Alassane Ouattara
President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire
Biography
Alassane Ouattara was born on 1 January 1942 in Dimbokro to the late Dramane Ouattara and Hadja Nabintou Ouattara née Cissé. He is married with four children.
He did his primary and secondary education in Côte d’Ivoire, then in Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso, where he brilliantly obtained his baccalaureate in Elementary Mathematics in 1962. He was then awarded an American scholarship that enabled him to continue his studies at the Drexel Institute of Technology, then at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he obtained a Master’s degree in Economics in 1967.
This parchment offered him a job as an economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in April 1968.
A keen student, Alassane Ouattara went on to earn a Ph.D. in Economics in May 1972.
A year later, he joined the Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO) in Paris, where he became Vice-Governor at the age of 40. In November 1984, he returned to the IMF as Director for Africa. In October 1988, he succeeded Abdoulaye Fadiga as head of BCEAO.
In April 1990, as Côte d’Ivoire was rocked by an unprecedented crisis, President Félix Houphouët-Boigny called upon him to serve, first as Chairman of the Interministerial Coordination Committee for the Stabilization and Economic Recovery Program, and then on November 7, 1990, as Prime Minister and Head of Government.
Upon the death of President Houphouët-Boigny on December 7, 1993, Alassane Ouattara returned to the IMF, where he was appointed Deputy Managing Director in July 1994.
In July 1999, he ended his commitment to the IMF and returned to Côte d’Ivoire to lead the Rally of Republicans of Côte d’Ivoire (RDR).
On May 21, 2011, he was elected the 5th President of the Republic with 54.10% of the vote. Once in power, he implemented numerous economic reforms that transformed Côte d’Ivoire and improved the living conditions of Ivorians.
Thanks to this positive performance, Alassane Ouattara was re-elected on October 25, 2015, in the first round, with 83.66% of the vote, for a second term.
In 2020, following the tragic death of Amadou Gon Coulibaly, the designated candidate of the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP), just months before the presidential election, Alassane Ouattara was forced to reverse his decision and run for president. He won in the first round, with 95% of the vote.
Allocations
The President of the Republic is the Head of State. He embodies national unity. He ensures compliance with the Constitution. He ensures the continuity of the State. He is the guarantor of national independence, territorial integrity and compliance with international commitments.
It is elected for a five-year term by direct universal suffrage. He may be re-elected only once. He chooses a Vice-President of the Republic, in agreement with Parliament.
In the event of a vacancy in the office of President of the Republic due to the death, resignation or absolute impediment of the President of the Republic, the Vice-President of the Republic shall automatically become President of the Republic.
Before taking office, he takes the oath of office before the Constitutional Council, convened in a formal audience.
The new President’s duties cease upon the expiration of the current presidential term. The President of the Republic holds exclusive executive power.
He determines and conducts the nation’s policy.
He ensures the execution of laws and court decisions.
He issues regulations applicable to the entire territory of the Republic.
He has the right to grant pardons.
The President of the Republic is the Head of the Administration and appoints civilian and military officials.
He is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. He chairs the Councils and the Defense and Security Committees.
He accredits Ambassadors and Extraordinary Envoys to foreign powers and international organizations.
Ambassadors and Extraordinary Envoys are accredited to him.
He appoints the Prime Minister, Head of Government. He terminates his duties. On the Prime Minister’s recommendation, he appoints
the other members of the Government and determines their responsibilities. He terminates their functions under the same conditions.
He chairs the Council of Ministers.
The President of the Republic initiates legislation concurrently with the members of Parliament.
He ensures the promulgation of laws within thirty days following the transmission to him of the definitively adopted law. This period is reduced to five days in cases of emergency.
He may, before these deadlines are reached, request a second deliberation of the law or certain of its articles from Parliament. This second deliberation cannot be refused.
He may also, within the same time limits, request and obtain, by right, that this deliberation
take place only during a session following the one during which the text was adopted at first reading. The vote for this second deliberation requires an absolute majority of the members of Parliament in office.
The President of the Republic, after consulting Congress, may submit to a referendum any text or question that he considers should require direct consultation with the people.
When the referendum results in the adoption of the text, he shall promulgate it within the time limits provided for in Article 74, paragraph 2.
The President of the Republic may, by decree, delegate certain of his powers to the Vice President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, and other members of the Government.
He may, by decree, delegate certain of his powers to the Prime Minister or to the member of the Government acting as interim Prime Minister. This delegation of power must be limited in time and relate to a specific matter or subject.
The First Lady
Mrs Dominique Ouattara was born on 16 December 1953. She is the wife of Dr Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, and the mother of two children.
Dominique Ouattara holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Académie de Strasbourg, a DEUG in economics from Université Paris X, a diploma in property management from the FNAIM and a diploma in real estate expertise. She had a brilliant career as a company director, before becoming First Lady of Côte d’Ivoire, and devoting herself entirely to the well-being of her fellow citizens.
In 1979, she was behind the creation of the AICI International Real Estate Group, of which she was Chairman and CEO, and which today employs more than 250 people in several cities in Africa and Europe.
In 1996, she acquired the Jacques Dessange brand in the United States, and became Chairman and CEO of French Beauty Services, which grouped together the brand’s franchises, hairdressing schools and beauty salons in New York and Washington.
A WOMAN COMMITTED TO SOLIDARITY
President of the Children of Africa Foundation
Alongside her brilliant professional career, Mrs Dominique Ouattara has always been involved in actions of solidarity and mutual aid in favour of the underprivileged.
Through her Foundation, Mrs Dominique Ouattara has initiated the construction of a hospital entirely dedicated to mothers and children, with a view to reducing mortality in this section of the population. The Bingerville Mother and Child Hospital was inaugurated on 16 March 2018.
President of the National Oversight Committee for Actions to Combat Child Trafficking, Exploitation, and the Worst Forms of Child Labor in Côte d’Ivoire (CNS).
Ms. Dominique Ouattara has been the President of the CNS since 2012. This national committee works to protect children’s rights and takes action to combat child exploitation and trafficking.
Founder of the Support Fund for Women of Côte d’Ivoire (FAFCI)
A firm believer in the potential of her sisters, Ms. Dominique Ouattara created the Support Fund for Women of Côte d’Ivoire (FAFCI) in 2012 to finance microprojects for women across the country. Today, 130,000 women benefit from this fund for their empowerment.
UNAIDS Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and the Promotion of Pediatric Treatment
Because of her work on behalf of children, Ms. Dominique OUATTARA has been appointed by UNAIDS as a Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and the Promotion of Pediatric Treatment since 2014.