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.<ref name=bn/> |
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Kérékou did not seek reelection in 2006, and he was succeeded by [[Yayi Boni]] in April [[2006]]. |
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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.<ref name=bn/> |
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Former West African Development Bank Director Boni Yayi won the March 2006 election for the presidency in a field of 26 candidates. 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 limits. President Yayi was inaugurated on April 6, 2006.<ref name=bn/> |
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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.<ref name=bn/> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 15:23, 5 November 2008
- Note: This article is about the modern nation of Benin, which encompasses the former French colony of Dahomey, located west of Nigeria. It is easily confused with the historical empire governed by the Oba of Benin from the 14th Century until 1897, from a seat of power sited at Benin City in present-day Nigeria.
The Republic of Benin was the seat of Dahomey, one of the great medieval African kingdoms, governed from the capital, Abomey, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kingdom of Benin
the indigenous Edo people (also known as Bini or Benin people) of modern day Nigeria were run by a group of local chieftains, until a single ruler known as the oba,(oba means 'king' or 'ruler' in the Yoruba language), had asserted control. See Kingdom of Benin. U The obas brought great prosperity and a highly organized state to Benin. They also established good relations and an extensive slave trade with the Portuguese and Dutch who arrived from the 15th century onwards. The Benin Empire was very powerful.
Colonial Benin
The decline of the obas began in the 18th century when a series of internal power struggles began which lasted into the 19th century. This paved the way for the French takeover and colonization of the country in 1872. In 1904, the territory was incorporated into French West Africa as Dahomey.
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 République du Dahomey, self-governing within the French Community.
Post-colonial Benin
 | Template:Wikify is deprecated. Please use a more specific cleanup template as listed in the documentation. |
Between 1960 and 1972, a succession of military coups brought about many changes of government. The last of these brought to power Major Mathieu Kérékou as the head of a regime professing strict Marxist-Leninist principles. The Revolutionary Party of the People 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.[1]
Benin was thus the first African country to effect successfully the transition from dictatorship to a pluralistic political system. In the second round of National Assembly elections held in March 1995, Soglo'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, encouraged him to stand successfully at both the 1996 and 2001 presidential elections.[1]
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 Houngbedji (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."[1]
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 Renaisance 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.[1]
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.[1]
Former West African Development Bank Director Boni Yayi won the March 2006 election for the presidency in a field of 26 candidates. 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 limits. President Yayi was inaugurated on April 6, 2006.[1]
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.[1]
See also
External links
- Rulers.org — Benin List of rulers for Benin
- History of Benin
References
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.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Background Note: Benin". U.S. Department of State (June 2008). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.