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Dominique Ouattara

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Dominique Folloroux-Ouattara
First Lady of Ivory Coast
Incumbent
Assumed role
11 April 2011
PresidentAlassane Ouattara
Preceded bySimone Gbagbo
Personal details
Born (1953-12-16) 16 December 1953 (age 71)
Constantine, Algeria
Spouse(s)Jean Folloroux (1975-1983; his death), Alassane Ouattara (since 1991)
ChildrenLoïc Folloroux, Nathalie Folloroux

Dominique Folloroux-Ouattara (née Nouvian) (born 16 December 1953) is the current First Lady of Ivory Coast, married to President Alassane Ouattara.[1]

Early life and education

Dominique Claudine Nouvian was born on 16 December 1953[2] in Constantine, French Algeria.[3] She is a Catholic of Jewish descent from her mother's side.[4][5] She is a French national.[6] She received a high school diploma from Strasbourg Academy in 1973 and graduated from the University of Paris X in 1975 with a degree in languages and a minor in economics.[3] In 1987, she obtained a diploma in property management from the La Fédération Nationale de l'Immobilier (FNAIM) in Paris, before receiving training as a real estate expert in 1989.[7]

Career

Folloroux-Ouattara is a businesswoman, specializing in real estate. From 1979, she was CEO of AICI International Group. In 1993, she established a real estate management company, Malesherbes Gestion.[3]In 1996, Folloroux-Ouattara was appointed CEO of French hair care chain EJD Inc.,[3] a company that manages Jacques Dessange Institute in Washington, D.C.. In 1998, she acquired the Jacques Dessange franchises in the United States and then became CEO of French Beauty Services which manages the U.S. franchise's brand.

Following her husband's election as President of the Republic, and in accordance with campaign pledges he had made, Folloroux-Ouattara ceased her activities as a business leader and resigned from all her professional duties. She sold the US Dessange franchises to Dessange Paris Group to devote herself exclusively to her role as First Lady of Côte d'Ivoire and to her foundation, Children of Africa.[3]

In November 2011, Folloroux-Ouattara was appointed head of the National Oversight Committee of Actions Against Child Trafficking, Exploitation and Labor.[3]

Children of Africa Foundation

In 1980, Folloroux-Ouattara conducted humanitarian missions in Côte d'Ivoire and in 1998 she created the Children Of Africa Foundation. The foundations' goal is the welfare of children on the African continent. Princess Ira von Fürstenberg is patron of the foundation, which is active in Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Madagascar, Central Africa and Burkina Faso.

Personal life

Folloroux-Ouattara moved to the Ivory Coast in 1975 with her first husband, Jean Folloroux, who was a professor at Lycée Technique in Abidjan, and whom she had married in 1974. With him she has two children. Her husband died in 1984.[3] Their eldest son, Loic Folloroux, was Director of the African branch of the Armajaro Trading Limited group, a company specializing in trading in cocoa and raw materials.[8] He acquired  the group's French-speaking subsidiaries and then created his own company. Her daughter, Nathalie Folloroux, is program director at Canal + International.[9][10]

She married Ouattara, then Deputy Governor of the BCEAO in Dakar, on August 24, 1991 in the Town Hall of the 16th arrondissement of Paris in the presence of family friends like Martin Bouygues and Jean-Christophe Mitterrand.[3][11][12] Outtara became President of Ivory Coast in 2010 and was re-elected in 2015.[13][14]

Titles

Awards and honors[15]

  • 1989: "Honorary President of the Real Estate Agent Organization of Côte d’Ivoire" (CSDAIM)
  • 1991: "Honorary Chairwoman of Employer’s Union of Real Estate Agents of Côte d’Ivoire" (CSDAIM)
  • 2000: "Best Business Woman of the Year 2000" in the framework of The Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World.
  • 2008: " International Pan ICS Prize 2007-2008 Best Woman Prize of the best structure of Charity in West Africa for her education, training and assistance activities to destitue children and women in difficulties".
  • 2009: "Officer of the Order of Merit of Solidarity" for the humanitarian actions of her foundation.
  • 2011: "Crans Montana Foundation Prize", in collaboration with UNESCO and ISESCO, presented by Irina Bokova, Director-General of Unesco.
  • 2011: "Commander of the Ivorian National Order"
  • 2012: "World Cocoa Foundation Prize (WCF)" in Washington, DC, for her commitment to children’s welfare.
  • 2012: "Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour" of France, presented by Nicolas Sarkozy.
  • 2013: "Lebanon Grand cordon of the honour of merit"
  • 2014: "UNAIDS Special Ambassador for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission and the promotion of pediatric treatment for HIV"
  • 2016: "US – Africa Business Center Outstanding Leader’s award" from the American Chamber of Commerce for humanitarian action in support of women's entrepreneurship.
  • 2017: "Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Portugal", presented by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
  • 2017: "Global Impact Leadership Award" of the Center of Economic and Leadership Development for efforts to eliminate child labor and the promotion of female empowerment.

References

  1. ^ "Ivory Coast's Alassane Ouattara in profile". BBC News. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Dominique Ouattara, First Lady of Côte d'Ivoire". Office of the First Lady. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Daddieh, Cyril K. (2016). Historical Dictionary of Cote d'Ivoire (The Ivory Coast). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 384–5.
  4. ^ Smith, David (15 April 2011). "Alassane Ouattara reaches summit but has more mountains to climb". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Dominique Ouattara, une "première dame" d'influence" (in French). 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  6. ^ Gates, Henry Louis; Akyeampong, Emmanuel; Niven, Steven J. (2012). Dictionary of African Biography, Volume 2. OUP USA. p. 56.
  7. ^ "Biographie Première Dame". Dominique Ouattara.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "Loïc Folloroux : « Armajaro condamne toute activité de fraude et de détournement de cacao »". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 2010-08-11. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  9. ^ "Télévision : les séries africaines crèvent l'écran" (in French). 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  10. ^ "PHOTOS - Exclusif - Dominique Ouattara (Première Dame de Côte d'Ivoire) et sa fille Nathalie Folloroux - Dîner de gala à l'occasion du 20ème anniversaire de la fondation". www.purepeople.com (in French). Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  11. ^ "Dominique Ouattara, une "première dame" d'influence" (in French). 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  12. ^ "Entre M. Sarkozy et M. Ouattara, une amitié de 20 ans" (in French). 2011-04-12. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  13. ^ "Ivory Coast election: Alassane Ouattara 'beats Gbagbo'". BBC News. 2 December 2010.
  14. ^ "Alassane Ouattara wins Ivory Coast election by a landslide". The Guardian. 28 October 2015.
  15. ^ "Dominique Ouattara". Dominique Ouattara. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
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