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From
the independence's date on August 7, 1960 till December 7, 1993, Ivory Coast was
under the leadership of a wise and politically experienced statesman: President
Felix Houphouet Boigny who had been: -
Cote d' Ivoire's
elected member to the French National Parliament from October 1945 to January
1956.
Minister
in several French Council of ministers from February 1956 to May 20, 1959.
Prime
Minister of the self-government of Côte d'Ivoire from May 21, 1959 to August
6, 1960.
- Cote
d'Ivoire's Head of State from August 7, 1960 to December 7, 1993.
President Felix Houphouet Boigny
adopted free enterprise policy as political and economic development
strategy to rule his country and attract foreign investment. That was a
remarkable contrarian move, in total opposition to the politically correct tendency
existing in the 1960's amongst the majority of African leaders, who opted for
state run economy.
He
managed - for four decades running - to mobilize and develop strong
political and economic relations with the former colonial power - France
- Therefore, France provided sustainable assistance to drive the country upward
on the economic development path.
Houphouet
elaborated and relentlessly implemented an open door policy
towards citizens from the former West African French Territories - (Afrique Occidentale
Française): Benin
(Dahomey), Niger, Burkina-Faso
(Haute Volta), Mali (Soudan
Français), Senegal,
Guinea Conakry, Mauritania
and Togo.
That open door
policy attracted many brains and hands from the above mentioned countries to Ivory
Coast. They contributed very significantly to the 25 years (1960-1985) of the
so called "Ivory Coast Economic Miracle (miracle économique ivoirien)":
a strong economic development growth based on the cultivation of cash crops: cocoa,
coffee, banana, palm oil, pineapple.
The
heavy decline of cash crops prices on the international market of the mid 1980s
- coupled with mismanagement of funds gained during the prosperity period of the
1970's - drove down the economy and Ivory Coast government was obliged to require
the assistance of international financial institutions: the IMF and the World
Bank.
To
assist him manage the economic recovery, President Houphouet
appointed as Prime minister, on January 1990, a new
man to the Ivorian political scenery: Alassane Dramane Ouattara
- head of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA)
Alassane Dramane Ouattara was born at the
village of Kong - in the Northern region of Ivory Coast - from a father born in
Upper-Volta (Burkina Faso) - but residing in Ivory Coast - and a mother native
from the Northern region of Ivory Coast.
Alassane
Dramane Ouattara had been the unique Prime Minister ever appointed by President
Houphouet.
He held the position till the death of his mentor and resigned on December 9,
1993; two days after the designated constitutional heir - Henri Konan Bedie -
grabbed the state power...
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