Old page wikitext, before the edit (old_wikitext) | '{{Redirect|Houphouët-Boigny}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Félix Houphouët-Boigny
|nationality=Ivorian
|image=Félix Houphouët-Boigny 1962-07-16.jpg
|order=1st [[List of heads of state of Côte d'Ivoire|President of Côte d'Ivoire]]
|term_start=3 November 1960
|term_end=7 December 1993
|predecessor=''None (position first established)''
|successor=[[Henri Konan Bédié]]
|birth_name=Dia Houphouët
|birth_date={{Birth date|1905|10|18|df=yes}}
|birth_place=[[Yamoussoukro]], [[French West Africa]]
|death_date={{death date and age|1993|12|7|1905|10|18|df=yes}}
|death_place=Yamoussoukro, [[Ivory Coast]]
|spouse=Kady Racine Sow (1930–1952; ''divorced'')<br />[[Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny]] (1962–1993; ''his death'')
|party=[[Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire|Democratic Party]]
|vicepresident=
| order2=1st [[Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire]]| term_start2=7 August 1960
| term_end2=27 November 1960
| predecessor2=''None (position established)''
| successor2=''Position abolished''<br />[[Alassane Ouattara]] (1990)
|caption=Houphouët-Boigny in 1962
}}
'''Félix Houphouët-Boigny''' ({{IPA-fr|feliks ufwɛ(t) bwaɲi|lang}};<ref name=lavishnyt>{{cite news |first=Kenneth B. |last=Noble |title=For Ivory Coast's Founder, Lavish Funeral |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07E1D61638F93BA35751C0A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |work=[[New York Times]] |date=8 February 1994 |accessdate=22 July 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Félix Houphouët-Boigny |work=France Actuelle |volume=5 |date=1956 |page=10}}</ref> 18 October 1905 – 7 December 1993), affectionately called '''Papa Houphouët''' or '''Le Vieux''' ("The Old One"), was the first [[List of heads of state of Côte d'Ivoire|President]] of [[Ivory Coast]] (1960 to 1993), serving for more than three decades until his death. A [[tribal chief]], he worked as a medical aide, union leader and planter before being elected to the [[Parliament of France|French Parliament]]. He served in several ministerial positions within the [[Cabinet of France|French government]] before leading Côte d'Ivoire following independence in 1960. Throughout his life, he played a significant role in politics and the [[decolonization of Africa]].
Under Houphouët-Boigny's politically [[Centrism|moderate]] leadership, Ivory Coast prospered economically. This success, uncommon in poverty-ridden West Africa, became known as the "Ivorian miracle"; it was due to a combination of sound planning, the maintenance of strong ties with [[Western world|the West]] (particularly France) and development of the country's significant coffee and cocoa industries. However, reliance on the agricultural sector caused difficulties in 1980, after a sharp drop in the prices of coffee and cocoa.
Throughout his presidency, Houphouët-Boigny maintained a close relationship with France, a policy known as [[Françafrique]], and he built a close friendship with [[Jacques Foccart]], the chief adviser on African policy in the [[Charles de Gaulle|de Gaulle]] and [[Georges Pompidou|Pompidou]] governments. He aided the conspirators who ousted [[Kwame Nkrumah]] from power in [[Ghana]] in 1966, took part in [[1977 Benin coup d'état attempt|the failed coup]] against [[Mathieu Kérékou]] in [[Benin]] in 1977, was suspected of involvement in the [[1987 Burkinabé coup d'état|1987 coup d'état]] that removed [[Thomas Sankara]] from power in [[Burkina Faso]] and provided assistance to [[UNITA]], a United States-supported, anti-communist rebel movement in [[Angola]]. Houphouët-Boigny maintained a strong [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] foreign policy, which resulted in, among other things, severing [[Ivory Coast–Soviet Union relations|diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union]] in 1969 (after first establishing relations in 1967) and refusing to recognise the [[People's Republic of China]] until 1983. He re-established relations with the Soviet Union in 1986.
In the West, Houphouët-Boigny was commonly known as the "Sage of Africa" or the "Grand Old Man of Africa". Houphouët-Boigny moved the country's capital from [[Abidjan]] to his hometown of [[Yamoussoukro]] and built the world's largest church there, the [[Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro]], at a cost of US$300 million. At the time of his death, he was the longest-serving leader in Africa's history and the third longest-serving leader in the world after [[Fidel Castro]] of [[Cuba]] and [[Kim Il-sung]] of [[North Korea]]. In 1989, [[UNESCO]] created the [[Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize]] for the "safeguarding, maintaining and seeking of peace". After his death, conditions in Côte d'Ivoire quickly deteriorated. Between 1994 and 2002, there were a number of coups, a [[currency devaluation]] and an economic recession; a [[First Ivorian Civil War|civil war]] began in 2002.
==Early life==
===Birth, childhood and education===
[[Image:Côte d'Ivoire map.png|thumb|right|Map of Côte d'Ivoire]]
According to his official biography, Houphouët-Boigny was probably born on 18 October 1908, in [[Yamoussoukro]] to a family of hereditary chiefs of the [[Baoulé people]].<ref name=assemblee>{{cite web |title=Biographies des députés de la IV République: Félix Houphouët-Boigny |url=http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/histoire/biographies/IVRepublique/houphouet-boigny-felix-18101905.asp |publisher=[[National Assembly of France]] |accessdate=17 July 2008 |language=fr}}</ref> Unofficial accounts, however, place his birth date up to seven years earlier.<ref name=leaderfreedom/><ref name=rvx>{{cite AV media|people=Pesnot, Patrick (producer), Michele Billoud (director)|title=Houphouët-Boigny Part 1|date=9 April 2005|medium=radio|publisher=[[France Inter]]|url=http://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/em/rendezvousavecx/index.php?id=32381|language=fr}}{{dead link|date=August 2014}}</ref> Born into the [[animism|animist]] Akouès tribe, he was named Dia Houphouët: his first name ''Dia'' means "prophet" or "magician". His father was N'Doli Houphouët. Dia Houphouët was the great-nephew through his mother of Queen Yamousso and the village chief, Kouassi N'Go. When N'Go was murdered in 1910, Dia was named to succeed him as chief.<ref name=ellenbogen>Ellenbogen, pp. 26–31.</ref> Due to his young age, his stepfather Gbro Diby ruled as [[regent]] until Dia came of age; Dia's father had already died.<ref name="combat">{{cite news|url=http://www.dialprod.com/memoire/parcours.html |title=Spécial Houphouet |work=Fraternité Matin |access-date=22 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509075415/http://www.dialprod.com/memoire/parcours.html |archive-date=9 May 2008 |language=fr |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Houphouët-Boigny descended from tribal chiefs through his mother, Kimou N'Drive (also known as N'Dri Kan). She died much later in 1936.<ref name=combat/> Doubts remain as to the identity of his father, N'Doli. Officially a native of the N'Zipri of Didiévi tribe,<ref name="histoire">{{cite web|url=http://www.rezoivoire.net/cotedivoire/patrimoine/111/histoire-de-la-famille-boigny.html|title=Histoire de la famille Boigny|publisher=Réseau Ivoire|accessdate=4 August 2008}}</ref> N'Doli Houphouët died shortly after the birth of his son Augustin,<ref name=combat/> although no reliable information regarding his death exists. Houphouët-Boigny had two elder sisters, Faitai (1898?–1998)<ref>{{cite news |title='Mother of Nation' dies in Ivory Coast |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/world/africa/48845.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=20 January 1998 |accessdate=24 July 2008 }}</ref> and Adjoua (d. 1987),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lefaso.net/spip.php?article136/|title=Quand la Côte d'Ivoire et la Haute-Volta (devenue Burkina Faso) rêvaient de la "double nationalité"|date=3 November 2003|work=Lefaso|accessdate=6 August 2008|language=fr}}</ref> as well as a younger brother Augustin (d. 1939).<ref name="histoire"/>
The French colonial administration recognised tribal leaders; they arranged to have Houphouët go to school at the military post in Bonzi, not far from his village, in order to prepare for his future as a leader, despite strenuous objections from relatives, especially his great-aunt Queen Yamousso.<ref name=combat/> In 1915, he was transferred to the ''école primaire supérieure'' (secondary) at [[Bingerville]] in spite of his family's reluctance to have him go to boarding school. The same year, at Bingerville, Houphouët converted to Christianity; he considered it a modern religion and an obstacle to the spread of [[Islam]]. He chose to be christened Félix.<ref name=ellenbogen/>
First in his class, Houphouët was accepted into the ''[[École William Ponty]]'' in 1919, and earned a teaching degree.<ref name=combat/> In 1921, he attended the [[École nationale de médecine et pharmacie (Senegal)|''École de médecine de l'AOF'']] (French West Africa School of Medicine) in [[French Senegal]], where he came first in his class in 1925 and qualified as a [[medical assistant]].<ref name=assemblee/><ref name="Segal282">Segal, p. 282.</ref> As he never completed his studies in medicine, he could qualify only as a ''médecin africain'',<ref name=bio>{{cite book|chapter=Félix Houphouët-Boigny|title=Encyclopædia Universalis|publisher=Encyclopædia Universalis|location=Paris|year=1975|language=fr|title-link=Encyclopædia Universalis}}</ref> a poorly paid doctor.<ref name=rvx/>
===Medical career===
On 26 October 1925, Houphouët began his career as a doctor's aide at a hospital in [[Abidjan]],<ref name=bio2>{{cite book|last=Nanet|first=Bernard|chapter=Félix Houphouët-Boigny|title=Encyclopædia Universalis|publisher=Encyclopædia Universalis|location=Paris|year=1999|language=fr|title-link=Encyclopædia Universalis}}</ref> where he founded an association of indigenous medical personnel.<ref name=ellenbogen/> This undertaking proved short-lived as the colonial administration viewed it unsympathetically, considering it a [[trade union]].<ref name=ellenbogen/> As a consequence, they decided to move Houphouët to a lesser hospital in [[Guiglo]] on 27 April 1927.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lisette|first=Gabriel|authorlink=Gabriel Lisette|title=Le Combat du Rassemblement Démocratique Africain pour la décolonisation pacifique de l'Afrique Noire|publisher=[[Présence Africaine]]|location=Paris|year=1983|isbn=2-7087-0421-4|oclc=10765611|page=12|language=fr}}</ref> After he proved his considerable talents, however, he was promoted on 17 September 1929<ref name=combat/> to a post in [[Abengourou]], which until then had been reserved for Europeans.<ref name=ellenbogen/> At Abengourou, Houphouët witnessed the mistreatment of indigenous cocoa farmers by the colonists.<ref name="patriote">{{cite news|url=http://www.lepatriote.net/lire/f24d1675-b40d-42fe-9f00-23be399b0833.aspx|title=Commémoration de la naissance de Félix Houphouët Boigny: Houphouët a eu 102 ans hier|last=Samou|first=Diawara|date=19 October 2007|work=Le Patriote|accessdate=22 July 2008|language=fr}}</ref>
In 1932, he decided to act, leading a movement of farmers against the influential white landowners and for the economic policies of the colonial government, who favoured the farmers.<ref name=rvx/> On 22 December, he published an article titled "On nous a trop volés" (They have stolen too much from us), in the ''Trait d'union'',<ref name=patriote/> an Ivorian socialist newspaper. It was published under a pseudonym.<ref name=bio2/>
The following year, Houphouët was called by his tribe to assume the responsibilities of village chief.<ref name=combat/> Preferring to pursue his medical career, he relinquished the office to his younger brother Augustin.<ref>Goba, p. 19.</ref> Wishing to live closer to his village, he obtained a transfer to [[Dimbokro]] on 3 February 1934 and then to [[Toumodi]] on 28 June 1936.<ref name=combat/> While Houphouët had displayed professional qualities, his attitude had chafed those around him. As a result, in September 1938, his clinical director demanded that he choose between his job as a doctor and his involvement in local politics. The choice was quickly made for him: his brother died in 1939,<ref name=patriote/> and Houphouët became ''[[chef de canton]]'' (an office created by the colonial administration to collect taxes<ref>Mortimer, p. 36</ref>). Due to this, Houphouët ended his medical career the next year.<ref name=assemblee/>
===First marriage===
In 1930, Houphouët married Kady Racine Sow (1913–2006) in [[Abengourou]]; their union was controversial because he was a practising Catholic and she was the daughter of a wealthy Muslim from [[Senegal]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Guillaume N. |last=Tano |title=Mamie Khady Sow inhumée hier à Abengourou |url=http://www.linter-ci.com/article.php3?id_article=1852 |work=l'Inter |date=17 March 2006 |access-date=31 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430044919/http://www.linter-ci.com/article.php3?id_article=1852 |archive-date=30 April 2008 }}</ref> The families of the two eventually overcame their opposition and accepted the interfaith union, the first ever celebrated in Côte d'Ivoire.<ref name=miran2>Miran, p. 155.</ref> The couple had five children: Felix (who died in infancy), Augustine, Francis, Guillaume and Marie,<ref name="histoire"/> all raised as Catholics.<ref name=miran2/>
===''Chef de canton'' and union leader===
By becoming ''chef de canton'', Houphouët assumed responsibility for the administration of [[Akouè]], a canton which comprised 36 villages. He also took charge of the family plantation—at the time one of the most important in the country—and worked to diversify its rubber, cocoa and coffee crops.<ref name=ellenbogen/> He soon became one of Africa's richest farmers.<ref name=rvx/> On 3 September 1944, he established, in cooperation with the colonial administration,<ref name=ellenbogen/> the [[African Agricultural Union]] (''Syndicat agricole africain'', SAA). Under his presidency, the SAA brought together African farmers who were dissatisfied with their working conditions and worked to protect their interests against those of European planters.<ref name=leaderfreedom/><ref name=bio/><ref>{{cite web|last= Handloff|first = Robert E. (ed)|title= ''Brazzaville Conference'' in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''|url= http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0022)|publisher= Library of Congress|accessdate= 3 August 2008}}</ref> [[Anti-imperialism|Anti-colonialist]] and [[anti-racism|anti-racist]], the organisation demanded better working conditions, higher wages, and the abolition of [[unfree labor]]. The union quickly received the support of nearly 20,000 plantation workers,<ref name=ellenbogen/> together with that of the left-wing French administrators placed in office by the [[Provisional Government of the French Republic|Provisional Government]]. Its success irritated colonists to the extent that they took legal action against Houphouët, accusing him of being anti-French for never seeking French citizenship. However, Houphouët befriended the Inspector Minister of the Colonies, who ordered the charges dropped.<ref name=combat/> They were more successful in obtaining the replacement of the sympathetic [[List of colonial heads of Côte d'Ivoire|Governor]] [[André Latrille]] with the hostile Governor [[Henry de Mauduit]].<ref name="Mortimer62">Mortimer, pp. 62–64</ref>
Houphouët entered electoral politics in August 1945, when elections for the Abidjan city council were held for the first time. The French electoral rules established a common roll: half of the elected would have to be French citizens (who were mostly Europeans) and the other half non-citizens. Houphouët reacted by creating a multi-ethnic all-African roll with both non-citizens and citizens (mostly Senegalese with French citizenship). As a result, most of the African contenders withdrew and a large number of the French protested by abstaining, thus assuring a decisive victory for his African Bloc.<ref name="Mortimer62"/><ref name="Mundt183">Mundt, p. 183.</ref>
In October 1945, Houphouët moved onto the national political scene; the French government decided to represent its colonies in the ''assemblée constituante'' ({{lang-en|Constituent Assembly}}) and gave Côte d'Ivoire and [[Republic of Upper Volta|Upper Volta]]<ref name="Segal282"/> two representatives in Parliament combined. One of these would represent the French citizens and another would represent the indigenous population,<ref name=ellenbogen/> but the suffrage was limited to less than 1% of the population.<ref>Mortimer, p. 58.</ref> In an attempt to block Houphouët, the governor de Mauduit supported a rival candidature, and provided him the full backing of the administration. Despite that and thanks to the SAA's strong organization, Houphouët, running for the indigenous seat, easily came first with a {{formatnum:1000}}-vote majority.<ref name=assemblee/> He failed, however, to obtain an [[absolute majority]], due to the large number of candidates running.<ref name="Mundt183"/> Houphouët emerged victorious again in the second round of elections held on 4 November 1945, in which he narrowly defeated an Upper Voltan candidate with {{formatnum:12980}} votes out of a total of {{formatnum:31081}}.<ref name=assemblee/> At this point, he decided to add "Boigny" to his surname, meaning "irresistible force" in [[Baoulé language|Baoulé]] and symbolizing his role as a leader.<ref name=ellenbogen/><ref name="Mortimer62"/><ref>Brockman, p. 146.</ref>
==French political career==
===Member of Parliament===
[[Image:AssembleeNationale-p1000410.jpg|thumb|right|The Palais Bourbon, where Houphouët-Boigny was appointed to the territorial commission]]
In taking his seat at the [[National Assembly of France|National Assembly]] in the [[Palais Bourbon]] alongside compatriots [[Ouezzin Coulibaly]] and [[Zinda Kaboré]], Houphouët-Boigny had to first decide with which group to side, and he opted for the [[Mouvements Unis de la Résistance|Mouvement Unifié de la Résistance]] (MUR), a small party composed of Communist sympathizers but not formal members of the [[French Communist Party|Communist Party]].<ref>Mortimer, pp. 71–72</ref> He was appointed a member of the ''Commission des territoires d'outre-mer'' (Commission of Overseas Territories).<ref name=assemblee/> During this time, he worked to implement the wishes of the SAA, in particular proposing a bill to abolish forced labor—the single most unpopular feature of French rule.<ref name=leaderfreedom/> The Assembly adopted this bill, known as ''[[Loi Houphouët-Boigny]]'', on 11 April 1946, greatly enhancing the author's prestige beyond his country.<ref>Mortimer, p. 76</ref> On 3 April 1946, Houphouët-Boigny proposed to unify labour regulations in the territories of Africa; this would eventually be completed in 1952. Finally, on 27 September 1946, he filed a report on the [[public health]] system of overseas territories, calling for its reformation. Houphouët-Boigny in his parliamentary tenure supported the idea of a [[French Union|union of French territories]].<ref name=assemblee/>
As the first constitution proposed by the Constituent Assembly was [[May 1946 French constitutional referendum|rejected by the voters]], new [[June 1946 French legislative election|elections were held in 1946]] for a second constituent assembly.<ref>Mortimer, pp. 85–86</ref> For these elections Houphouët-Boigny organized on 9 April 1946,<ref>Toubabou, p. 60.</ref> with the help of the ''[[Communist Study Groups|Groupes d'études communistes]]'' ({{lang-en|Communist Study Groups}}), the [[Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire]] (PDCI),<ref name=universalis>{{cite book|last=Amin|first=Samir|author2=Bernard Nantet|chapter=Côte-d'Ivoire|title=Encyclopædia Universalis|location=Paris|year=1999|language=fr|title-link=Encyclopædia Universalis}}</ref> whose structure closely followed that of the SAA. It immediately became the first successful independent African party when the new party Houphouët-Boigny easily swept the elections with {{formatnum:21099}} out of {{formatnum:37888}} votes, his opponents obtaining only a few hundred votes each.<ref>Mortimer, p. 87</ref> In this he was helped by the recall of Governor Latrille, whose predecessor had been fired by the [[Minister of Overseas France|Overseas Minister]] [[Marius Moutet]] for his opposition to the abolition of the ''[[indigénat]]''.<ref>Mortimer, p. 75</ref>
With his return to the assembly he was appointed to the ''Commission du règlement et du suffrage universel'' (Commission for Regulation of Universal Suffrage); as secretary of the commission from 1947 to 1948, he proposed on 18 February 1947 to reform [[French West Africa]] (AOF), [[French Equatorial Africa]] (AEF), and the French territories' federal council to better represent the African peoples. He also called for the creation of local assemblies in Africa so that Africans could learn how to be politically autonomous.<ref name=assemblee/>
===Foundation of the RDA and Communist alliance===
During the holding of the second Constituent Assembly the African representatives witnessed a strong reaction against the colonial liberalism that had been embedded in the rejected constitution drafted by the previous assembly. The new text, [[October 1946 French constitutional referendum|approved by the voters]] on 13 October 1946, reduced the African representatives from 30 to 24, and reduced the number of those entitled to vote; also, a large number of colonial topics were left in which the executive could govern by decree, and supervision over the colonial administration remained weak.<ref>Mortimer, pp. 100–103</ref> Reacting to what they felt was a betrayal of the [[Popular Republican Movement|MRP]]'s and the [[French Section of the Workers' International|Socialists]]' promises, the African deputies concluded they needed to build a permanent coalition independent from the French parties. Houphouët-Boigny was the first to propose this to his African colleagues, and obtained their full support for a founding congress to be held in October at [[Bamako]] in [[French Sudan]].<ref>Mortimer, p. 105</ref> The French government did all it could to sabotage the congress, and in particular the Socialist Overseas Minister was successful in persuading the African Socialists, who were originally among the promoters, from attending. This ultimately backfired, radicalizing those convened; when they founded the [[African Democratic Rally]] (RDA) as an inter-territorial political movement, it was the pro-Communist<ref>Mortimer, pp. 73–74</ref> [[Gabriel d'Arboussier]] who dominated the congress.<ref>Mortimer, p. 106</ref> The new movement's goal was to free "Africa from the colonial yoke by the affirmation of her personality and by the association, freely agreed to, of a union of nations". Its first president, confirmed several times subsequently, was Houphouët-Boigny,<ref>Segal, pp. 282–283.</ref> while secretary-general became d'Arboussier.<ref>Mortimer, p. 137</ref> As part of the bringing of the territorial parties in the organization, the PDCI became the Ivoirian branch of the RDA.<ref>Ellenbogen, p. 41.</ref>
Too small to form their own parliamentary group,<ref name="Amondji84_110">Amondji (1984), p. 110.</ref> the African deputies were compelled to join one of the larger parties in order to sit together in the Palais Bourbon.<ref name=bio2/> Thus, the RDA soon joined the [[French Communist Party]] (PCF) as the only openly anti-colonialist political faction<ref name=rvx/> and soon organised strikes and boycotts of European imports.<ref name=worldbiography>{{cite web |url=http://www.bookrags.com/biography/felix-houphouet-boigny/ |title=Felix Houphouët-Boigny |accessdate=25 July 2008 |work=Encyclopedia of World Biography |publisher=[[Gale (Cengage)|Thomson Gale]]}}</ref> Houphouët-Boigny justified the alliance because it seemed, at the time, to be the only way for his voice to be heard: "Even before the creation of RDA, the alliance had served our cause: in March 1946, the abolition of compulsory labour was adopted unanimously, without a vote, thanks to our tactical alliance."<ref name="Amondji84_110"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Interview with Félix Houphouët-Boigny|date=4 February 1981|work=[[Jeune Afrique]]|language=fr}}</ref> During his stays in Paris, he travelled in a black limousine to the PCF executive school. On the strength of this contrast, he defends himself from any communist sympathy: "Can I, Houphouet, traditional leader, doctor, big owner, Catholic, can we say that I am a communist? »<ref name=mod />
As the [[Cold War]] set in, the alliance with the Communists became increasingly damaging for the RDA. The French colonial administration showed itself increasingly hostile toward the RDA and its president, whom the administration called a "Stalinist".<ref name=assemblee/> Repression against his party, the PDCI, is increasing in Côte d'Ivoire. Activists are regularly arrested and beaten by police officers, sometimes with acts of torture; others are fired from their jobs. One of the party's main leaders, Senator Biaka Boda, was found hanging and shredded in the forest while wanted by the police. Houphouët-Boigny is afraid for his life and for the existence of the movement.<ref name=mod>Thomas Deltombe, Manuel Domergue, Jacob Tatsita, Kamerun !, 2018</ref> Tensions reached their height at the beginning of 1950,<ref name=bio/> when, following an outbreak of anti-colonial violence, almost the entire PDCI leadership was arrested;<ref name=leaderfreedom/><ref>Goba, p. 28.</ref> Houphouët-Boigny managed to slip away shortly before police arrived at his house.<ref name=leaderfreedom/> Although Houphouët-Boigny would have been saved by his [[parliamentary immunity]], his missed arrest was popularly attributed to his influence and his prestige.<ref name="Mundt184">Mundt, p. 184.</ref> In the ensuing chaos, riots broke out in Côte d'Ivoire;<ref name=decolo>{{cite book|last=Michel|first=Marc|chapter=Afrique – Les décolonisations|title=Encyclopædia Universalis|publisher=Encyclopædia Universalis|location=Paris|year=1999|language=fr|title-link=Encyclopædia Universalis}}</ref> the most significant of which was a clash with the police at Dimbokro in which 13 Africans were killed and 50 wounded. According to official figures, by 1951 a total of 52 Africans had been killed, several hundred wounded and around 3,000 arrested (numbers which, according to an opinion reported by journalist [[Ronald Segal]] in ''African Profiles'', are certainly underestimated).<ref>Segal, p. 283.</ref> In order to defuse the crisis, Prime Minister [[René Pleven]] entrusted the France's Minister for Overseas Territories, [[François Mitterrand]], with the task of detaching the RDA from the PCF,<ref name=bio2/> and in fact an official alliance between the RDA and Mitterrand's party, the UDSR, was established in 1952.<!-- Note to self: Look into this so-called "alliance" --NUL --> Knowing he was at an impasse, in October 1950, Houphouët-Boigny agreed to break the Communist alliance.<ref name=assemblee/> Asked in an undated interview why he worked with the communists, Houphouët-Boigny replied: "I, a bourgeois landowner, I would preach the class struggle? That is why we aligned ourselves with the Communist Party, without joining it."<ref name=leaderfreedom/> A 1954 report from the French military authorities points out that Houphouët-Boigny "conducted his game alone with great flexibility, procrastination and Machiavellian roueries, refraining from convening either the Coordination Committee or the party congress, which could have opposed this volte-face and gradually became a pro-administrative party. "The Secretary General of the RDA, [[Gabriel d'Arboussier]], denounced this new line and left the party. Similarly, the [[Union of the Peoples of Cameroon]], the Union démocratique sénégalaise and the Niger Democratic Union refuse to sever their relations with the PCF and the CGT.<ref name=mod />
===Rehabilitation and entry into government===
In the [[1951 French legislative election|1951 elections]], the number of seats was reduced from three to two; while Houphouët-Boigny still won a seat, the other RDA candidate, [[Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly|Ouezzin Coulibaly]], did not. All in all, the RDA only garnered {{formatnum:67200}} of {{formatnum:109759}} votes in that election, and the party in direct opposition to it captured a seat. On 8 August 1951, Boigny, speaking at René Pleven's inauguration as president of the board, denied being the leader of a communist group; he was not believed until the RDA's 1952 affiliation with UDSR. On the 24th of that same month, Boigny delivered a statement in the Assembly contesting the result of the elections, which he declared tainted by fraud. He also denounced what he saw as the exploitation of overseas deputies as "voting machines", who, as political pawns, supported the colonial government's every action.<ref name=assemblee/> Thereafter, Houphouët-Boigny and the RDA were briefly unsuccessful before their success was renewed in 1956;<ref name=decolo/> at [[1956 French legislative election|that year's elections]], the party received {{formatnum:502711}} of {{formatnum:579550}} votes cast. From then on, his relationship with Communism was forgotten, and he was embraced as a moderate. Named as a member of the Committees on Universal Suffrage (distinct from the aforementioned committee ''regulating'' said suffrage), Constitutional Laws, Rules and Petitions. On 1 February 1956, he was appointed Minister Discharging the Duties of the Presidency of the Council in the government of [[Guy Mollet]], a post he held until 13 June 1957. This marked the first time an African was elected to such a senior position in the French government. His principal achievement in this role was the creation of an organisation of Saharan regions that would help ensure sustainability for the [[French Union]]<ref name=assemblee/> and counter [[Morocco|Moroccan]] territorial claims in the Sahara.<ref>Nandjui, p. 133.</ref>
He will say nothing against the First Indochina War or against Guy Mollet's vote for special powers to repress the insurrection of the National Liberation Front in Algeria.
On 6 November 1957, Houphouët-Boigny became Minister of Public Health and Population in the [[Félix Gaillard|Gaillard]] administration and attempted to reform the public health code. He had previously served as [[Minister of State]] under [[Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury]] (13 June – 6 November 1957).{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} Following his Gaillard ministry, he was again appointed Minister of State from 14 May 1958;<ref name=assemblee/>– 20 May 1959.<ref name="assnat">{{cite web|url=http://www.assembleenationale.fr/gouv_parl/result.asp?choixdate=intervalle&poste=sans+portefeuille&vip=categorie|title=Gouvernements et Présidents des assemblées parlementaires |publisher=[[National Assembly of France|French National Assembly]]|accessdate=22 July 2008|language=fr}}</ref> In this capacity, he participated in the development of France's African policy, notably in the cultural domain. At his behest, the Bureau of French Overseas Students and the [[Cheikh Anta Diop University|University of Dakar]] were created.<ref name=bio/> On 4 October 1958, Houphouët-Boigny was one of the signatories, along with de Gaulle, of the [[Constitution of France|Constitution of the Fifth Republic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.senat.fr/evenement/revision/texte_originel.html|title=Constitution du 4 octobre 1958 – Texte originel|publisher=Government of France|accessdate=22 July 2008|language=fr}}</ref> The last post he held in France was Minister-Counsellor in the Michel Debré government, from 23 July 1959 to 19 May 1961.<ref name=assnat/>
===Leading up to independence===
Until the mid-1950s, French colonies in west and central Africa were grouped within two federations: [[French Equatorial Africa]] (AEF) and [[French West Africa]] (AOF). Côte d'Ivoire was part of the AOF, financing roughly two-thirds of its budget.<ref>Nandjui, p. 90.</ref> Wishing to free the country from the guardianship of the AOF,<ref name=bio2/> Houphouët-Boigny advocated an Africa made up of nations that would generate wealth rather than share poverty and misery. He participated actively in the drafting and adoption of the framework of the [[Gaston Defferre|Defferre]] [[Loi Cadre]], a French legal reform which, in addition to granting autonomy to African colonies, would break the ties that bound the different territories together, giving them more autonomy by means of local assemblies.<ref name="Nandjui, p. 83">Nandjui, p. 83.</ref> The Deffere Loi Cadre was far from unanimously accepted by Houphouët-Boigny's compatriots in Africa: [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]], leader of Senegal, was the first to speak out against this attempted "[[Balkanization]]" of Africa, arguing that the colonial territories "do not correspond to any reality: be it geographical, economic, ethnic, or linguistic". Senghor argued that maintaining the AOF would give the territories stronger political credibility and would allow them to develop harmoniously as well as emerge as a genuine people.<ref>Nandjui, pp. 83–84.</ref> This view was shared by most members of the [[African Democratic Rally]], who backed [[Ahmed Sékou Touré]] and [[Modibo Keïta]], placing Houphouët-Boigny in the minority at the 1957 congress in [[Bamako]].<ref>Nandjui, p. 86.</ref>
Following the adoption of the Loi Cadre reform on 23 June 1956, a territorial election was held in Côte d'Ivoire on 3 March 1957, in which the PDCI—transformed under Houphouët-Boigny's firm control into a political machine—won many seats.<ref name="Mundt184"/><ref name=Nandjuip43>Nandjui, p. 43.</ref> Houphouët-Boigny, who was already serving as a minister in France, as President of the [[National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire|Territorial Assembly]] and as mayor of [[Abidjan]], chose [[Auguste Denise]] to serve as [[List of heads of government of Côte d'Ivoire|Vice President of the Government Council of Côte d'Ivoire]],<ref name=Nandjui44>Nandjui, p. 44.</ref> even though Houphouët-Boigny remained, the only interlocutor in the colony for France.<ref name=rvx/> Houphouët-Boigny's popularity and influence in France's African colonies had become so pervasive that one French magazine claimed that by 1956, the politician's photograph "was in all the huts, on the lapels of coats, on the corsages of African women and even on the handlebars of bicycles".<ref name=leaderfreedom/>
On 7 April 1957, the [[Prime Minister of Ghana]], [[Kwame Nkrumah]], on a visit to Côte d'Ivoire, called on all colonies in Africa to declare their independence;<ref>Nandjui, p. 166.</ref> Houphouët-Boigny retorted to Nkrumah:
{{quote|Your experience is rather impressive ... But due to the human relationships between the French and the Africans, and because in the 20th century, people have become interdependent, we considered that it would perhaps be more interesting to try a new and different experience than yours and unique in itself, one of a Franco-African community based on equality and fraternity.<ref name=Nandjui167/>}}
Unlike many African leaders who immediately demanded independence, Houphouët-Boigny wished for a careful transition within the "''ensemble français''"<ref name=rvx/> because, according to him, political independence without economic independence was worthless.<ref name=assemblee/> He also invited Nkrumah to meet up with him in 10 years to see which one of the two had chosen the best approach toward independence.<ref name=Nandjui167>Nandjui, p. 167.</ref>
[[File:Félix Houphouët-Boigny in 1958.jpg|thumb|Houphouët-Boigny in 1958]]
On 28 September 1958 Charles de Gaulle proposed a [[1958 French constitutional referendum|constitutional referendum]] to the [[French Community|Franco-African community]]: the territories were given the choice of either supporting the constitution or proclaiming their independence and being cut off from France.<ref>Nandjui, p. 129.</ref> For Houphouët-Boigny, the choice was simple: "Whatever happens, Côte d'Ivoire will enter directly to the Franco-African community. The other territories are free to group between themselves before joining."<ref name=Nandjui88>Nandjui, p. 88.</ref> Only [[Guinea]] chose independence; its leader, Ahmed Sékou Touré, opposed Houphouët-Boigny, stating that his preference was "freedom in poverty over wealth in slavery".<ref name="Nandjui, p. 157">Nandjui, p. 157.</ref> The referendum produced the [[French Community]], an institution meant to be an association of free republics which had jurisdiction over foreign policy, defense, currency, common ethnic and financial policy, and strategic raw materials.<ref>
{{cite web|last= Handloff|first = Robert E. (ed)|title= ''Reforms and the French Community'' in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''|url= http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0026)|publisher= Library of Congress|accessdate= 28 July 2008}}</ref>
Houphouët-Boigny was determined to stop the [[hegemony]] of Senegal in West Africa and a political confrontation ensued between Ivorian and Senegalese leaders. Houphouët-Boigny refused to participate in the Inter-African conference in [[Dakar]] on 31 December 1958, which was intended to lay the foundation for the Federation of Francophone African States.<ref name=Nandjui88/> Although that federation was never realised, Senegal and Mali (known at the time as [[French Sudan]]) formed their own political union, the [[Mali Federation]]. After de Gaulle allowed the Mali Federation independence in 1959, Houphouët-Boigny tried to sabotage the federation's efforts to wield political control;<ref name="Nandjui, p. 83"/> in cooperation with France, he managed to convince [[French Upper Volta|Upper Volta]], [[Dahomey]], and [[Niger]] to withdraw from the Mali Federation,<ref>Nandjui, p. 101.</ref><ref>Handloff (ed.), "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0027) Independence and the Institutionalization of the One-Party System]" in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.</ref> before it collapsed in August 1960.
Two months after the 1958 referendum, seven member states of French West Africa, including Côte d'Ivoire, became autonomous republics within the French Community. Houphouët-Boigny had won his first victory against those supporting [[federalism]]. This victory established the conditions that made the future "Ivorian miracle" possible, since between 1957 and 1959, budget revenues grew by 158%, reaching 21,723,000,000 [[CFA franc]]s.<ref>21,723,000,000 [[CFA franc]]s was equivalent to approximately US$8,799,902,777 in 1959, according to [http://fx.sauder.ubc.ca/etc/USDpages.pdf historical exchange rates]. In 2007, this has the equivalent "purchase power" of roughly US$62,571,654,375, according to the [http://www.measuringworth.com/ppowerus/ Institute for the Measurement of Worth].</ref><ref>Nandjui, p. 91.</ref>
==President of Côte d'Ivoire==
===Early years and second marriage===
Houphouët-Boigny officially became the head of the government of Côte d'Ivoire on 1 May 1959. Although he faced no opposition from rival parties and the PDCI became the ''de facto'' party of the state in 1957, he was confronted by opposition from his own government.<ref name=Nandjuip43/> Radical nationalists, led by [[Jean-Baptiste Mockey]], openly opposed the government's [[Francophile]] policies.<ref name=Nandjui44/> In an attempt to solve this problem, Houphouët-Boigny decided to exile Mockey in September 1959, claiming that Mockey had attempted to assassinate him using [[West African Vodou|voodoo]] in what Houphouët-Boigny called the "''complot du chat noir''" (black cat conspiracy).<ref>Nandjui, p. 45.</ref>
[[File:Flag of Côte d'Ivoire.svg|thumb|left|Flag of Ivory Coast]]
Houphouët-Boigny began drafting a new constitution for Côte d'Ivoire after the country's independence from France on 7 August 1960.<ref name=worldbiography/><ref>Nandjui, p. 130.</ref><ref name="Segal287">Segal, p. 287.</ref> It drew heavily from the [[United States Constitution]] in establishing a powerful [[executive branch]], and from the [[Constitution of France]], which limited the capacities of the legislature.<ref name=Nandjui66>Nandjui, p. 66.</ref> He transformed the National Assembly into a mere recording house for bills and budget proposals.<ref name=Nandjui73>Nandjui, p. 73.</ref> On 27 November 1960, Houphouët-Boigny was elected unopposed to the [[List of heads of state of Côte d'Ivoire|Presidency of the Republic]], while a single list of PDCI candidates was elected to the National Assembly.<ref name="Segal287"/>
1963 was marked by a series of alleged plots that played a decisive role in ultimately consolidating power in the hands of Houphouët-Boigny. There is no clear consensus on the unfolding of the 1963 events; in fact, there may have been no plot at all and the entire series of events may have been part of a plan by Houphouët-Boigny to consolidate his hold on power. Between 120 and 200 secret trials were held in Yamoussoukro, in which key political figures—including Mockey and the president of the [[Supreme Court (Côte d'Ivoire)|Supreme Court]] [[Ernest Boka]]—were implicated.<ref name="Mundt187"/> There was discontent in the army, as the generals grew restive following the arrest of Defense Minister [[Jean Konan Banny]], and the president had to intervene personally to pacify them.<ref>Le Vine, p. 211.</ref>
For the next 27 years, almost all power in Côte d'Ivoire was centered in Houphouët-Boigny. From 1965 to 1985, he was reelected unopposed to five successive five-year terms. Also every five years, a single list of PDCI candidates was returned to the National Assembly. For all intents and purposes, all of them were appointed by the president, since in his capacity as leader of the PDCI he approved all candidates.<ref name=Nandjui73/> He and the PDCI believed that national unity and support for the PDCI were one and the same, and that a multiparty system would waste resources and harm the country's unity.<ref>{{csref|country=ivorycoast|section=Independence and the One-Party System|author=Robert E. Handloff}}</ref> For this reason, all adult citizens were required to be members of the PDCI.<ref name=HandloffTheParty>{{csref|country=ivorycoast|section=The Party|author=Robert E. Handloff}}</ref> The media were tightly controlled, and served mainly as outlets for government propaganda.<ref name=leaderfreedom/>
While Houphouët-Boigny's regime was authoritarian, it was less harsh than other African regimes of the time. Once he had consolidated his power, he freed political prisoners in 1967.<ref name=amin>{{cite book|last=Amin|first=Samir|chapter=Côte-d'Ivoire|title=Encyclopædia Universalis|location=Paris|year=1975|language=fr|title-link=Encyclopædia Universalis}}</ref> Under his "unique brand of paternalistic authoritarianism", Houphouët-Boigny subdued dissent by offering government positions instead of incarceration to his critics.<ref name=leaderfreedom/> As a result, according to Robert Mundt, author of ''Côte d'Ivoire: Continuity and Change in a Semi-Democracy'', he was never seriously challenged after 1963.<ref name="Mundt187">Mundt, p. 187.</ref> While Houphouët-Boigny's Ivory Coast lacked political democracy in the Western sense, it was somewhat more tolerant and open than became the case in post-colonial Africa.<ref name=HandloffTheParty/>
In order to foil any plans for a ''coup d'état'', the president took control of the military and police, reducing their numbers from 5,300 to 3,500.<ref>Handloff (ed.), "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0031) Consolidation of Power in the 1960s and 1970s]" in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.</ref> Defence was entrusted to the French armed forces that, pursuant to the treaty on defence cooperation of 24 April 1961, were stationed at [[Port-Bouët]] and could intervene at Houphouët-Boigny's request or when they considered French interests to be threatened.<ref>Nandjui, p. 76.</ref> They subsequently intervened during attempts by the Sanwi monarchists to secede in 1959 and 1969,<ref>Gbagbo, pp. 70–71.</ref> and again in 1970, when an unauthorised political group, the Eburnian Movement, was formed and Houphouët-Boigny accused its leader Kragbé Gnagbé of wishing to secede.<ref name=universalis/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2002/11/COULIBALY/17147|title=Lente décomposition en Côte-d'Ivoire|last=Coulibaly|first=Tiemoko|date=November 2002|work=[[Le Monde diplomatique]]|accessdate=22 July 2008|language=fr}}</ref>
[[Image:Houphouet-Boigny Kennedy.jpg|right|thumb|Félix Houphouët-Boigny and his wife [[Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny]] with [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Jackie Kennedy]] in 1962]]
Houphouët-Boigny married the much younger [[Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny]] in 1962, having divorced his first wife in 1952.<ref name=reigning>{{cite news|title=Reigning Beauties|work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=2 June 1962|accessdate=21 July 2008|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,896296,00.html}}</ref> The couple had no children of their own,<ref name=miran2/> but they adopted one: Olivier Antoine in 1981.
Helene Houpuhouet Boigny – Abla Pokou -<ref name="histoire"/> was legally recognized in 1960 by her father Mister Felix Houphouet Boigny who came to Court along with his three witnesses:
his sisters Ms Faitai and Adjoua Houphouet boigny and his cousin Yao Simon [[Yamoussoukro]]'s chief of Canton (Judgement Supplétif numsber1261 – 26 AOUT 1960 – Tribunal of Toumodi – A Court Session opened to the public).
Madame Helene Houphouet Boigny is the granddaughter of the Bouale's King Nanan Kouakou Anougble II, her Mother being Madame Akissi Anougble. They both died in 1958.
The marriage was not without scandal: in 1958, Marie-Thérèse went on a romantic escapade in Italy,<ref name=miran2/> while in 1961, Houphouët-Boigny fathered a child (Florence, d. 2007) out of wedlock by his mistress Henriette Duvignac.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.afriklive.com/Necrologie-Deces-de-Florence-Houphouet-Boigny-a-Paris_a1360.html |title=Nécrologie: Décès de Florence Houphouët – Boigny à Paris |date=27 February 2007 |work=afriklive.com |access-date=8 August 2008 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617014637/http://www.afriklive.com/Necrologie-Deces-de-Florence-Houphouet-Boigny-a-Paris_a1360.html |archive-date=17 June 2008 }}</ref>
===Leadership in Africa===
Following the example of de Gaulle, who refused proposals for an integrated Europe, Houphouët-Boigny opposed Nkrumah's proposed [[United States of Africa]], which called into question Côte d'Ivoire's recently acquired national sovereignty. However, Houphouët-Boigny was not opposed to collective African institutions if they were subject to his influence or control.<ref name=Nandjui105>Nandjui, p. 105.</ref>
On 29 May 1959, in cooperation with [[Hamani Diori]] ([[Niger]]), [[Maurice Yaméogo]] ([[Republic of Upper Volta|Upper Volta]]) and [[Hubert Maga]] ([[Dahomey]]), Houphouët-Boigny created the ''[[Conseil de l'Entente]]'' ({{lang-en|Council of Accord or Council of Understanding}}).<ref name="Council">Handloff (ed.), "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0140) Relations and the Council of the Entente]" in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.</ref> This regional organisation, founded in order to hamper the Mali Federation, was designed with three major functions: to allow shared management of certain public services, such as the port of Abidjan or the Abidjan–Niger railway line; to provide a solidarity fund accessible to member countries, 90% of which was provided by Côte d'Ivoire;<ref name=Nandjui105/> and to provide funding for various development projects through low-interest loans to member states (70% of the loans were supplied by Côte d'Ivoire).<ref>Nandjui, p. 106.</ref> In 1966, Houphouët-Boigny even offered to grant [[dual citizenship]] to nationals from member countries of the Conseil de l'Entente, but the proposition was quickly abandoned following popular protests.<ref>Nandjui, pp. 73–74.</ref>
The ambitious Ivorian leader had even greater plans for French-speaking Africa: he intended to rally the different nations behind a large organisation whose objective was the mutual assistance of its member states.<ref>Nandjui, p. 111.</ref> The project became a reality on 7 September 1961 with the signing of a [[charter]] giving birth to the ''Union africaine et malgache'' (UAM; {{lang-en|[[African and Malagasy Union]]}}), comprising 12 French-speaking countries including [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]]'s Senegal. Agreements were signed in various sectors, such as economic, military and telecommunications, which strengthened solidarity among Francophone states.<ref>Nandjui, p. 112.</ref> However, the creation of the [[Organisation of African Unity]] (OAU) in May 1963 affected his plans: the supporters of [[Pan-Africanism]] demanded the dissolution of all regional groupings, such as the UAM. Houphouët-Boigny reluctantly ceded, and transformed the UAM into the ''Organisation africaine et malgache de coopération économique et culturelle'' ({{lang-en|African and Malagasy Organization of economic and cultural cooperation}}).<ref>Nandjui, p. 115.</ref>
Considering the OAU a dead end organisation,<ref>Nandjui, p. 119.</ref> particularly since Paris was opposed to the group,<ref>Nandjui, p. 118.</ref> Houphouët-Boigny decided to create in 1965 ''l'Organisation commune africaine et malgache'' (OCAM; {{lang-en|African and Malagasy Organization}}), a French organization in competition with the OAU. The organisation included among its members 16 countries, whose aim was to break revolutionary ambitions in Africa.<ref>Nandjui, p. 120.</ref> However, over the years, the organisation became too subservient to France, resulting in the departure of half of the countries.<ref>Nandjui, pp. 120–121.</ref>
In the mid-1970s, during times of economic prosperity, Houphouët-Boigny and Senghor put aside their differences and joined forces to thwart Nigeria, which, in an attempt to establish itself in West Africa, had created the [[Economic Community of West African States]] (ECOWAS). The two countered the ECOWAS by creating the Economic Community of West Africa (ECWA), which superseded the old trade partnerships in the French-speaking regions.<ref>Nandjui, pp. 122–123.</ref> However, after assurances from Nigeria that ECOWAS would function in the same manner as the earlier Francophone organisations, Houphouët-Boigny and Senghor decided to merge their organization into ECOWAS in May 1975.<ref>Nandjui, p. 126.</ref>
===''Françafrique''===
Throughout his presidency, Houphouët-Boigny surrounded himself with French advisers, such as Guy Nairay, Chief of Staff from 1960 to 1993, and Alain Belkiri, Secretary-General of the Ivorian government, whose influence extended to all areas.<ref>Nandjui, p. 74.</ref> This type of diplomacy, which he labelled "''[[Françafrique]]''", allowed him to maintain very close ties with the former colonial power, making Côte d'Ivoire France's primary African ally. Whenever one country would enter an agreement with an African nation, the other would unconditionally give its support. Through this arrangement, Houphouët-Boigny built a close friendship with [[Jacques Foccart]], the chief adviser on African policy in the [[Charles de Gaulle|de Gaulle]] and [[Georges Pompidou|Pompidou]] governments.<ref name=rvx/>
====Destabilization of revolutionary regimes====
[[Image:DF-SC-83-08641.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Ahmed Sékou Touré]], the President of Guinea (1958–1984)]]
By claiming independence for [[Guinea]] through the 28 September 1958 French constitutional referendum, [[Ahmed Sékou Touré]] had not only defied de Gaulle, but also his fellow African, Houphouët-Boigny.<ref name="Nandjui, p. 157"/> He distanced himself from Guinean officials in [[Conakry]] and the Guinean Democratic Party was excluded from the RDA.<ref>Nandjui, p. 158.</ref> Tensions between Houphouët-Boigny and Touré also began to rise due to the conspiracies of the French intelligence agency [[Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage|SDECE]] against the Sékou Touré regime.<ref>Nandjui, p. 159.</ref> In January 1960, Houphouët-Boigny delivered [[small arms]] to former rebels in [[Man, Côte d'Ivoire]] and incited his council in 1965 to agree to taking part in an attempt to overthrow Sékou Touré.<ref>Nandjui, pp. 159–160.</ref> In 1967, he promoted the creation of the ''Front national de libération de la Guinée'' (FNLG; {{lang-en|National Front for the Liberation of Guinea}}), a reserve of men ready to plot the downfall of Sékou Touré.<ref>Nandjui, pp. 162–163.</ref>
Houphouët-Boigny's relationship with [[Kwame Nkrumah]], the leader of neighboring [[Ghana]], degraded considerably following Guinea's independence, due to Nkrumah's financial and political support for Sékou Touré.<ref name=Nanjui169>Nandjui, p. 169.</ref> After Sékou Touré convinced Nkrumah to support the secessionist Sanwi in Côte d'Ivoire, Houphouët-Boigny began a campaign to discredit the Ghanaian regime.<ref name=Nanjui169/> He accused Nkrumah of trying to destabilise Côte d'Ivoire in 1963, and called for the Francophone states to boycott the [[Organisation of African Unity]] (OAU) conference scheduled to take place in [[Accra]]. Nkrumah was ousted from power in 1966 in a [[military coup]]; Houphouët-Boigny allowed the conspirators to use Côte d'Ivoire as a base to coordinate the arrival and departure of their missions.<ref>Nanjui, p. 172.</ref>
Also in collaboration with Foccart, Houphouët-Boigny took part in the attempted coup of 16 January 1977 led by famed French [[mercenary]] [[Bob Denard]] against the revolutionary regime of [[Mathieu Kérékou]] in [[Dahomey]].<ref>Nandjui, p. 188.</ref> Houphouët-Boigny, in order to fight against the [[Marxism|Marxists]] in power in [[Angola]], also lent his support to [[Jonas Savimbi]]'s [[UNITA]] party, whose feud with the [[Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola|MPLA]] party led to the [[Angolan Civil War]].<ref>Nandjui, p. 212.</ref>
Despite his reputation as a destabiliser of regimes, Houphouët-Boigny granted refuge to [[Jean-Bédel Bokassa]], after the exiled [[Central African Republic]] dictator had been overthrown by French [[paratrooper]]s in September 1979. This move was met with international criticism, and thus, having become a political and financial burden to Houphouët-Boigny, Bokassa was expelled from Côte d'Ivoire in 1983.<ref name=leaderfreedom/>
====Alignment with France====
Houphouët-Boigny was a participant in the November 1960 [[Congo Crisis]], a period of political upheaval and conflict in [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo-Kinshasa]].<ref>Nandjui, p. 150.</ref> The Ivorian leader supported President [[Joseph Kasa-Vubu]], an opponent of Lumumba, and followed France in supporting the controversial Congolese Prime Minister [[Moise Tshombe]].<ref name="Nandjui, p. 153">Nandjui, p. 153.</ref> Tshombe, disliked by much of Africa, was passionately defended by Houphouët-Boigny and was even invited into OCAM in May 1965.<ref name="Nandjui, p. 153"/> After the overthrow of Kasa-Vubu by [[Mobutu Sese Seko|General Mobutu]] in November 1965, the Ivorian president supported, in 1967, a plan proposed by the French [[secret service]] which aimed to bring the deposed Congolese leader back into power. The operation was a failure. In response, Houphouët-Boigny decided to boycott the fourth annual summit of the OAU held in September 1967 in [[Kinshasa]].<ref>Nandjui, p. 155.</ref>
Houphouët-Boigny was also a major contributor to the political tensions in [[Biafra]]. Considering Nigeria a potential danger to French-influenced African states, Foccart sent Houphouët-Boigny and Lieutenant-Colonel Raymond Bichelot on a mission in 1963 to monitor political developments in the country.<ref>Nandjui, p. 182.</ref> The opportunity to weaken the former British colony presented itself in May 1967, when Biafra, led by Lieutenant-Colonel [[Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu]], undertook to [[secession|secede]] from Nigeria. French-aligned African countries supported the secessionists who, provided with mercenaries and weapons by Jean Mauricheau-Beaupré, fought a [[Nigerian Civil War|civil war]] with the Nigerian government.<ref name="survie">{{cite web|url=http://survie-france.org/IMG/doc/43.doc |title=BILLETS D'AFRIQUE N° 43 – FEVRIER 1997 |date=February 1997 |publisher=[[Survie|Survie France]] |format=[[Microsoft Word]] |access-date=7 August 2008 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020191742/http://survie-france.org/IMG/doc/43.doc |archive-date=20 October 2007 }}</ref> By the end of the 1960s, French-supported nations suddenly and openly distanced themselves from France and Côte d'Ivoire's position on the civil war.<ref>Nandjui, p. 184.</ref> Isolated on the international scene, both countries decided to suspend their assistance to Ojukwu, who eventually went into exile in Côte d'Ivoire.
At the request of Paris, Houphouet-Boigny began forging relations with South Africa in October 1970, justifying his attitude by stating that "[t]he problems of racial discrimination, so painful, so distressing, so revolting to our dignity of Negros, must not be resolved, we believe, by force."<ref>Nandjui, p. 204.</ref> He even proposed to the OAU in June 1971 that they follow his lead. In spite of receiving some support, his proposal was rejected. This refusal did not, however, prevent him from continuing his attempts to approach the [[Pretoria]] regime. His attempts bore fruit in October of that year, when a semi-official meeting between a delegation of high level Ivorian officials and South African Prime Minister [[B. J. Vorster]] was held in the capital of South Africa. Moreover, mindful of the Communist influence in Africa, he met Vorster in [[Geneva]] in 1977, after the Soviet Union and [[Cuba]] tried to collectively spread their influence in [[Angola]] and [[Ethiopia]].<ref name=universalis/> Relations with South Africa continued on an official basis until the end of his presidency.<ref>Nandjui, p. 208.</ref>
Houphouët-Boigny and [[Thomas Sankara]], the leader of [[Burkina Faso]], had a highly turbulent relationship. Tensions reached their climax in 1985 when Côte d'Ivoire Burkinabés accused authorities of being involved in a conspiracy to forcibly recruit young students to training camps in [[Libya]].<ref>Nandjui, p. 199.</ref> Houphouët-Boigny responded by inviting the dissident Jean-Claude Kamboulé to take refuge in
Côte d'Ivoire so that he could organise opposition to the Sankara regime. In 1987, Sankara was overthrown and assassinated in a coup.<ref name="Nandjui200">Nandjui, p. 200.</ref> The coup may have had French involvement, since the Sankara regime had fallen into disfavour in France.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wilkins|first=Michael|date=July 1989|title=The Death of Thomas Sankara and the Rectification of the People's Revolution in Burkina Faso|journal=[[African Affairs]]|volume=88|issue=352|pages=375–388|issn=1468-2621|oclc=84360520|jstor=722692|format=requires subscription|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a098188}}</ref> Houphouët-Boigny was also suspected of involvement in the coup and in November, the PDCI asked the government to ban the sale of ''[[Jeune Afrique]]'' following its allegations of Houphouët-Boigny's participation.<ref>Handloff (ed.), "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0119) Civil Rights]" in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.</ref> The Ivorian president would have greatly benefited from the divisions in the Burkina Faso government. He contacted [[Blaise Compaoré]], the second-most powerful man in the regime; it is generally believed that they worked in conjunction with Laurent Dona Fologo, Robert Guéï and Pierre Ouédraogo to overthrow the Sankara regime.<ref>{{cite book|last=Somé|first=Valerié D.|title=Thomas Sankara: l'espoir assassiné|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=1990|isbn=2-7384-0568-1|oclc=23079980|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Le complot était ourdi depuis longtemps|last=Andiramirando|first=Sennen|date=4 November 1997|work=[[Jeune Afrique]]|pages=14–19|language=fr}}</ref>
Besides supporting policies pursued by France, Houphouët-Boigny also influenced their actions in Africa. He pushed France to support and provide arms to warlord [[Charles Taylor (Liberia)|Charles Taylor]]'s rebels during the [[First Liberian Civil War]] in hopes of receiving some of the country's assets and resources after the war.<ref name=rvx/>
He secretly participates in the trafficking of arms to the South African segregationist regime at the time when it is engaged in a conflict in Angola<ref>http://journals.openedition.org/ccrh/512</ref>
===Opposition to the Soviet Union and China===
{{see also|Ivory Coast–United States relations|Ivory Coast–Soviet Union relations}}
[[File:41658X1X2.jpg|thumb|Boigny with [[Nicolae Ceauşescu]] in 1977]]
From the time of Côte d'Ivoire's independence, Houphouët-Boigny considered the Soviet Union and China "malevolent" influences on developing countries. He did not establish diplomatic relations with Moscow until 1967 and then severed them in 1969 following allegations of direct Soviet support to a 1968 student protest at the [[National University of Côte d'Ivoire]].<ref name=soviet>Handloff (ed.), "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0145) Relations with the Soviet Union and China]" in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''. Retrieved on 2008-07-28.</ref> The two countries did not restore ties until February 1986,<ref>Handloff (ed.), "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0139) Foreign Relations]" in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.</ref> by which time Houphouët-Boigny had embraced a more active foreign policy reflecting his quest for greater international recognition.<ref name=soviet/>
Houphouët-Boigny was even more outspoken in his criticism of the People's Republic of China (PRC). He voiced fears of an "invasion" by the Chinese and a subsequent colonisation of Africa. He was especially concerned that Africans would see the problems of development in China as analogous to those of Africa, and see China's solutions as appropriate to [[sub-Saharan Africa]]. Accordingly, Côte d'Ivoire was one of the last countries to normalise relations with China, doing so on 3 March 1983.<ref name=soviet/> Under the principle demanded by Beijing for "one China",<ref name=Nandjui185>Nandjui, p. 185.</ref> the recognition by Côte d'Ivoire of the PRC effectively disestablished diplomatic relations between Abidjan and [[Taiwan]].
===Economic policies in the 1960s and 1970s===
Houphouët-Boigny adopted a system of [[economic liberalism]] in Côte d'Ivoire in order to obtain the trust and confidence of foreign investors, most notably the French. The advantages granted by the investment laws he established in 1959 allowed foreign business to repatriate up to 90% of their profits in their country of origin (the remaining 10% was reinvested in Côte d'Ivoire).<ref>Nandjui, p. 54.</ref> He also developed an agenda for modernising the country's infrastructure, for example, building an American-style business district in Abidjan where five-star hotels and resorts welcomed tourists and businessmen. Côte d'Ivoire experienced economic growth of 11–12% from 1960 to 1965.<ref name=amin/> The country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew twelvefold between 1960 and 1978, from 145 to 1,750 billion CFA francs, while the [[balance of trade|trade balance]] continued to record a surplus.<ref>Nandjui, p. 67.</ref>
The origin of this economic success stemmed from the president's decision to focus on the [[primary sector of the economy]], rather than the [[secondary sector of the economy|secondary sector]].<ref name=bio2/> As a result, the agricultural sector experienced significant development: between 1960 and 1970, cocoa cultivators tripled their production to 312,000 [[tonne]]s and coffee production rose by nearly 50%, from 185,500 to 275,000 tonnes.<ref>Nandjui, p. 59.</ref> As a result of this economic prosperity, Côte d'Ivoire saw an influx of immigrants from other West African countries; the foreign workforce—mostly Burkinabés—who maintained indigenous plantations, represented over a quarter of the Ivorian population by 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/courier/2001_09/fr/doss23.htm |title=Une terre empoisonnée par la xénophobie |last=Kouamouo |first=Theophile |date=25 September 2001 |work=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=27 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605042505/http://www.unesco.org/courier/2001_09/fr/doss23.htm |archive-date=5 June 2008 |language=fr |url-status=dead}}</ref> Both Ivorians and foreigners began referring to Houphouët-Boigny as the "Sage of Africa" for performing what became known as "Ivorian miracle". He was also respectfully nicknamed "The Old One" (''Le Vieux'').<ref name="bio2"/>
However, the economic system developed in cooperation with France was far from perfect. As Houphouët-Boigny described it, the economy of Côte d'Ivoire experienced "growth without development". The growth of the economy depended on capital, initiatives and a financial framework from investors abroad; it had not become independent or self-sustaining.<ref name=universalis/>
===Crisis in Côte d'Ivoire===
====Economy on the brink of collapse====
Beginning in 1978, the economy of Côte d'Ivoire experienced a serious decline due to the sharp downturn in international market prices of coffee and cocoa.<ref name=memoires70>{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Yves|chapter=Pays du monde: Côte-d'Ivoire: 1970–1979|title=Mémoires du XXe siècle: Dictionnaire de France|publisher=Société générale d'édition et de diffusion|location=Paris|year=1995|isbn=2-84248-041-4|oclc=41524503|language=fr}}</ref><ref>Handloff (ed.), "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0032) Economic and Political Issues of the late 1970s and 1980s: Growing Economic Problems]" in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.</ref> The decline was perceived as fleeting, since its impact on planters was buffered by the Caistab, the agricultural marketing board,<ref>Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 335–336.</ref> which ensured them a livable income.<ref>Nandjui, p. 60.</ref> The next year, in order to contain a sudden drop in the prices of exported goods, Houphouët-Boigny raised prices to resist international [[tariff]]s on raw materials. However, by applying only this solution, Côte d'Ivoire lost more than 700 billion CFA francs between 1980 and 1982. From 1983 to 1984, Côte d'Ivoire fell victim to a drought that ravaged nearly 400,000 hectares of forest and 250,000 hectares of coffee and cocoa plants.<ref>Ellenbogen, pp. 62–63.</ref> To address this problem, Houphouët-Boigny travelled to London to negotiate an agreement on coffee and cocoa prices with traders and industrialists; by 1984, the agreement had fallen apart and Côte d'Ivoire was engulfed in a major financial crisis.<ref name=universalis/>
Even the production of the [[Oil platform|offshore oil drilling]] and [[petrochemical]] industries, developed to supply the Caistab, was affected by the 1986 worldwide economic recession. Côte d'Ivoire, which had bought planters' harvests for double the market price, fell into heavy debt. By May 1987, the foreign debt had reached US$10 billion, prompting Houphouët-Boigny to suspend payments of the debt. Refusing to sell off its supply of cocoa, the country shut down its exports in July and forced world rates to increase. However, this "embargo" failed.<ref name=universalis/> In November 1989, Houphouët-Boigny liquidated his enormous stock of cocoa to big businesses to jump-start the economy. Gravely ill at this time, he named a Prime Minister (the post was unoccupied since 1960), [[Alassane Ouattara]], who established a series of belt-tightening economic measures to bring the country out of debt.<ref name=memoires70/>
====Social tensions====
The general atmosphere of enrichment and satisfaction during the period of economic growth in Côte d'Ivoire made it possible for Houphouët-Boigny to maintain and control internal political tensions.<ref>Nandjui, p. 62.</ref> His easygoing authoritarian regime, where political prisoners were almost nonexistent, was well accepted by the population. However, the economic crisis that began in the 1980s caused a sharp decline in living conditions for the middle class and underprivileged urban populations.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Côte-d'Ivoire|title=Grand Larousse encyclopédique|publisher=Librarire Larousse|location=Paris|year=2005|language=fr|title-link=Grand Larousse encyclopédique}}</ref><!--Is the year of publication right? According to fr.wikipedia, the encyclopedia was last published in 1975.--> According to the [[World Bank]], the population living below the [[poverty threshold]] went from 11% in 1985 to 31% by 1993. Despite the implementation of certain measures, such as the reduction of the number of young French workers (who worked abroad while serving in the military) from 3,000 to 2,000 in 1986, allowing many jobs to go to young Ivorian graduates, the government failed to control the rising rates of unemployment and bankruptcy in many companies.<ref name=memoires90>{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Yves|chapter=Pays du monde: Côte-d'Ivoire: 1990–1994|title=Mémoires du XXe siècle: Dictionnaire de France|publisher=Société générale d'édition et de diffusion|location=Paris|year=1995|isbn=2-84248-041-4|oclc=41524503|language=fr}}</ref>
Strong social agitations shook the country, creating insecurity.<ref name=memoires70/> The army [[mutiny|mutinied]] in 1990 and 1992, and on 2 March 1990, protesters organized mass demonstrations in the streets of Abidjan with slogans such as "thief Houphouët" and "corrupt Houphouët".<ref name=rvx/> These popular demonstrations prompted the president to launch a system of democratization on 31 May, in which he authorised [[pluralism (political philosophy)|political pluralism]] and trade unions.<ref name=univ>{{cite book|chapter=Côte d'Ivoire – Actualité (1990–2001)|title=Encyclopædia Universalis|publisher=Encyclopædia Universalis|location=Paris|year=2002|language=fr|title-link=Encyclopædia Universalis}}</ref>
=====Opposition=====
[[Image:IC Gbagbo Motta eng 195.jpg|thumb|Gbagbo, as President of Côte d'Ivoire, in 2007]]
[[Laurent Gbagbo]] gained recognition as one of the principal instigators of the student demonstrations during the protests against Houphouët-Boigny's government on 9 February 1982, which led to the closing of the universities and other educational institutions. Shortly thereafter, his wife and he formed what would become the [[Ivorian Popular Front]] (FPI). Gbagbo went into exile in France later that year, where he promoted the FPI and its political platforms. Although the FPI was ideologically similar to the [[Unified Socialist Party (France)|Unified Socialist Party]], the French socialist government tried to ignore Gbagbo's party to please Houphouët-Boigny. After a lengthy appeal process, Gbagbo obtained status as a political refugee in France in 1985.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lexpress.fr/info/monde/dossier/cotedivoire/dossier.asp?ida=358275|title=L'amour déçu de Laurent Gbagbo|last=Hugeux|first=Vincent|date=24 October 2002|work=[[L'Express (France)|L'Express]]|accessdate=22 July 2008 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080507153131/http://www.lexpress.fr/info/monde/dossier/cotedivoire/dossier.asp?ida=358275 |archivedate = 7 May 2008|language=fr}}</ref> However, the French government attempted to pressure him into returning to Côte d'Ivoire, as Houphouët-Boigny had begun to worry about Gbagbo's developing a network of contacts, and believed "his stirring opponent would be less of a threat in Abidjan than in Paris".<ref>{{cite book|last=Duval|first=Philippe|author2=Flora Kouakou|title=Fantômes d'ivoire|publisher=Editions du Rocher|location=Monaco|year=2003|isbn=2-268-04628-1|oclc=53177756|language=fr}}</ref>
In 1988, Gbagbo returned from exile to Côte d'Ivoire after Houphouët-Boigny implicitly granted him forgiveness by declaring that "the tree did not get angry at the bird".<ref name=Jeuneafrique>{{cite news|url=http://www.jeuneafrique.com/jeune_afrique/article_jeune_afrique.asp?art_cle=LIN28113celuisulpti0 |title=Celui que l'on n'attendait plus |last=Kpatindé |first=Francis |date=28 November 2000 |work=[[Jeune Afrique]] |access-date=18 July 2008 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404175339/http://www.jeuneafrique.com/jeune_afrique/article_jeune_afrique.asp?art_cle=LIN28113celuisulpti0 |archive-date=4 April 2009 |df= }}</ref> In 1990, Houphouët-Boigny legalised opposition parties. On 28 October, [[1990 Ivorian presidential election|a presidential election]] was held. Gbagbo filed to run against Houphouët-Boigny. It was the first time Houphouët-Boigny would face a contested election. Gbagbo highlighted the President's age, suggesting that the 85-year-old president would not survive a seventh five-year term.<ref name=leaderfreedom>{{cite news |first=Kenneth B. |last=Noble |title=Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Ivory Coast's Leader Since Freedom in 1960, Is Dead |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEED6133DF93BA35751C1A965958260 |work=[[New York Times]]|date=8 December 1993 |accessdate=23 July 2008 }}</ref> Houphouët-Boigny countered by broadcasting television footage of his youth, and defeated Gbagbo with 2,445,365 votes to 548,441—an implausible 81.7 percent of the vote.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Crook|first=Richard C.|date=April 1997|title=Winning Coalitions and Ethno-Regional Politics: The Failure of the Opposition in the 1990 and 1995 Elections in Côte d'Ivoire|journal=[[African Affairs]]|volume=96|issue=383|pages=215–242|issn=1468-2621|oclc=82273751|jstor=723859|format=requires subscription|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a007826}}</ref>
====Displays of wealth====
{{See also|Biens mal acquis}}
During his presidency, Houphouët-Boigny benefited greatly from the wealth of Côte d'Ivoire; by the time of his death in 1993, his personal wealth was estimated to be between US$7 and $11 billion.<ref name=fortune>{{cite web|url=http://www.ivoirediaspo.net/livres/rapport-ccfd.pdf |title=Biens mal acquis... profitent trop souvent |first=Antoine |last=Dulin |date=March 2007 |work=Ivoire Diaspo |access-date=12 August 2008 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912173741/http://www.ivoirediaspo.net/livres/rapport-ccfd.pdf |archive-date=12 September 2008 }}</ref> With regards to his large fortune, Houphouët-Boigny said in 1983, "People are surprised that I like gold. It's just that I was born in it."<ref name=bio2/> The Ivorian leader acquired a dozen properties in the [[Paris aire urbaine|metropolitan area of Paris]] (including Hotel Masseran on Masseran Street in the [[7th arrondissement of Paris]]), a property in [[Castel Gandolfo]] in Italy, and a house in [[Chêne-Bourg]], Switzerland. He owned real estate companies, such as Grand Air SI, SI Picallpoc and Interfalco, and had many shares in prestigious jewelry and watchmaking companies, such as [[Piaget SA]] and [[Harry Winston Diamond Corporation|Harry Winston]]. He placed his fortune in Switzerland, once asking if "there is any serious man on Earth not stocking parts of his fortune in Switzerland".<ref name=fortune/>
In 1983, Houphouët-Boigny moved the capital from [[Abidjan]] to [[Yamoussoukro]].<ref name=universalis/> There, at the expense of the state, he built many buildings such as the Institute Polytechnique and an international airport. The most luxurious project was the [[Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro|Basilica of Our Lady of Peace]], which is currently the largest church in the world, with an area of {{convert|30000|m2|sqft}} and a height of {{convert|158|m|ft}}.<ref>{{cite news|title=The biggest, longest, tallest...|url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,11710,1240318,00.html |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=17 July 2004 |accessdate=22 July 2008}}</ref><ref name=ebony>{{cite news |first=Hans J. |last=Massaquoi |title=An African's gift to the Vatican: the world's largest church — Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Basilica of Our Lady of Peace |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n2_v46/ai_9177142 |work=[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]] |date=December 1990 |accessdate=24 July 2008 }}</ref> Personally financed by Houphouët-Boigny,<ref name=bio2/> construction for the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace was carried out by the Lebanese architect [[Pierre Fakhoury]] at a total cost of about US$150–200 million. Houphouët-Boigny offered it to [[Pope]] [[John Paul II]] as a "personal gift";<ref name=ebony/> the latter, after having unsuccessfully requested it being shorter than [[St. Peter's Basilica|St. Peter's]] in Rome, [[consecration|consecrated]] it all the same on 10 September 1990.<ref>Brockman 147</ref> Due to a collapse of the national economy coupled with lavish amounts spent on its construction, the Basilica was criticized: it was called "the basilica in the bush" by several western news agencies.<ref name=ebony/>
==Death and legacy==
===Succession and death===
The political, social, and economic crises also touched the issue of who would succeed Houphouët-Boigny as head of state. After severing ties with his former political heir [[Philippe Yacé]] in 1980, who, as president of the National Assembly, was entitled to exercise the full functions of President of the Republic if the Head of State was incapacitated or absent,<ref name=universalis/> Houphouët-Boigny delayed as much as he could in officially designating a successor. The president's health became increasingly fragile,<ref name=memoires80>{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Yves|chapter=Pays du monde: Côte-d'Ivoire: 1980–1989|title=Mémoires du XXe siècle: Dictionnaire de France|publisher=Société générale d'édition et de diffusion|location=Paris|year=1995|isbn=2-84248-041-4|oclc=41524503|language=fr}}</ref> with Prime Minister [[Alassane Ouattara]] administering the country from 1990 onwards, while the president was hospitalised in France.<ref name=rvx/> There was a struggle for power, which ended when Houphouët-Boigny rejected Ouattara in favour of [[Henri Konan Bédié]], the President of the National Assembly. In December 1993, Houphouët-Boigny, terminally ill with [[prostate cancer]],<ref name=leaderfreedom/> was urgently flown back to Côte d'Ivoire so he could die there. He was kept on [[life support]] to ensure that the last dispositions concerning his succession were defined. After his family consented, Houphouët-Boigny was disconnected from life support at 6:35 am [[GMT]] on 7 December.<ref name=leaderfreedom/><ref name=p214>Nandjui, p. 214.</ref> At the time of his death, Houphouët-Boigny was the longest-serving leader in Africa and the third in the world, after [[Fidel Castro]] of Cuba and [[Kim Il Sung]] of North Korea.<ref name=lavishnyt/>
Houphouët-Boigny left no written will or legacy report for Côte d'Ivoire upon his death in 1993. His recognised heirs, especially Helena, led a battle against the government to recover part of the vast fortune Houphouët-Boigny had left, which she claimed was "private" and did not belong to the State.<ref name=fortune/>
===Funeral===
{{Quote box |width=300px|align = right |bgcolor = #c6dbf7
|quote = His peaceful fight for peace among men and women will be continued by all Ivorians, steadfastly true to the memory of the person who was for us, at one and the same time, the first President of our Republic, the father of our independence, the builder of our State, and the symbol and bond of our national unity. He sowed the seeds of peace, braving all the dangers. Deep in his heart, he cherished the constant hope to see the harvests gathered in, so that men and women might come to persevere with the solidarity required of them, like so many ears of corn reaped in fields of harmony.
|source = — Henri Konan Bédié, President of Côte d'Ivoire<ref name=unescotributes>{{cite journal |url=http://www.unesco.org/prixfhboigny/le_prix/laureats/1994/ang/tributes_fhb.htm |title=Tributes to the memory of President Félix Houphouët-Boigny |accessdate=24 July 2008 |journal=[[UNESCO]] |year=1994 |oclc=43919619}}</ref>}}
Following Houpouët-Boigny's death, the country's stability was maintained, as seen by his impressive funeral on 7 February 1994.<ref name=Nandjul216/> The funeral for this "doyen of francophone Africa"<ref>{{cite book |last= Martin |first= Guy |title= Africa in World Politics: A Pan-African Perspective|publisher=Africa World Press |year= 2000 |page= 85 |isbn= 0-86543-858-7|oclc=43919619}}</ref> was held in the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, with 7,000 guests inside the building and tens of thousands outside. The two-month delay before Houpouët-Boigny's funeral, common among members of the Baoule ethnic group, allowed for many ceremonies preceding his burial. The president's funeral featured many traditional African funerary customs, including a large chorus dressed in bright batik dresses singing "laagoh budji gnia" ([[Baoulé language|Baoulé]]: "Lord, it is you who has made all things") and village chiefs displaying strips of [[kente]] and korhogo cloth. Baoulés are traditionally buried with objects they enjoyed while alive; Houpouët-Boigny's family, however, did not state what, if anything, they would bury with him.<ref name=lavishnyt/>
Over 140 countries and international organisations sent delegates to the funeral. However, according to ''[[The New York Times]]'', many Ivorians were disappointed by the poor attendance of several key allies, most notably the United States. The small United States delegation was led by [[United States Secretary of Energy|Secretary of Energy]] [[Hazel R. O'Leary]] and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs [[George Moose]].<ref name=lavishnyt/> In contrast, Houphouët-Boigny's close personal ties with France were reflected in the large French delegation,<ref>{{cite book |last= Martin |first= Guy |title= Africa in World Politics: A Pan-African Perspective|publisher=Africa World Press |year= 2000 |page= 84 |isbn= 0-86543-858-7|oclc=43919619}}</ref> which included President [[François Mitterrand]]; Prime Minister [[Édouard Balladur]]; the presidents of the National Assembly and of the Senate, [[Philippe Séguin]] and [[René Monory]]; former President [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]]; [[Jacques Chirac]]; his friend [[Jacques Foccart]]; and six former Prime Ministers.<ref name=Nandjul216>Nandjui, p. 216.</ref> According to ''The New York Times'', "Houphouët-Boigny's death is not only the end of a political era here, but perhaps as well the end of the close French-African relationship that he came to symbolize."<ref name=lavishnyt/>
===Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize===
{{main|Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize}}
[[Image:Nelson Mandela.jpg|thumb|right|South African leader [[Nelson Mandela]], the 1991 recipient of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize.]]
To establish his legacy as a man of peace, Houphouët-Boigny created an award in 1989, sponsored by [[UNESCO]] and funded entirely by extra-budgetary resources provided by the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny Foundation,<ref>Koné, p. 182.</ref> to honor those who search for peace. The prize is "named after President Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the doyen of African Heads of State and a tireless advocate of peace, concord, fellowship and dialogue to solve all conflicts both within and between States".<ref>{{cite web|title=Resolution of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize|url=http://www.unesco.org/prixfhboigny/le_prix/presentation/ang/establishement.htm|work=[[UNESCO]]|date=22 October 2003|accessdate=29 July 2008}}</ref> It is awarded annually along with a check for [[Euro|€]]122,000, by an international jury composed of 11 persons from five continents, led by former [[United States Secretary of State]] and [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner [[Henry Kissinger]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Presentation of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize|url=http://www.unesco.org/prixfhboigny/le_prix/presentation/ang/presentation.htm|work=[[UNESCO]]|date=17 May 2004|accessdate=29 July 2008}}</ref> The prize was first awarded in 1991 to [[Nelson Mandela]], president of the [[African National Congress]], and [[Frederik Willem de Klerk]], president of the Republic of South Africa, and has been awarded each year since, with the exception of 2001 and 2004.<ref>{{cite web|title=Prizewinners of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize|url=http://www.unesco.org/prixfhboigny/le_prix/laureats/Liste_laureat_us.htm|work=[[UNESCO]]|date=19 December 2005|accessdate=29 July 2008}}</ref>
{{Clear}}
==Positions in government==
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2017}}
===France===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!width=31%|Position
!width=31%|Start date
!width=31%|End date
|-
|Member of [[National Assembly of France|French National Assembly]]
|various
|various
|-
|Member of the [[Council of Ministers of France|Council of Ministers]] under Prime Minister [[Guy Mollet]]
|1 February 1956
|13 June 1957
|-
|[[Minister of State]] under Prime Minister [[Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury]]
|13 June 1957
|6 November 1957
|-
|Minister of Public Health and Population under Prime Minister [[Félix Gaillard]]
|6 November 1957
|14 May 1958
|-
|[[Minister of State]] under Prime Minister [[Pierre Pflimlin]]
|14 May 1958
|17 May 1958
|-
|[[Minister of State]] under Prime Minister [[Charles de Gaulle]]
|1 June 1958
|8 January 1959
|-
|[[Minister of State]] under Prime Minister [[Michel Debré]]
|8 January 1959
|20 May 1959
|-
|Advising minister under Prime Minister Debré
|23 July 1959
|19 May 1961
|}
===Côte d'Ivoire===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!width=31%|Position
!width=31%|Start date
!width=31%|End date
|-
| President of the Territorial Assembly
|24 March 1953
|30 November 1959
|-
| Governor of [[Abidjan]]
|1956
|1960
|-
| Prime Minister
|1 May 1959
|3 November 1960
|-
| [[Minister of Interior]]
|8 September 1959
|3 January 1961
|-
| President of the Republic, [[Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
|3 January 1961
|10 September 1963
|-
| President of the Republic, [[Minister of Defense]], Minister of Interior, [[Minister of Agriculture]]
|10 September 1963
|21 January 1966
|-
| President of the Republic, Minister of Economy and Finances, Minister of Defense, Minister of Agriculture
|21 January 1966
|23 September 1968
|-
| President of the Republic
|23 September 1968
|5 January 1970
|-
| President of the Republic
|5 January 1970
|8 June 1971
|-
| President of the Republic, Minister of National Education
|8 June 1971
|1 December 1971
|-
| President of the Republic
|1 December 1971
|7 December 1993
|}
==Notes==
{{Reflist|20em}}
==References==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last=Amondji|first=Marcel|authorlink=Marcel Amondji|title=Félix Houphouët et la Côte-d'Ivoire: l'envers d'une légende|publisher=Karthala|location=Paris| year=1984|isbn=2-86537-104-2|oclc=11831728}}
* {{cite book|last=Amondji|first=Marcel|authorlink=Marcel Amondji|title=Côte-d'Ivoire. Le P.D.C.I. et la vie politique de 1945 à 1985|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris| year=1986|isbn=2-85802-631-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Baulin|first=Jacques|title=La Politique intérieure d'Houphouet-Boigny|publisher=Eurafor Press|location=Paris|year=1982|oclc=9982529}}
* {{cite book|last=Baulin|first=Jacques|title=La succession d'Houphouët-Boigny: les débuts de Konan Bédié|publisher=Karthala|location=Paris|year=2000|isbn=2-84586-091-9|oclc=47756505}}
* {{cite book|last=Brockman|first=Norbert C.|title=An African Biographical Dictionary|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara|year=1994|isbn=0874367484 |oclc=232129382}}
* {{cite book|last=Diarra|first=Samba|title=Les faux complots d'Houphouët-Boigny: fracture dans le destin d'une nation (1959–1970)|publisher=Karthala|location=Paris|year=1997|isbn=2-85809-106-4| oclc=37989753}}
* {{cite book|last=Diégou|first=Bailly |title=La Réinstauration du multipartisme en Côte d'Ivoire, ou la double mort d'Houphouët-Boigny|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=2000|isbn= 2-7384-2349-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Ellenbogen|first=Alice|title=La succession d'Houphouët-Boigny: entre tribalisme et démocratie|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=2002|isbn=2-7475-2950-9|oclc=62407712}}
* {{cite book|last=Gbagbo|first=Laurent|authorlink=Laurent Gbagbo|title=Côte-d'Ivoire: pour une alternative démocratique|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=1983|isbn=2-85802-303-4|oclc=11345813|page=34}}
* {{cite book|last=Goba|first=Arsène Ouegui|title=Côte-d'Ivoire: quelle issue pour la transition?|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=2000| isbn=2-7384-9483-8|oclc=216694298}}
* {{cite book|last=Grainville|first=Patrick|title=Le Tyran éternel|publisher=Seuil|location=Paris|year=1998|isbn=2-02-032685-X|oclc=38481485}}
* {{cite book|last=Handloff|first=Robert Earl (ed.)|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/citoc.html|title=Ivory Coast: A Country Study|series=Library of Congress Country Studies|publisher=United States Government Printing Office|location=Washington|year=1991|isbn=0-16-030978-6|oclc=21336559}}
* {{cite book|last=Koné|first=Amadou|title=Houphouët-Boigny et la crise ivoirienne|publisher=Karthala|location=Paris|year=2003|isbn=2-84586-368-3|oclc=52772495}}
* {{cite book|last=Le Vine|first=Victor T.|year=2004|title=Politics in Francophone Africa: The States of West and Equatorial Africa|publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers|location=Boulder|isbn=1-58826-249-9|oclc=54372166}}
* {{cite book|last=Lopez|first=Robert|title=Au temps banni d'Houphouët-Boigny: Côté d'Ivoire, France, regards croisés|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=2006|isbn=2-296-01804-1| oclc=77266134}}
* {{cite book|last=Mel|first=Frédéric Grah|title=Félix Houphouët-Boigny: Biographie|publisher=Maisonneuve & Larose|location=Paris|year=2003|isbn=2-7068-1744-5|oclc=55037638}}
* {{cite book|last=Mortimer|first=Edward|title=France and the Africans 1944–1960 – A Political History|publisher=Faber & Faber|location=London|year=1969|isbn=0-571-08251-3|oclc=31730|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/franceafricans190000mort}}
* {{cite book|last=Mundt|first=Robert J.|editor=John F. Clark and David Gardinier|year=1997|chapter=Côte d'Ivoire: Continuity and Change in a Semi-Democracy|title=Political Reform in Francophone Africa|publisher=Westview Press|location=Boulder|isbn=0-8133-2785-7|oclc=35318507|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/politicalreformi0000unse}}
* {{cite book|last=Nandjui|first=Pierre|title=Houphouët-Boigny: L'homme de la France en Afrique|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=1995|isbn=2-7384-3090-2|oclc=34875943}}
* {{cite book|last=Ruffieux|first=Jean-Marie|title=Il était une Fois Félix Houphouet Boigny|publisher=Afrique biblio club|location=Paris|year=1978|isbn=2-85809-106-4|oclc=213096671}}
* {{cite book|last=Segal|first=Ronald|title=African Profiles|publisher=Penguin Books|location=Baltimore|year=1963|oclc=13718888}}
* {{cite book|last=Siriex|first=Paul-Henri|title=Houphouët-Boigny, l'Homme de la paix|publisher=Nouvelles éditions africaines|location=Abidjan|year=1975|oclc=2389457}}
* {{cite book|last=Siriex|first=Paul-Henri|title=Houphouët-Boigny ou la sagesse africaine|publisher=Nouvelles éditions africaines|location=Abidjan|year=1986|isbn=2-7236-0781-X|oclc=17620671}}
* {{cite book|author=Taylor & Francis Group|title=Africa South of the Sahara 2004: South of the Sahara, 2004|publisher=Routledge|year=2003|edition=33rd|isbn=1-85743-183-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Teya|first=Pascal Koffi|title=Côte-d'Ivoire: le roi est nu|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=1985|oclc=17804640}}
* {{cite book|last=Toubabou|first=Le|title=Le millefeuille ivoirien: un héritage de contraintes|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=2005|isbn=2-7475-9357-6|oclc=62895346}}
* {{cite journal|last=Toungara|first=Jeanne Maddox|date=March 1990|title=The Apotheosis of Cote d'Ivoire's Nana Houphouet-Boigny|journal=The Journal of Modern African Studies|volume=28|issue=1|pages=23–54|oclc=84360549|jstor=160900|doi=10.1017/S0022278X00054215}}
{{Refend}}
* [http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/sycomore/fiche.asp?num_dept=3874 page on the French National Assembly website]
==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Harshe|first=Rajen|title=Pervasive Entente: France and Ivory Coast in African Affairs|publisher=Humanities Press|location=Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey|year=1984|isbn=0-391-02891-X|oclc=11143809}}
* {{cite book|last=Rémy|first=Myléne|title=The Ivory Coast Today|publisher=Les Éditions J.A.|location=Paris|year=1981|edition=3rd|isbn=2-85258-212-0|oclc=8499559}}
* {{cite book|last=Tuinder|first=Bastiaan den|title=Ivory Coast: The Challenge of Success|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore|year=1978|isbn=0-8018-1939-3|oclc=16421887|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/ivorycoast0000unse}}
* {{cite book|last=Wallerstein|first=Immanuel|authorlink=Immanuel Wallerstein|title=The Road to Independence: Ghana and the Ivory Coast|publisher=La Haye|location=Mouton, Charente|year=1964|oclc=935940}}
* {{cite book|last=Zartman|first=I. William|authorlink=I. William Zartman|title=Political Economy of the Ivory Coast|publisher=Praeger Publishers|location=New York|year=1984|isbn=0-03-064097-0|oclc=10430271}}
* {{cite book|last=Zolberg|first=Aristide|title=One-Party Government in the Ivory Coast|url=https://archive.org/details/onepartygovernme00zolb|url-access=registration|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, New Jersey|year=1964|oclc=965225}}
==External links==
{{Commons|Félix Houphouët-Boigny}}
* [http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2544 Speech Delivered by Mister Houphouet-Boigny, Minister of State at the Geo-Andre Stadium in Abidjan on 7 September 1958] {{in lang|en|fr}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box|title=[[Minister of Health (France)|French Minister of Health]]|years=1957–1958|before=vacant|after=[[André Maroselli]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire]]|years=1960|before=Post established|after=Himself as President}}
{{succession box|title=[[President of Côte d'Ivoire]]|years=1960–93|before=Himself as Prime Minister|after=[[Henri Konan Bédié]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire – African Democratic Rally|Leader of the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire]]|years=1947–93|before=Party established|after=[[Henri Konan Bédié]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{IvorianPresidents}}
{{IvorianPMs}}
{{Good article}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houphouet-Boigny, Felix}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Yamoussoukro]]
[[Category:People of French West Africa]]
[[Category:Baoulé people]]
[[Category:Ivorian Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from animism]]
[[Category:Rassemblement Démocratique Africain politicians]]
[[Category:Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire – African Democratic Rally politicians]]
[[Category:Presidents of Ivory Coast]]
[[Category:Heads of government of Ivory Coast]]
[[Category:Foreign Ministers of Ivory Coast]]
[[Category:French Ministers of Health]]
[[Category:State ministers of France]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1945)]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1946)]]
[[Category:Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic]]
[[Category:Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic]]
[[Category:Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic]]
[[Category:Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic]]
[[Category:People who died in office]]
[[Category:Ivorian anti-communists]]
[[Category:Planters]]
[[Category:Ivorian conspiracy theorists]]' |
New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext) | '{{Redirect|Houphouët-Boigny}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Félix Houphouët-Boigny
|nationality=Ivorian
|image=Félix Houphouët-Boigny 1962-07-16.jpg
|order=1st [[List of heads of state of Côte d'Ivoire|President of Côte d'Ivoire]]
|term_start=3 November 1960
|term_end=7 December 1993
|predecessor=''None (position first established)''
|successor=[[Henri Konan Bédié]]
|birth_name=Dia Houphouët
|birth_date={{Birth date|1908|10|18|df=yes}}
|birth_place=[[Yamoussoukro]], [[French West Africa]]
|death_date={{death date and age|1993|12|7|1905|10|18|df=yes}}
|death_place=Yamoussoukro, [[Ivory Coast]]
|spouse=Kady Racine Sow (1930–1952; ''divorced'')<br />[[Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny]] (1962–1993; ''his death'')
|party=[[Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire|Democratic Party]]
|vicepresident=
| order2=1st [[Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire]]| term_start2=7 August 1960
| term_end2=27 November 1960
| predecessor2=''None (position established)''
| successor2=''Position abolished''<br />[[Alassane Ouattara]] (1990)
|caption=Houphouët-Boigny in 1962
}}
'''Félix Houphouët-Boigny''' ({{IPA-fr|feliks ufwɛ(t) bwaɲi|lang}};<ref name=lavishnyt>{{cite news |first=Kenneth B. |last=Noble |title=For Ivory Coast's Founder, Lavish Funeral |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07E1D61638F93BA35751C0A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |work=[[New York Times]] |date=8 February 1994 |accessdate=22 July 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Félix Houphouët-Boigny |work=France Actuelle |volume=5 |date=1956 |page=10}}</ref> 18 October 1908 – 7 December 1993), affectionately called '''Papa Houphouët''' or '''Le Vieux''' ("The Old One"), was the first [[List of heads of state of Côte d'Ivoire|President]] of [[Ivory Coast]] (1960 to 1993), serving for more than three decades until his death. A [[tribal chief]], he worked as a medical aide, union leader and planter before being elected to the [[Parliament of France|French Parliament]]. He served in several ministerial positions within the [[Cabinet of France|French government]] before leading Côte d'Ivoire following independence in 1960. Throughout his life, he played a significant role in politics and the [[decolonization of Africa]].
Under Houphouët-Boigny's politically [[Centrism|moderate]] leadership, Ivory Coast prospered economically. This success, uncommon in poverty-ridden West Africa, became known as the "Ivorian miracle"; it was due to a combination of sound planning, the maintenance of strong ties with [[Western world|the West]] (particularly France) and development of the country's significant coffee and cocoa industries. However, reliance on the agricultural sector caused difficulties in 1980, after a sharp drop in the prices of coffee and cocoa.
Throughout his presidency, Houphouët-Boigny maintained a close relationship with France, a policy known as [[Françafrique]], and he built a close friendship with [[Jacques Foccart]], the chief adviser on African policy in the [[Charles de Gaulle|de Gaulle]] and [[Georges Pompidou|Pompidou]] governments. He aided the conspirators who ousted [[Kwame Nkrumah]] from power in [[Ghana]] in 1966, took part in [[1977 Benin coup d'état attempt|the failed coup]] against [[Mathieu Kérékou]] in [[Benin]] in 1977, was suspected of involvement in the [[1987 Burkinabé coup d'état|1987 coup d'état]] that removed [[Thomas Sankara]] from power in [[Burkina Faso]] and provided assistance to [[UNITA]], a United States-supported, anti-communist rebel movement in [[Angola]]. Houphouët-Boigny maintained a strong [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] foreign policy, which resulted in, among other things, severing [[Ivory Coast–Soviet Union relations|diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union]] in 1969 (after first establishing relations in 1967) and refusing to recognise the [[People's Republic of China]] until 1983. He re-established relations with the Soviet Union in 1986.
In the West, Houphouët-Boigny was commonly known as the "Sage of Africa" or the "Grand Old Man of Africa". Houphouët-Boigny moved the country's capital from [[Abidjan]] to his hometown of [[Yamoussoukro]] and built the world's largest church there, the [[Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro]], at a cost of US$300 million. At the time of his death, he was the longest-serving leader in Africa's history and the third longest-serving leader in the world after [[Fidel Castro]] of [[Cuba]] and [[Kim Il-sung]] of [[North Korea]]. In 1989, [[UNESCO]] created the [[Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize]] for the "safeguarding, maintaining and seeking of peace". After his death, conditions in Côte d'Ivoire quickly deteriorated. Between 1994 and 2002, there were a number of coups, a [[currency devaluation]] and an economic recession; a [[First Ivorian Civil War|civil war]] began in 2002.
==Early life==
===Birth, childhood and education===
[[Image:Côte d'Ivoire map.png|thumb|right|Map of Côte d'Ivoire]]
According to his official biography, Houphouët-Boigny was probably born on 18 October 1908, in [[Yamoussoukro]] to a family of hereditary chiefs of the [[Baoulé people]].<ref name=assemblee>{{cite web |title=Biographies des députés de la IV République: Félix Houphouët-Boigny |url=http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/histoire/biographies/IVRepublique/houphouet-boigny-felix-18101905.asp |publisher=[[National Assembly of France]] |accessdate=17 July 2008 |language=fr}}</ref> Unofficial accounts, however, place his birth date up to seven years earlier.<ref name=leaderfreedom/><ref name=rvx>{{cite AV media|people=Pesnot, Patrick (producer), Michele Billoud (director)|title=Houphouët-Boigny Part 1|date=9 April 2005|medium=radio|publisher=[[France Inter]]|url=http://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/em/rendezvousavecx/index.php?id=32381|language=fr}}{{dead link|date=August 2014}}</ref> Born into the [[animism|animist]] Akouès tribe, he was named Dia Houphouët: his first name ''Dia'' means "prophet" or "magician". His father was N'Doli Houphouët. Dia Houphouët was the great-nephew through his mother of Queen Yamousso and the village chief, Kouassi N'Go. When N'Go was murdered in 1910, Dia was named to succeed him as chief.<ref name=ellenbogen>Ellenbogen, pp. 26–31.</ref> Due to his young age, his stepfather Gbro Diby ruled as [[regent]] until Dia came of age; Dia's father had already died.<ref name="combat">{{cite news|url=http://www.dialprod.com/memoire/parcours.html |title=Spécial Houphouet |work=Fraternité Matin |access-date=22 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509075415/http://www.dialprod.com/memoire/parcours.html |archive-date=9 May 2008 |language=fr |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Houphouët-Boigny descended from tribal chiefs through his mother, Kimou N'Drive (also known as N'Dri Kan). She died much later in 1936.<ref name=combat/> Doubts remain as to the identity of his father, N'Doli. Officially a native of the N'Zipri of Didiévi tribe,<ref name="histoire">{{cite web|url=http://www.rezoivoire.net/cotedivoire/patrimoine/111/histoire-de-la-famille-boigny.html|title=Histoire de la famille Boigny|publisher=Réseau Ivoire|accessdate=4 August 2008}}</ref> N'Doli Houphouët died shortly after the birth of his son Augustin,<ref name=combat/> although no reliable information regarding his death exists. Houphouët-Boigny had two elder sisters, Faitai (1898?–1998)<ref>{{cite news |title='Mother of Nation' dies in Ivory Coast |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/world/africa/48845.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=20 January 1998 |accessdate=24 July 2008 }}</ref> and Adjoua (d. 1987),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lefaso.net/spip.php?article136/|title=Quand la Côte d'Ivoire et la Haute-Volta (devenue Burkina Faso) rêvaient de la "double nationalité"|date=3 November 2003|work=Lefaso|accessdate=6 August 2008|language=fr}}</ref> as well as a younger brother Augustin (d. 1939).<ref name="histoire"/>
The French colonial administration recognised tribal leaders; they arranged to have Houphouët go to school at the military post in Bonzi, not far from his village, in order to prepare for his future as a leader, despite strenuous objections from relatives, especially his great-aunt Queen Yamousso.<ref name=combat/> In 1915, he was transferred to the ''école primaire supérieure'' (secondary) at [[Bingerville]] in spite of his family's reluctance to have him go to boarding school. The same year, at Bingerville, Houphouët converted to Christianity; he considered it a modern religion and an obstacle to the spread of [[Islam]]. He chose to be christened Félix.<ref name=ellenbogen/>
First in his class, Houphouët was accepted into the ''[[École William Ponty]]'' in 1919, and earned a teaching degree.<ref name=combat/> In 1921, he attended the [[École nationale de médecine et pharmacie (Senegal)|''École de médecine de l'AOF'']] (French West Africa School of Medicine) in [[French Senegal]], where he came first in his class in 1925 and qualified as a [[medical assistant]].<ref name=assemblee/><ref name="Segal282">Segal, p. 282.</ref> As he never completed his studies in medicine, he could qualify only as a ''médecin africain'',<ref name=bio>{{cite book|chapter=Félix Houphouët-Boigny|title=Encyclopædia Universalis|publisher=Encyclopædia Universalis|location=Paris|year=1975|language=fr|title-link=Encyclopædia Universalis}}</ref> a poorly paid doctor.<ref name=rvx/>
===Medical career===
On 26 October 1925, Houphouët began his career as a doctor's aide at a hospital in [[Abidjan]],<ref name=bio2>{{cite book|last=Nanet|first=Bernard|chapter=Félix Houphouët-Boigny|title=Encyclopædia Universalis|publisher=Encyclopædia Universalis|location=Paris|year=1999|language=fr|title-link=Encyclopædia Universalis}}</ref> where he founded an association of indigenous medical personnel.<ref name=ellenbogen/> This undertaking proved short-lived as the colonial administration viewed it unsympathetically, considering it a [[trade union]].<ref name=ellenbogen/> As a consequence, they decided to move Houphouët to a lesser hospital in [[Guiglo]] on 27 April 1927.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lisette|first=Gabriel|authorlink=Gabriel Lisette|title=Le Combat du Rassemblement Démocratique Africain pour la décolonisation pacifique de l'Afrique Noire|publisher=[[Présence Africaine]]|location=Paris|year=1983|isbn=2-7087-0421-4|oclc=10765611|page=12|language=fr}}</ref> After he proved his considerable talents, however, he was promoted on 17 September 1929<ref name=combat/> to a post in [[Abengourou]], which until then had been reserved for Europeans.<ref name=ellenbogen/> At Abengourou, Houphouët witnessed the mistreatment of indigenous cocoa farmers by the colonists.<ref name="patriote">{{cite news|url=http://www.lepatriote.net/lire/f24d1675-b40d-42fe-9f00-23be399b0833.aspx|title=Commémoration de la naissance de Félix Houphouët Boigny: Houphouët a eu 102 ans hier|last=Samou|first=Diawara|date=19 October 2007|work=Le Patriote|accessdate=22 July 2008|language=fr}}</ref>
In 1932, he decided to act, leading a movement of farmers against the influential white landowners and for the economic policies of the colonial government, who favoured the farmers.<ref name=rvx/> On 22 December, he published an article titled "On nous a trop volés" (They have stolen too much from us), in the ''Trait d'union'',<ref name=patriote/> an Ivorian socialist newspaper. It was published under a pseudonym.<ref name=bio2/>
The following year, Houphouët was called by his tribe to assume the responsibilities of village chief.<ref name=combat/> Preferring to pursue his medical career, he relinquished the office to his younger brother Augustin.<ref>Goba, p. 19.</ref> Wishing to live closer to his village, he obtained a transfer to [[Dimbokro]] on 3 February 1934 and then to [[Toumodi]] on 28 June 1936.<ref name=combat/> While Houphouët had displayed professional qualities, his attitude had chafed those around him. As a result, in September 1938, his clinical director demanded that he choose between his job as a doctor and his involvement in local politics. The choice was quickly made for him: his brother died in 1939,<ref name=patriote/> and Houphouët became ''[[chef de canton]]'' (an office created by the colonial administration to collect taxes<ref>Mortimer, p. 36</ref>). Due to this, Houphouët ended his medical career the next year.<ref name=assemblee/>
===First marriage===
In 1930, Houphouët married Kady Racine Sow (1913–2006) in [[Abengourou]]; their union was controversial because he was a practising Catholic and she was the daughter of a wealthy Muslim from [[Senegal]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Guillaume N. |last=Tano |title=Mamie Khady Sow inhumée hier à Abengourou |url=http://www.linter-ci.com/article.php3?id_article=1852 |work=l'Inter |date=17 March 2006 |access-date=31 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430044919/http://www.linter-ci.com/article.php3?id_article=1852 |archive-date=30 April 2008 }}</ref> The families of the two eventually overcame their opposition and accepted the interfaith union, the first ever celebrated in Côte d'Ivoire.<ref name=miran2>Miran, p. 155.</ref> The couple had five children: Felix (who died in infancy), Augustine, Francis, Guillaume and Marie,<ref name="histoire"/> all raised as Catholics.<ref name=miran2/>
===''Chef de canton'' and union leader===
By becoming ''chef de canton'', Houphouët assumed responsibility for the administration of [[Akouè]], a canton which comprised 36 villages. He also took charge of the family plantation—at the time one of the most important in the country—and worked to diversify its rubber, cocoa and coffee crops.<ref name=ellenbogen/> He soon became one of Africa's richest farmers.<ref name=rvx/> On 3 September 1944, he established, in cooperation with the colonial administration,<ref name=ellenbogen/> the [[African Agricultural Union]] (''Syndicat agricole africain'', SAA). Under his presidency, the SAA brought together African farmers who were dissatisfied with their working conditions and worked to protect their interests against those of European planters.<ref name=leaderfreedom/><ref name=bio/><ref>{{cite web|last= Handloff|first = Robert E. (ed)|title= ''Brazzaville Conference'' in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''|url= http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0022)|publisher= Library of Congress|accessdate= 3 August 2008}}</ref> [[Anti-imperialism|Anti-colonialist]] and [[anti-racism|anti-racist]], the organisation demanded better working conditions, higher wages, and the abolition of [[unfree labor]]. The union quickly received the support of nearly 20,000 plantation workers,<ref name=ellenbogen/> together with that of the left-wing French administrators placed in office by the [[Provisional Government of the French Republic|Provisional Government]]. Its success irritated colonists to the extent that they took legal action against Houphouët, accusing him of being anti-French for never seeking French citizenship. However, Houphouët befriended the Inspector Minister of the Colonies, who ordered the charges dropped.<ref name=combat/> They were more successful in obtaining the replacement of the sympathetic [[List of colonial heads of Côte d'Ivoire|Governor]] [[André Latrille]] with the hostile Governor [[Henry de Mauduit]].<ref name="Mortimer62">Mortimer, pp. 62–64</ref>
Houphouët entered electoral politics in August 1945, when elections for the Abidjan city council were held for the first time. The French electoral rules established a common roll: half of the elected would have to be French citizens (who were mostly Europeans) and the other half non-citizens. Houphouët reacted by creating a multi-ethnic all-African roll with both non-citizens and citizens (mostly Senegalese with French citizenship). As a result, most of the African contenders withdrew and a large number of the French protested by abstaining, thus assuring a decisive victory for his African Bloc.<ref name="Mortimer62"/><ref name="Mundt183">Mundt, p. 183.</ref>
In October 1945, Houphouët moved onto the national political scene; the French government decided to represent its colonies in the ''assemblée constituante'' ({{lang-en|Constituent Assembly}}) and gave Côte d'Ivoire and [[Republic of Upper Volta|Upper Volta]]<ref name="Segal282"/> two representatives in Parliament combined. One of these would represent the French citizens and another would represent the indigenous population,<ref name=ellenbogen/> but the suffrage was limited to less than 1% of the population.<ref>Mortimer, p. 58.</ref> In an attempt to block Houphouët, the governor de Mauduit supported a rival candidature, and provided him the full backing of the administration. Despite that and thanks to the SAA's strong organization, Houphouët, running for the indigenous seat, easily came first with a {{formatnum:1000}}-vote majority.<ref name=assemblee/> He failed, however, to obtain an [[absolute majority]], due to the large number of candidates running.<ref name="Mundt183"/> Houphouët emerged victorious again in the second round of elections held on 4 November 1945, in which he narrowly defeated an Upper Voltan candidate with {{formatnum:12980}} votes out of a total of {{formatnum:31081}}.<ref name=assemblee/> At this point, he decided to add "Boigny" to his surname, meaning "irresistible force" in [[Baoulé language|Baoulé]] and symbolizing his role as a leader.<ref name=ellenbogen/><ref name="Mortimer62"/><ref>Brockman, p. 146.</ref>
==French political career==
===Member of Parliament===
[[Image:AssembleeNationale-p1000410.jpg|thumb|right|The Palais Bourbon, where Houphouët-Boigny was appointed to the territorial commission]]
In taking his seat at the [[National Assembly of France|National Assembly]] in the [[Palais Bourbon]] alongside compatriots [[Ouezzin Coulibaly]] and [[Zinda Kaboré]], Houphouët-Boigny had to first decide with which group to side, and he opted for the [[Mouvements Unis de la Résistance|Mouvement Unifié de la Résistance]] (MUR), a small party composed of Communist sympathizers but not formal members of the [[French Communist Party|Communist Party]].<ref>Mortimer, pp. 71–72</ref> He was appointed a member of the ''Commission des territoires d'outre-mer'' (Commission of Overseas Territories).<ref name=assemblee/> During this time, he worked to implement the wishes of the SAA, in particular proposing a bill to abolish forced labor—the single most unpopular feature of French rule.<ref name=leaderfreedom/> The Assembly adopted this bill, known as ''[[Loi Houphouët-Boigny]]'', on 11 April 1946, greatly enhancing the author's prestige beyond his country.<ref>Mortimer, p. 76</ref> On 3 April 1946, Houphouët-Boigny proposed to unify labour regulations in the territories of Africa; this would eventually be completed in 1952. Finally, on 27 September 1946, he filed a report on the [[public health]] system of overseas territories, calling for its reformation. Houphouët-Boigny in his parliamentary tenure supported the idea of a [[French Union|union of French territories]].<ref name=assemblee/>
As the first constitution proposed by the Constituent Assembly was [[May 1946 French constitutional referendum|rejected by the voters]], new [[June 1946 French legislative election|elections were held in 1946]] for a second constituent assembly.<ref>Mortimer, pp. 85–86</ref> For these elections Houphouët-Boigny organized on 9 April 1946,<ref>Toubabou, p. 60.</ref> with the help of the ''[[Communist Study Groups|Groupes d'études communistes]]'' ({{lang-en|Communist Study Groups}}), the [[Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire]] (PDCI),<ref name=universalis>{{cite book|last=Amin|first=Samir|author2=Bernard Nantet|chapter=Côte-d'Ivoire|title=Encyclopædia Universalis|location=Paris|year=1999|language=fr|title-link=Encyclopædia Universalis}}</ref> whose structure closely followed that of the SAA. It immediately became the first successful independent African party when the new party Houphouët-Boigny easily swept the elections with {{formatnum:21099}} out of {{formatnum:37888}} votes, his opponents obtaining only a few hundred votes each.<ref>Mortimer, p. 87</ref> In this he was helped by the recall of Governor Latrille, whose predecessor had been fired by the [[Minister of Overseas France|Overseas Minister]] [[Marius Moutet]] for his opposition to the abolition of the ''[[indigénat]]''.<ref>Mortimer, p. 75</ref>
With his return to the assembly he was appointed to the ''Commission du règlement et du suffrage universel'' (Commission for Regulation of Universal Suffrage); as secretary of the commission from 1947 to 1948, he proposed on 18 February 1947 to reform [[French West Africa]] (AOF), [[French Equatorial Africa]] (AEF), and the French territories' federal council to better represent the African peoples. He also called for the creation of local assemblies in Africa so that Africans could learn how to be politically autonomous.<ref name=assemblee/>
===Foundation of the RDA and Communist alliance===
During the holding of the second Constituent Assembly the African representatives witnessed a strong reaction against the colonial liberalism that had been embedded in the rejected constitution drafted by the previous assembly. The new text, [[October 1946 French constitutional referendum|approved by the voters]] on 13 October 1946, reduced the African representatives from 30 to 24, and reduced the number of those entitled to vote; also, a large number of colonial topics were left in which the executive could govern by decree, and supervision over the colonial administration remained weak.<ref>Mortimer, pp. 100–103</ref> Reacting to what they felt was a betrayal of the [[Popular Republican Movement|MRP]]'s and the [[French Section of the Workers' International|Socialists]]' promises, the African deputies concluded they needed to build a permanent coalition independent from the French parties. Houphouët-Boigny was the first to propose this to his African colleagues, and obtained their full support for a founding congress to be held in October at [[Bamako]] in [[French Sudan]].<ref>Mortimer, p. 105</ref> The French government did all it could to sabotage the congress, and in particular the Socialist Overseas Minister was successful in persuading the African Socialists, who were originally among the promoters, from attending. This ultimately backfired, radicalizing those convened; when they founded the [[African Democratic Rally]] (RDA) as an inter-territorial political movement, it was the pro-Communist<ref>Mortimer, pp. 73–74</ref> [[Gabriel d'Arboussier]] who dominated the congress.<ref>Mortimer, p. 106</ref> The new movement's goal was to free "Africa from the colonial yoke by the affirmation of her personality and by the association, freely agreed to, of a union of nations". Its first president, confirmed several times subsequently, was Houphouët-Boigny,<ref>Segal, pp. 282–283.</ref> while secretary-general became d'Arboussier.<ref>Mortimer, p. 137</ref> As part of the bringing of the territorial parties in the organization, the PDCI became the Ivoirian branch of the RDA.<ref>Ellenbogen, p. 41.</ref>
Too small to form their own parliamentary group,<ref name="Amondji84_110">Amondji (1984), p. 110.</ref> the African deputies were compelled to join one of the larger parties in order to sit together in the Palais Bourbon.<ref name=bio2/> Thus, the RDA soon joined the [[French Communist Party]] (PCF) as the only openly anti-colonialist political faction<ref name=rvx/> and soon organised strikes and boycotts of European imports.<ref name=worldbiography>{{cite web |url=http://www.bookrags.com/biography/felix-houphouet-boigny/ |title=Felix Houphouët-Boigny |accessdate=25 July 2008 |work=Encyclopedia of World Biography |publisher=[[Gale (Cengage)|Thomson Gale]]}}</ref> Houphouët-Boigny justified the alliance because it seemed, at the time, to be the only way for his voice to be heard: "Even before the creation of RDA, the alliance had served our cause: in March 1946, the abolition of compulsory labour was adopted unanimously, without a vote, thanks to our tactical alliance."<ref name="Amondji84_110"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Interview with Félix Houphouët-Boigny|date=4 February 1981|work=[[Jeune Afrique]]|language=fr}}</ref> During his stays in Paris, he travelled in a black limousine to the PCF executive school. On the strength of this contrast, he defends himself from any communist sympathy: "Can I, Houphouet, traditional leader, doctor, big owner, Catholic, can we say that I am a communist? »<ref name=mod />
As the [[Cold War]] set in, the alliance with the Communists became increasingly damaging for the RDA. The French colonial administration showed itself increasingly hostile toward the RDA and its president, whom the administration called a "Stalinist".<ref name=assemblee/> Repression against his party, the PDCI, is increasing in Côte d'Ivoire. Activists are regularly arrested and beaten by police officers, sometimes with acts of torture; others are fired from their jobs. One of the party's main leaders, Senator Biaka Boda, was found hanging and shredded in the forest while wanted by the police. Houphouët-Boigny is afraid for his life and for the existence of the movement.<ref name=mod>Thomas Deltombe, Manuel Domergue, Jacob Tatsita, Kamerun !, 2018</ref> Tensions reached their height at the beginning of 1950,<ref name=bio/> when, following an outbreak of anti-colonial violence, almost the entire PDCI leadership was arrested;<ref name=leaderfreedom/><ref>Goba, p. 28.</ref> Houphouët-Boigny managed to slip away shortly before police arrived at his house.<ref name=leaderfreedom/> Although Houphouët-Boigny would have been saved by his [[parliamentary immunity]], his missed arrest was popularly attributed to his influence and his prestige.<ref name="Mundt184">Mundt, p. 184.</ref> In the ensuing chaos, riots broke out in Côte d'Ivoire;<ref name=decolo>{{cite book|last=Michel|first=Marc|chapter=Afrique – Les décolonisations|title=Encyclopædia Universalis|publisher=Encyclopædia Universalis|location=Paris|year=1999|language=fr|title-link=Encyclopædia Universalis}}</ref> the most significant of which was a clash with the police at Dimbokro in which 13 Africans were killed and 50 wounded. According to official figures, by 1951 a total of 52 Africans had been killed, several hundred wounded and around 3,000 arrested (numbers which, according to an opinion reported by journalist [[Ronald Segal]] in ''African Profiles'', are certainly underestimated).<ref>Segal, p. 283.</ref> In order to defuse the crisis, Prime Minister [[René Pleven]] entrusted the France's Minister for Overseas Territories, [[François Mitterrand]], with the task of detaching the RDA from the PCF,<ref name=bio2/> and in fact an official alliance between the RDA and Mitterrand's party, the UDSR, was established in 1952.<!-- Note to self: Look into this so-called "alliance" --NUL --> Knowing he was at an impasse, in October 1950, Houphouët-Boigny agreed to break the Communist alliance.<ref name=assemblee/> Asked in an undated interview why he worked with the communists, Houphouët-Boigny replied: "I, a bourgeois landowner, I would preach the class struggle? That is why we aligned ourselves with the Communist Party, without joining it."<ref name=leaderfreedom/> A 1954 report from the French military authorities points out that Houphouët-Boigny "conducted his game alone with great flexibility, procrastination and Machiavellian roueries, refraining from convening either the Coordination Committee or the party congress, which could have opposed this volte-face and gradually became a pro-administrative party. "The Secretary General of the RDA, [[Gabriel d'Arboussier]], denounced this new line and left the party. Similarly, the [[Union of the Peoples of Cameroon]], the Union démocratique sénégalaise and the Niger Democratic Union refuse to sever their relations with the PCF and the CGT.<ref name=mod />
===Rehabilitation and entry into government===
In the [[1951 French legislative election|1951 elections]], the number of seats was reduced from three to two; while Houphouët-Boigny still won a seat, the other RDA candidate, [[Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly|Ouezzin Coulibaly]], did not. All in all, the RDA only garnered {{formatnum:67200}} of {{formatnum:109759}} votes in that election, and the party in direct opposition to it captured a seat. On 8 August 1951, Boigny, speaking at René Pleven's inauguration as president of the board, denied being the leader of a communist group; he was not believed until the RDA's 1952 affiliation with UDSR. On the 24th of that same month, Boigny delivered a statement in the Assembly contesting the result of the elections, which he declared tainted by fraud. He also denounced what he saw as the exploitation of overseas deputies as "voting machines", who, as political pawns, supported the colonial government's every action.<ref name=assemblee/> Thereafter, Houphouët-Boigny and the RDA were briefly unsuccessful before their success was renewed in 1956;<ref name=decolo/> at [[1956 French legislative election|that year's elections]], the party received {{formatnum:502711}} of {{formatnum:579550}} votes cast. From then on, his relationship with Communism was forgotten, and he was embraced as a moderate. Named as a member of the Committees on Universal Suffrage (distinct from the aforementioned committee ''regulating'' said suffrage), Constitutional Laws, Rules and Petitions. On 1 February 1956, he was appointed Minister Discharging the Duties of the Presidency of the Council in the government of [[Guy Mollet]], a post he held until 13 June 1957. This marked the first time an African was elected to such a senior position in the French government. His principal achievement in this role was the creation of an organisation of Saharan regions that would help ensure sustainability for the [[French Union]]<ref name=assemblee/> and counter [[Morocco|Moroccan]] territorial claims in the Sahara.<ref>Nandjui, p. 133.</ref>
He will say nothing against the First Indochina War or against Guy Mollet's vote for special powers to repress the insurrection of the National Liberation Front in Algeria.
On 6 November 1957, Houphouët-Boigny became Minister of Public Health and Population in the [[Félix Gaillard|Gaillard]] administration and attempted to reform the public health code. He had previously served as [[Minister of State]] under [[Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury]] (13 June – 6 November 1957).{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} Following his Gaillard ministry, he was again appointed Minister of State from 14 May 1958;<ref name=assemblee/>– 20 May 1959.<ref name="assnat">{{cite web|url=http://www.assembleenationale.fr/gouv_parl/result.asp?choixdate=intervalle&poste=sans+portefeuille&vip=categorie|title=Gouvernements et Présidents des assemblées parlementaires |publisher=[[National Assembly of France|French National Assembly]]|accessdate=22 July 2008|language=fr}}</ref> In this capacity, he participated in the development of France's African policy, notably in the cultural domain. At his behest, the Bureau of French Overseas Students and the [[Cheikh Anta Diop University|University of Dakar]] were created.<ref name=bio/> On 4 October 1958, Houphouët-Boigny was one of the signatories, along with de Gaulle, of the [[Constitution of France|Constitution of the Fifth Republic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.senat.fr/evenement/revision/texte_originel.html|title=Constitution du 4 octobre 1958 – Texte originel|publisher=Government of France|accessdate=22 July 2008|language=fr}}</ref> The last post he held in France was Minister-Counsellor in the Michel Debré government, from 23 July 1959 to 19 May 1961.<ref name=assnat/>
===Leading up to independence===
Until the mid-1950s, French colonies in west and central Africa were grouped within two federations: [[French Equatorial Africa]] (AEF) and [[French West Africa]] (AOF). Côte d'Ivoire was part of the AOF, financing roughly two-thirds of its budget.<ref>Nandjui, p. 90.</ref> Wishing to free the country from the guardianship of the AOF,<ref name=bio2/> Houphouët-Boigny advocated an Africa made up of nations that would generate wealth rather than share poverty and misery. He participated actively in the drafting and adoption of the framework of the [[Gaston Defferre|Defferre]] [[Loi Cadre]], a French legal reform which, in addition to granting autonomy to African colonies, would break the ties that bound the different territories together, giving them more autonomy by means of local assemblies.<ref name="Nandjui, p. 83">Nandjui, p. 83.</ref> The Deffere Loi Cadre was far from unanimously accepted by Houphouët-Boigny's compatriots in Africa: [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]], leader of Senegal, was the first to speak out against this attempted "[[Balkanization]]" of Africa, arguing that the colonial territories "do not correspond to any reality: be it geographical, economic, ethnic, or linguistic". Senghor argued that maintaining the AOF would give the territories stronger political credibility and would allow them to develop harmoniously as well as emerge as a genuine people.<ref>Nandjui, pp. 83–84.</ref> This view was shared by most members of the [[African Democratic Rally]], who backed [[Ahmed Sékou Touré]] and [[Modibo Keïta]], placing Houphouët-Boigny in the minority at the 1957 congress in [[Bamako]].<ref>Nandjui, p. 86.</ref>
Following the adoption of the Loi Cadre reform on 23 June 1956, a territorial election was held in Côte d'Ivoire on 3 March 1957, in which the PDCI—transformed under Houphouët-Boigny's firm control into a political machine—won many seats.<ref name="Mundt184"/><ref name=Nandjuip43>Nandjui, p. 43.</ref> Houphouët-Boigny, who was already serving as a minister in France, as President of the [[National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire|Territorial Assembly]] and as mayor of [[Abidjan]], chose [[Auguste Denise]] to serve as [[List of heads of government of Côte d'Ivoire|Vice President of the Government Council of Côte d'Ivoire]],<ref name=Nandjui44>Nandjui, p. 44.</ref> even though Houphouët-Boigny remained, the only interlocutor in the colony for France.<ref name=rvx/> Houphouët-Boigny's popularity and influence in France's African colonies had become so pervasive that one French magazine claimed that by 1956, the politician's photograph "was in all the huts, on the lapels of coats, on the corsages of African women and even on the handlebars of bicycles".<ref name=leaderfreedom/>
On 7 April 1957, the [[Prime Minister of Ghana]], [[Kwame Nkrumah]], on a visit to Côte d'Ivoire, called on all colonies in Africa to declare their independence;<ref>Nandjui, p. 166.</ref> Houphouët-Boigny retorted to Nkrumah:
{{quote|Your experience is rather impressive ... But due to the human relationships between the French and the Africans, and because in the 20th century, people have become interdependent, we considered that it would perhaps be more interesting to try a new and different experience than yours and unique in itself, one of a Franco-African community based on equality and fraternity.<ref name=Nandjui167/>}}
Unlike many African leaders who immediately demanded independence, Houphouët-Boigny wished for a careful transition within the "''ensemble français''"<ref name=rvx/> because, according to him, political independence without economic independence was worthless.<ref name=assemblee/> He also invited Nkrumah to meet up with him in 10 years to see which one of the two had chosen the best approach toward independence.<ref name=Nandjui167>Nandjui, p. 167.</ref>
[[File:Félix Houphouët-Boigny in 1958.jpg|thumb|Houphouët-Boigny in 1958]]
On 28 September 1958 Charles de Gaulle proposed a [[1958 French constitutional referendum|constitutional referendum]] to the [[French Community|Franco-African community]]: the territories were given the choice of either supporting the constitution or proclaiming their independence and being cut off from France.<ref>Nandjui, p. 129.</ref> For Houphouët-Boigny, the choice was simple: "Whatever happens, Côte d'Ivoire will enter directly to the Franco-African community. The other territories are free to group between themselves before joining."<ref name=Nandjui88>Nandjui, p. 88.</ref> Only [[Guinea]] chose independence; its leader, Ahmed Sékou Touré, opposed Houphouët-Boigny, stating that his preference was "freedom in poverty over wealth in slavery".<ref name="Nandjui, p. 157">Nandjui, p. 157.</ref> The referendum produced the [[French Community]], an institution meant to be an association of free republics which had jurisdiction over foreign policy, defense, currency, common ethnic and financial policy, and strategic raw materials.<ref>
{{cite web|last= Handloff|first = Robert E. (ed)|title= ''Reforms and the French Community'' in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''|url= http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0026)|publisher= Library of Congress|accessdate= 28 July 2008}}</ref>
Houphouët-Boigny was determined to stop the [[hegemony]] of Senegal in West Africa and a political confrontation ensued between Ivorian and Senegalese leaders. Houphouët-Boigny refused to participate in the Inter-African conference in [[Dakar]] on 31 December 1958, which was intended to lay the foundation for the Federation of Francophone African States.<ref name=Nandjui88/> Although that federation was never realised, Senegal and Mali (known at the time as [[French Sudan]]) formed their own political union, the [[Mali Federation]]. After de Gaulle allowed the Mali Federation independence in 1959, Houphouët-Boigny tried to sabotage the federation's efforts to wield political control;<ref name="Nandjui, p. 83"/> in cooperation with France, he managed to convince [[French Upper Volta|Upper Volta]], [[Dahomey]], and [[Niger]] to withdraw from the Mali Federation,<ref>Nandjui, p. 101.</ref><ref>Handloff (ed.), "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0027) Independence and the Institutionalization of the One-Party System]" in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.</ref> before it collapsed in August 1960.
Two months after the 1958 referendum, seven member states of French West Africa, including Côte d'Ivoire, became autonomous republics within the French Community. Houphouët-Boigny had won his first victory against those supporting [[federalism]]. This victory established the conditions that made the future "Ivorian miracle" possible, since between 1957 and 1959, budget revenues grew by 158%, reaching 21,723,000,000 [[CFA franc]]s.<ref>21,723,000,000 [[CFA franc]]s was equivalent to approximately US$8,799,902,777 in 1959, according to [http://fx.sauder.ubc.ca/etc/USDpages.pdf historical exchange rates]. In 2007, this has the equivalent "purchase power" of roughly US$62,571,654,375, according to the [http://www.measuringworth.com/ppowerus/ Institute for the Measurement of Worth].</ref><ref>Nandjui, p. 91.</ref>
==President of Côte d'Ivoire==
===Early years and second marriage===
Houphouët-Boigny officially became the head of the government of Côte d'Ivoire on 1 May 1959. Although he faced no opposition from rival parties and the PDCI became the ''de facto'' party of the state in 1957, he was confronted by opposition from his own government.<ref name=Nandjuip43/> Radical nationalists, led by [[Jean-Baptiste Mockey]], openly opposed the government's [[Francophile]] policies.<ref name=Nandjui44/> In an attempt to solve this problem, Houphouët-Boigny decided to exile Mockey in September 1959, claiming that Mockey had attempted to assassinate him using [[West African Vodou|voodoo]] in what Houphouët-Boigny called the "''complot du chat noir''" (black cat conspiracy).<ref>Nandjui, p. 45.</ref>
[[File:Flag of Côte d'Ivoire.svg|thumb|left|Flag of Ivory Coast]]
Houphouët-Boigny began drafting a new constitution for Côte d'Ivoire after the country's independence from France on 7 August 1960.<ref name=worldbiography/><ref>Nandjui, p. 130.</ref><ref name="Segal287">Segal, p. 287.</ref> It drew heavily from the [[United States Constitution]] in establishing a powerful [[executive branch]], and from the [[Constitution of France]], which limited the capacities of the legislature.<ref name=Nandjui66>Nandjui, p. 66.</ref> He transformed the National Assembly into a mere recording house for bills and budget proposals.<ref name=Nandjui73>Nandjui, p. 73.</ref> On 27 November 1960, Houphouët-Boigny was elected unopposed to the [[List of heads of state of Côte d'Ivoire|Presidency of the Republic]], while a single list of PDCI candidates was elected to the National Assembly.<ref name="Segal287"/>
1963 was marked by a series of alleged plots that played a decisive role in ultimately consolidating power in the hands of Houphouët-Boigny. There is no clear consensus on the unfolding of the 1963 events; in fact, there may have been no plot at all and the entire series of events may have been part of a plan by Houphouët-Boigny to consolidate his hold on power. Between 120 and 200 secret trials were held in Yamoussoukro, in which key political figures—including Mockey and the president of the [[Supreme Court (Côte d'Ivoire)|Supreme Court]] [[Ernest Boka]]—were implicated.<ref name="Mundt187"/> There was discontent in the army, as the generals grew restive following the arrest of Defense Minister [[Jean Konan Banny]], and the president had to intervene personally to pacify them.<ref>Le Vine, p. 211.</ref>
For the next 27 years, almost all power in Côte d'Ivoire was centered in Houphouët-Boigny. From 1965 to 1985, he was reelected unopposed to five successive five-year terms. Also every five years, a single list of PDCI candidates was returned to the National Assembly. For all intents and purposes, all of them were appointed by the president, since in his capacity as leader of the PDCI he approved all candidates.<ref name=Nandjui73/> He and the PDCI believed that national unity and support for the PDCI were one and the same, and that a multiparty system would waste resources and harm the country's unity.<ref>{{csref|country=ivorycoast|section=Independence and the One-Party System|author=Robert E. Handloff}}</ref> For this reason, all adult citizens were required to be members of the PDCI.<ref name=HandloffTheParty>{{csref|country=ivorycoast|section=The Party|author=Robert E. Handloff}}</ref> The media were tightly controlled, and served mainly as outlets for government propaganda.<ref name=leaderfreedom/>
While Houphouët-Boigny's regime was authoritarian, it was less harsh than other African regimes of the time. Once he had consolidated his power, he freed political prisoners in 1967.<ref name=amin>{{cite book|last=Amin|first=Samir|chapter=Côte-d'Ivoire|title=Encyclopædia Universalis|location=Paris|year=1975|language=fr|title-link=Encyclopædia Universalis}}</ref> Under his "unique brand of paternalistic authoritarianism", Houphouët-Boigny subdued dissent by offering government positions instead of incarceration to his critics.<ref name=leaderfreedom/> As a result, according to Robert Mundt, author of ''Côte d'Ivoire: Continuity and Change in a Semi-Democracy'', he was never seriously challenged after 1963.<ref name="Mundt187">Mundt, p. 187.</ref> While Houphouët-Boigny's Ivory Coast lacked political democracy in the Western sense, it was somewhat more tolerant and open than became the case in post-colonial Africa.<ref name=HandloffTheParty/>
In order to foil any plans for a ''coup d'état'', the president took control of the military and police, reducing their numbers from 5,300 to 3,500.<ref>Handloff (ed.), "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0031) Consolidation of Power in the 1960s and 1970s]" in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.</ref> Defence was entrusted to the French armed forces that, pursuant to the treaty on defence cooperation of 24 April 1961, were stationed at [[Port-Bouët]] and could intervene at Houphouët-Boigny's request or when they considered French interests to be threatened.<ref>Nandjui, p. 76.</ref> They subsequently intervened during attempts by the Sanwi monarchists to secede in 1959 and 1969,<ref>Gbagbo, pp. 70–71.</ref> and again in 1970, when an unauthorised political group, the Eburnian Movement, was formed and Houphouët-Boigny accused its leader Kragbé Gnagbé of wishing to secede.<ref name=universalis/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2002/11/COULIBALY/17147|title=Lente décomposition en Côte-d'Ivoire|last=Coulibaly|first=Tiemoko|date=November 2002|work=[[Le Monde diplomatique]]|accessdate=22 July 2008|language=fr}}</ref>
[[Image:Houphouet-Boigny Kennedy.jpg|right|thumb|Félix Houphouët-Boigny and his wife [[Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny]] with [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Jackie Kennedy]] in 1962]]
Houphouët-Boigny married the much younger [[Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny]] in 1962, having divorced his first wife in 1952.<ref name=reigning>{{cite news|title=Reigning Beauties|work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=2 June 1962|accessdate=21 July 2008|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,896296,00.html}}</ref> The couple had no children of their own,<ref name=miran2/> but they adopted one: Olivier Antoine in 1981.
Helene Houpuhouet Boigny – Abla Pokou -<ref name="histoire"/> was legally recognized in 1960 by her father Mister Felix Houphouet Boigny who came to Court along with his three witnesses:
his sisters Ms Faitai and Adjoua Houphouet boigny and his cousin Yao Simon [[Yamoussoukro]]'s chief of Canton (Judgement Supplétif numsber1261 – 26 AOUT 1960 – Tribunal of Toumodi – A Court Session opened to the public).
Madame Helene Houphouet Boigny is the granddaughter of the Bouale's King Nanan Kouakou Anougble II, her Mother being Madame Akissi Anougble. They both died in 1958.
The marriage was not without scandal: in 1958, Marie-Thérèse went on a romantic escapade in Italy,<ref name=miran2/> while in 1961, Houphouët-Boigny fathered a child (Florence, d. 2007) out of wedlock by his mistress Henriette Duvignac.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.afriklive.com/Necrologie-Deces-de-Florence-Houphouet-Boigny-a-Paris_a1360.html |title=Nécrologie: Décès de Florence Houphouët – Boigny à Paris |date=27 February 2007 |work=afriklive.com |access-date=8 August 2008 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617014637/http://www.afriklive.com/Necrologie-Deces-de-Florence-Houphouet-Boigny-a-Paris_a1360.html |archive-date=17 June 2008 }}</ref>
===Leadership in Africa===
Following the example of de Gaulle, who refused proposals for an integrated Europe, Houphouët-Boigny opposed Nkrumah's proposed [[United States of Africa]], which called into question Côte d'Ivoire's recently acquired national sovereignty. However, Houphouët-Boigny was not opposed to collective African institutions if they were subject to his influence or control.<ref name=Nandjui105>Nandjui, p. 105.</ref>
On 29 May 1959, in cooperation with [[Hamani Diori]] ([[Niger]]), [[Maurice Yaméogo]] ([[Republic of Upper Volta|Upper Volta]]) and [[Hubert Maga]] ([[Dahomey]]), Houphouët-Boigny created the ''[[Conseil de l'Entente]]'' ({{lang-en|Council of Accord or Council of Understanding}}).<ref name="Council">Handloff (ed.), "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0140) Relations and the Council of the Entente]" in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.</ref> This regional organisation, founded in order to hamper the Mali Federation, was designed with three major functions: to allow shared management of certain public services, such as the port of Abidjan or the Abidjan–Niger railway line; to provide a solidarity fund accessible to member countries, 90% of which was provided by Côte d'Ivoire;<ref name=Nandjui105/> and to provide funding for various development projects through low-interest loans to member states (70% of the loans were supplied by Côte d'Ivoire).<ref>Nandjui, p. 106.</ref> In 1966, Houphouët-Boigny even offered to grant [[dual citizenship]] to nationals from member countries of the Conseil de l'Entente, but the proposition was quickly abandoned following popular protests.<ref>Nandjui, pp. 73–74.</ref>
The ambitious Ivorian leader had even greater plans for French-speaking Africa: he intended to rally the different nations behind a large organisation whose objective was the mutual assistance of its member states.<ref>Nandjui, p. 111.</ref> The project became a reality on 7 September 1961 with the signing of a [[charter]] giving birth to the ''Union africaine et malgache'' (UAM; {{lang-en|[[African and Malagasy Union]]}}), comprising 12 French-speaking countries including [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]]'s Senegal. Agreements were signed in various sectors, such as economic, military and telecommunications, which strengthened solidarity among Francophone states.<ref>Nandjui, p. 112.</ref> However, the creation of the [[Organisation of African Unity]] (OAU) in May 1963 affected his plans: the supporters of [[Pan-Africanism]] demanded the dissolution of all regional groupings, such as the UAM. Houphouët-Boigny reluctantly ceded, and transformed the UAM into the ''Organisation africaine et malgache de coopération économique et culturelle'' ({{lang-en|African and Malagasy Organization of economic and cultural cooperation}}).<ref>Nandjui, p. 115.</ref>
Considering the OAU a dead end organisation,<ref>Nandjui, p. 119.</ref> particularly since Paris was opposed to the group,<ref>Nandjui, p. 118.</ref> Houphouët-Boigny decided to create in 1965 ''l'Organisation commune africaine et malgache'' (OCAM; {{lang-en|African and Malagasy Organization}}), a French organization in competition with the OAU. The organisation included among its members 16 countries, whose aim was to break revolutionary ambitions in Africa.<ref>Nandjui, p. 120.</ref> However, over the years, the organisation became too subservient to France, resulting in the departure of half of the countries.<ref>Nandjui, pp. 120–121.</ref>
In the mid-1970s, during times of economic prosperity, Houphouët-Boigny and Senghor put aside their differences and joined forces to thwart Nigeria, which, in an attempt to establish itself in West Africa, had created the [[Economic Community of West African States]] (ECOWAS). The two countered the ECOWAS by creating the Economic Community of West Africa (ECWA), which superseded the old trade partnerships in the French-speaking regions.<ref>Nandjui, pp. 122–123.</ref> However, after assurances from Nigeria that ECOWAS would function in the same manner as the earlier Francophone organisations, Houphouët-Boigny and Senghor decided to merge their organization into ECOWAS in May 1975.<ref>Nandjui, p. 126.</ref>
===''Françafrique''===
Throughout his presidency, Houphouët-Boigny surrounded himself with French advisers, such as Guy Nairay, Chief of Staff from 1960 to 1993, and Alain Belkiri, Secretary-General of the Ivorian government, whose influence extended to all areas.<ref>Nandjui, p. 74.</ref> This type of diplomacy, which he labelled "''[[Françafrique]]''", allowed him to maintain very close ties with the former colonial power, making Côte d'Ivoire France's primary African ally. Whenever one country would enter an agreement with an African nation, the other would unconditionally give its support. Through this arrangement, Houphouët-Boigny built a close friendship with [[Jacques Foccart]], the chief adviser on African policy in the [[Charles de Gaulle|de Gaulle]] and [[Georges Pompidou|Pompidou]] governments.<ref name=rvx/>
====Destabilization of revolutionary regimes====
[[Image:DF-SC-83-08641.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Ahmed Sékou Touré]], the President of Guinea (1958–1984)]]
By claiming independence for [[Guinea]] through the 28 September 1958 French constitutional referendum, [[Ahmed Sékou Touré]] had not only defied de Gaulle, but also his fellow African, Houphouët-Boigny.<ref name="Nandjui, p. 157"/> He distanced himself from Guinean officials in [[Conakry]] and the Guinean Democratic Party was excluded from the RDA.<ref>Nandjui, p. 158.</ref> Tensions between Houphouët-Boigny and Touré also began to rise due to the conspiracies of the French intelligence agency [[Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage|SDECE]] against the Sékou Touré regime.<ref>Nandjui, p. 159.</ref> In January 1960, Houphouët-Boigny delivered [[small arms]] to former rebels in [[Man, Côte d'Ivoire]] and incited his council in 1965 to agree to taking part in an attempt to overthrow Sékou Touré.<ref>Nandjui, pp. 159–160.</ref> In 1967, he promoted the creation of the ''Front national de libération de la Guinée'' (FNLG; {{lang-en|National Front for the Liberation of Guinea}}), a reserve of men ready to plot the downfall of Sékou Touré.<ref>Nandjui, pp. 162–163.</ref>
Houphouët-Boigny's relationship with [[Kwame Nkrumah]], the leader of neighboring [[Ghana]], degraded considerably following Guinea's independence, due to Nkrumah's financial and political support for Sékou Touré.<ref name=Nanjui169>Nandjui, p. 169.</ref> After Sékou Touré convinced Nkrumah to support the secessionist Sanwi in Côte d'Ivoire, Houphouët-Boigny began a campaign to discredit the Ghanaian regime.<ref name=Nanjui169/> He accused Nkrumah of trying to destabilise Côte d'Ivoire in 1963, and called for the Francophone states to boycott the [[Organisation of African Unity]] (OAU) conference scheduled to take place in [[Accra]]. Nkrumah was ousted from power in 1966 in a [[military coup]]; Houphouët-Boigny allowed the conspirators to use Côte d'Ivoire as a base to coordinate the arrival and departure of their missions.<ref>Nanjui, p. 172.</ref>
Also in collaboration with Foccart, Houphouët-Boigny took part in the attempted coup of 16 January 1977 led by famed French [[mercenary]] [[Bob Denard]] against the revolutionary regime of [[Mathieu Kérékou]] in [[Dahomey]].<ref>Nandjui, p. 188.</ref> Houphouët-Boigny, in order to fight against the [[Marxism|Marxists]] in power in [[Angola]], also lent his support to [[Jonas Savimbi]]'s [[UNITA]] party, whose feud with the [[Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola|MPLA]] party led to the [[Angolan Civil War]].<ref>Nandjui, p. 212.</ref>
Despite his reputation as a destabiliser of regimes, Houphouët-Boigny granted refuge to [[Jean-Bédel Bokassa]], after the exiled [[Central African Republic]] dictator had been overthrown by French [[paratrooper]]s in September 1979. This move was met with international criticism, and thus, having become a political and financial burden to Houphouët-Boigny, Bokassa was expelled from Côte d'Ivoire in 1983.<ref name=leaderfreedom/>
====Alignment with France====
Houphouët-Boigny was a participant in the November 1960 [[Congo Crisis]], a period of political upheaval and conflict in [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo-Kinshasa]].<ref>Nandjui, p. 150.</ref> The Ivorian leader supported President [[Joseph Kasa-Vubu]], an opponent of Lumumba, and followed France in supporting the controversial Congolese Prime Minister [[Moise Tshombe]].<ref name="Nandjui, p. 153">Nandjui, p. 153.</ref> Tshombe, disliked by much of Africa, was passionately defended by Houphouët-Boigny and was even invited into OCAM in May 1965.<ref name="Nandjui, p. 153"/> After the overthrow of Kasa-Vubu by [[Mobutu Sese Seko|General Mobutu]] in November 1965, the Ivorian president supported, in 1967, a plan proposed by the French [[secret service]] which aimed to bring the deposed Congolese leader back into power. The operation was a failure. In response, Houphouët-Boigny decided to boycott the fourth annual summit of the OAU held in September 1967 in [[Kinshasa]].<ref>Nandjui, p. 155.</ref>
Houphouët-Boigny was also a major contributor to the political tensions in [[Biafra]]. Considering Nigeria a potential danger to French-influenced African states, Foccart sent Houphouët-Boigny and Lieutenant-Colonel Raymond Bichelot on a mission in 1963 to monitor political developments in the country.<ref>Nandjui, p. 182.</ref> The opportunity to weaken the former British colony presented itself in May 1967, when Biafra, led by Lieutenant-Colonel [[Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu]], undertook to [[secession|secede]] from Nigeria. French-aligned African countries supported the secessionists who, provided with mercenaries and weapons by Jean Mauricheau-Beaupré, fought a [[Nigerian Civil War|civil war]] with the Nigerian government.<ref name="survie">{{cite web|url=http://survie-france.org/IMG/doc/43.doc |title=BILLETS D'AFRIQUE N° 43 – FEVRIER 1997 |date=February 1997 |publisher=[[Survie|Survie France]] |format=[[Microsoft Word]] |access-date=7 August 2008 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020191742/http://survie-france.org/IMG/doc/43.doc |archive-date=20 October 2007 }}</ref> By the end of the 1960s, French-supported nations suddenly and openly distanced themselves from France and Côte d'Ivoire's position on the civil war.<ref>Nandjui, p. 184.</ref> Isolated on the international scene, both countries decided to suspend their assistance to Ojukwu, who eventually went into exile in Côte d'Ivoire.
At the request of Paris, Houphouet-Boigny began forging relations with South Africa in October 1970, justifying his attitude by stating that "[t]he problems of racial discrimination, so painful, so distressing, so revolting to our dignity of Negros, must not be resolved, we believe, by force."<ref>Nandjui, p. 204.</ref> He even proposed to the OAU in June 1971 that they follow his lead. In spite of receiving some support, his proposal was rejected. This refusal did not, however, prevent him from continuing his attempts to approach the [[Pretoria]] regime. His attempts bore fruit in October of that year, when a semi-official meeting between a delegation of high level Ivorian officials and South African Prime Minister [[B. J. Vorster]] was held in the capital of South Africa. Moreover, mindful of the Communist influence in Africa, he met Vorster in [[Geneva]] in 1977, after the Soviet Union and [[Cuba]] tried to collectively spread their influence in [[Angola]] and [[Ethiopia]].<ref name=universalis/> Relations with South Africa continued on an official basis until the end of his presidency.<ref>Nandjui, p. 208.</ref>
Houphouët-Boigny and [[Thomas Sankara]], the leader of [[Burkina Faso]], had a highly turbulent relationship. Tensions reached their climax in 1985 when Côte d'Ivoire Burkinabés accused authorities of being involved in a conspiracy to forcibly recruit young students to training camps in [[Libya]].<ref>Nandjui, p. 199.</ref> Houphouët-Boigny responded by inviting the dissident Jean-Claude Kamboulé to take refuge in
Côte d'Ivoire so that he could organise opposition to the Sankara regime. In 1987, Sankara was overthrown and assassinated in a coup.<ref name="Nandjui200">Nandjui, p. 200.</ref> The coup may have had French involvement, since the Sankara regime had fallen into disfavour in France.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wilkins|first=Michael|date=July 1989|title=The Death of Thomas Sankara and the Rectification of the People's Revolution in Burkina Faso|journal=[[African Affairs]]|volume=88|issue=352|pages=375–388|issn=1468-2621|oclc=84360520|jstor=722692|format=requires subscription|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a098188}}</ref> Houphouët-Boigny was also suspected of involvement in the coup and in November, the PDCI asked the government to ban the sale of ''[[Jeune Afrique]]'' following its allegations of Houphouët-Boigny's participation.<ref>Handloff (ed.), "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0119) Civil Rights]" in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.</ref> The Ivorian president would have greatly benefited from the divisions in the Burkina Faso government. He contacted [[Blaise Compaoré]], the second-most powerful man in the regime; it is generally believed that they worked in conjunction with Laurent Dona Fologo, Robert Guéï and Pierre Ouédraogo to overthrow the Sankara regime.<ref>{{cite book|last=Somé|first=Valerié D.|title=Thomas Sankara: l'espoir assassiné|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=1990|isbn=2-7384-0568-1|oclc=23079980|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Le complot était ourdi depuis longtemps|last=Andiramirando|first=Sennen|date=4 November 1997|work=[[Jeune Afrique]]|pages=14–19|language=fr}}</ref>
Besides supporting policies pursued by France, Houphouët-Boigny also influenced their actions in Africa. He pushed France to support and provide arms to warlord [[Charles Taylor (Liberia)|Charles Taylor]]'s rebels during the [[First Liberian Civil War]] in hopes of receiving some of the country's assets and resources after the war.<ref name=rvx/>
He secretly participates in the trafficking of arms to the South African segregationist regime at the time when it is engaged in a conflict in Angola<ref>http://journals.openedition.org/ccrh/512</ref>
===Opposition to the Soviet Union and China===
{{see also|Ivory Coast–United States relations|Ivory Coast–Soviet Union relations}}
[[File:41658X1X2.jpg|thumb|Boigny with [[Nicolae Ceauşescu]] in 1977]]
From the time of Côte d'Ivoire's independence, Houphouët-Boigny considered the Soviet Union and China "malevolent" influences on developing countries. He did not establish diplomatic relations with Moscow until 1967 and then severed them in 1969 following allegations of direct Soviet support to a 1968 student protest at the [[National University of Côte d'Ivoire]].<ref name=soviet>Handloff (ed.), "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0145) Relations with the Soviet Union and China]" in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''. Retrieved on 2008-07-28.</ref> The two countries did not restore ties until February 1986,<ref>Handloff (ed.), "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0139) Foreign Relations]" in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.</ref> by which time Houphouët-Boigny had embraced a more active foreign policy reflecting his quest for greater international recognition.<ref name=soviet/>
Houphouët-Boigny was even more outspoken in his criticism of the People's Republic of China (PRC). He voiced fears of an "invasion" by the Chinese and a subsequent colonisation of Africa. He was especially concerned that Africans would see the problems of development in China as analogous to those of Africa, and see China's solutions as appropriate to [[sub-Saharan Africa]]. Accordingly, Côte d'Ivoire was one of the last countries to normalise relations with China, doing so on 3 March 1983.<ref name=soviet/> Under the principle demanded by Beijing for "one China",<ref name=Nandjui185>Nandjui, p. 185.</ref> the recognition by Côte d'Ivoire of the PRC effectively disestablished diplomatic relations between Abidjan and [[Taiwan]].
===Economic policies in the 1960s and 1970s===
Houphouët-Boigny adopted a system of [[economic liberalism]] in Côte d'Ivoire in order to obtain the trust and confidence of foreign investors, most notably the French. The advantages granted by the investment laws he established in 1959 allowed foreign business to repatriate up to 90% of their profits in their country of origin (the remaining 10% was reinvested in Côte d'Ivoire).<ref>Nandjui, p. 54.</ref> He also developed an agenda for modernising the country's infrastructure, for example, building an American-style business district in Abidjan where five-star hotels and resorts welcomed tourists and businessmen. Côte d'Ivoire experienced economic growth of 11–12% from 1960 to 1965.<ref name=amin/> The country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew twelvefold between 1960 and 1978, from 145 to 1,750 billion CFA francs, while the [[balance of trade|trade balance]] continued to record a surplus.<ref>Nandjui, p. 67.</ref>
The origin of this economic success stemmed from the president's decision to focus on the [[primary sector of the economy]], rather than the [[secondary sector of the economy|secondary sector]].<ref name=bio2/> As a result, the agricultural sector experienced significant development: between 1960 and 1970, cocoa cultivators tripled their production to 312,000 [[tonne]]s and coffee production rose by nearly 50%, from 185,500 to 275,000 tonnes.<ref>Nandjui, p. 59.</ref> As a result of this economic prosperity, Côte d'Ivoire saw an influx of immigrants from other West African countries; the foreign workforce—mostly Burkinabés—who maintained indigenous plantations, represented over a quarter of the Ivorian population by 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/courier/2001_09/fr/doss23.htm |title=Une terre empoisonnée par la xénophobie |last=Kouamouo |first=Theophile |date=25 September 2001 |work=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=27 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605042505/http://www.unesco.org/courier/2001_09/fr/doss23.htm |archive-date=5 June 2008 |language=fr |url-status=dead}}</ref> Both Ivorians and foreigners began referring to Houphouët-Boigny as the "Sage of Africa" for performing what became known as "Ivorian miracle". He was also respectfully nicknamed "The Old One" (''Le Vieux'').<ref name="bio2"/>
However, the economic system developed in cooperation with France was far from perfect. As Houphouët-Boigny described it, the economy of Côte d'Ivoire experienced "growth without development". The growth of the economy depended on capital, initiatives and a financial framework from investors abroad; it had not become independent or self-sustaining.<ref name=universalis/>
===Crisis in Côte d'Ivoire===
====Economy on the brink of collapse====
Beginning in 1978, the economy of Côte d'Ivoire experienced a serious decline due to the sharp downturn in international market prices of coffee and cocoa.<ref name=memoires70>{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Yves|chapter=Pays du monde: Côte-d'Ivoire: 1970–1979|title=Mémoires du XXe siècle: Dictionnaire de France|publisher=Société générale d'édition et de diffusion|location=Paris|year=1995|isbn=2-84248-041-4|oclc=41524503|language=fr}}</ref><ref>Handloff (ed.), "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0032) Economic and Political Issues of the late 1970s and 1980s: Growing Economic Problems]" in ''Ivory Coast: A Country Study''. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.</ref> The decline was perceived as fleeting, since its impact on planters was buffered by the Caistab, the agricultural marketing board,<ref>Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 335–336.</ref> which ensured them a livable income.<ref>Nandjui, p. 60.</ref> The next year, in order to contain a sudden drop in the prices of exported goods, Houphouët-Boigny raised prices to resist international [[tariff]]s on raw materials. However, by applying only this solution, Côte d'Ivoire lost more than 700 billion CFA francs between 1980 and 1982. From 1983 to 1984, Côte d'Ivoire fell victim to a drought that ravaged nearly 400,000 hectares of forest and 250,000 hectares of coffee and cocoa plants.<ref>Ellenbogen, pp. 62–63.</ref> To address this problem, Houphouët-Boigny travelled to London to negotiate an agreement on coffee and cocoa prices with traders and industrialists; by 1984, the agreement had fallen apart and Côte d'Ivoire was engulfed in a major financial crisis.<ref name=universalis/>
Even the production of the [[Oil platform|offshore oil drilling]] and [[petrochemical]] industries, developed to supply the Caistab, was affected by the 1986 worldwide economic recession. Côte d'Ivoire, which had bought planters' harvests for double the market price, fell into heavy debt. By May 1987, the foreign debt had reached US$10 billion, prompting Houphouët-Boigny to suspend payments of the debt. Refusing to sell off its supply of cocoa, the country shut down its exports in July and forced world rates to increase. However, this "embargo" failed.<ref name=universalis/> In November 1989, Houphouët-Boigny liquidated his enormous stock of cocoa to big businesses to jump-start the economy. Gravely ill at this time, he named a Prime Minister (the post was unoccupied since 1960), [[Alassane Ouattara]], who established a series of belt-tightening economic measures to bring the country out of debt.<ref name=memoires70/>
====Social tensions====
The general atmosphere of enrichment and satisfaction during the period of economic growth in Côte d'Ivoire made it possible for Houphouët-Boigny to maintain and control internal political tensions.<ref>Nandjui, p. 62.</ref> His easygoing authoritarian regime, where political prisoners were almost nonexistent, was well accepted by the population. However, the economic crisis that began in the 1980s caused a sharp decline in living conditions for the middle class and underprivileged urban populations.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Côte-d'Ivoire|title=Grand Larousse encyclopédique|publisher=Librarire Larousse|location=Paris|year=2005|language=fr|title-link=Grand Larousse encyclopédique}}</ref><!--Is the year of publication right? According to fr.wikipedia, the encyclopedia was last published in 1975.--> According to the [[World Bank]], the population living below the [[poverty threshold]] went from 11% in 1985 to 31% by 1993. Despite the implementation of certain measures, such as the reduction of the number of young French workers (who worked abroad while serving in the military) from 3,000 to 2,000 in 1986, allowing many jobs to go to young Ivorian graduates, the government failed to control the rising rates of unemployment and bankruptcy in many companies.<ref name=memoires90>{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Yves|chapter=Pays du monde: Côte-d'Ivoire: 1990–1994|title=Mémoires du XXe siècle: Dictionnaire de France|publisher=Société générale d'édition et de diffusion|location=Paris|year=1995|isbn=2-84248-041-4|oclc=41524503|language=fr}}</ref>
Strong social agitations shook the country, creating insecurity.<ref name=memoires70/> The army [[mutiny|mutinied]] in 1990 and 1992, and on 2 March 1990, protesters organized mass demonstrations in the streets of Abidjan with slogans such as "thief Houphouët" and "corrupt Houphouët".<ref name=rvx/> These popular demonstrations prompted the president to launch a system of democratization on 31 May, in which he authorised [[pluralism (political philosophy)|political pluralism]] and trade unions.<ref name=univ>{{cite book|chapter=Côte d'Ivoire – Actualité (1990–2001)|title=Encyclopædia Universalis|publisher=Encyclopædia Universalis|location=Paris|year=2002|language=fr|title-link=Encyclopædia Universalis}}</ref>
=====Opposition=====
[[Image:IC Gbagbo Motta eng 195.jpg|thumb|Gbagbo, as President of Côte d'Ivoire, in 2007]]
[[Laurent Gbagbo]] gained recognition as one of the principal instigators of the student demonstrations during the protests against Houphouët-Boigny's government on 9 February 1982, which led to the closing of the universities and other educational institutions. Shortly thereafter, his wife and he formed what would become the [[Ivorian Popular Front]] (FPI). Gbagbo went into exile in France later that year, where he promoted the FPI and its political platforms. Although the FPI was ideologically similar to the [[Unified Socialist Party (France)|Unified Socialist Party]], the French socialist government tried to ignore Gbagbo's party to please Houphouët-Boigny. After a lengthy appeal process, Gbagbo obtained status as a political refugee in France in 1985.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lexpress.fr/info/monde/dossier/cotedivoire/dossier.asp?ida=358275|title=L'amour déçu de Laurent Gbagbo|last=Hugeux|first=Vincent|date=24 October 2002|work=[[L'Express (France)|L'Express]]|accessdate=22 July 2008 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080507153131/http://www.lexpress.fr/info/monde/dossier/cotedivoire/dossier.asp?ida=358275 |archivedate = 7 May 2008|language=fr}}</ref> However, the French government attempted to pressure him into returning to Côte d'Ivoire, as Houphouët-Boigny had begun to worry about Gbagbo's developing a network of contacts, and believed "his stirring opponent would be less of a threat in Abidjan than in Paris".<ref>{{cite book|last=Duval|first=Philippe|author2=Flora Kouakou|title=Fantômes d'ivoire|publisher=Editions du Rocher|location=Monaco|year=2003|isbn=2-268-04628-1|oclc=53177756|language=fr}}</ref>
In 1988, Gbagbo returned from exile to Côte d'Ivoire after Houphouët-Boigny implicitly granted him forgiveness by declaring that "the tree did not get angry at the bird".<ref name=Jeuneafrique>{{cite news|url=http://www.jeuneafrique.com/jeune_afrique/article_jeune_afrique.asp?art_cle=LIN28113celuisulpti0 |title=Celui que l'on n'attendait plus |last=Kpatindé |first=Francis |date=28 November 2000 |work=[[Jeune Afrique]] |access-date=18 July 2008 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404175339/http://www.jeuneafrique.com/jeune_afrique/article_jeune_afrique.asp?art_cle=LIN28113celuisulpti0 |archive-date=4 April 2009 |df= }}</ref> In 1990, Houphouët-Boigny legalised opposition parties. On 28 October, [[1990 Ivorian presidential election|a presidential election]] was held. Gbagbo filed to run against Houphouët-Boigny. It was the first time Houphouët-Boigny would face a contested election. Gbagbo highlighted the President's age, suggesting that the 85-year-old president would not survive a seventh five-year term.<ref name=leaderfreedom>{{cite news |first=Kenneth B. |last=Noble |title=Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Ivory Coast's Leader Since Freedom in 1960, Is Dead |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEED6133DF93BA35751C1A965958260 |work=[[New York Times]]|date=8 December 1993 |accessdate=23 July 2008 }}</ref> Houphouët-Boigny countered by broadcasting television footage of his youth, and defeated Gbagbo with 2,445,365 votes to 548,441—an implausible 81.7 percent of the vote.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Crook|first=Richard C.|date=April 1997|title=Winning Coalitions and Ethno-Regional Politics: The Failure of the Opposition in the 1990 and 1995 Elections in Côte d'Ivoire|journal=[[African Affairs]]|volume=96|issue=383|pages=215–242|issn=1468-2621|oclc=82273751|jstor=723859|format=requires subscription|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a007826}}</ref>
====Displays of wealth====
{{See also|Biens mal acquis}}
During his presidency, Houphouët-Boigny benefited greatly from the wealth of Côte d'Ivoire; by the time of his death in 1993, his personal wealth was estimated to be between US$7 and $11 billion.<ref name=fortune>{{cite web|url=http://www.ivoirediaspo.net/livres/rapport-ccfd.pdf |title=Biens mal acquis... profitent trop souvent |first=Antoine |last=Dulin |date=March 2007 |work=Ivoire Diaspo |access-date=12 August 2008 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912173741/http://www.ivoirediaspo.net/livres/rapport-ccfd.pdf |archive-date=12 September 2008 }}</ref> With regards to his large fortune, Houphouët-Boigny said in 1983, "People are surprised that I like gold. It's just that I was born in it."<ref name=bio2/> The Ivorian leader acquired a dozen properties in the [[Paris aire urbaine|metropolitan area of Paris]] (including Hotel Masseran on Masseran Street in the [[7th arrondissement of Paris]]), a property in [[Castel Gandolfo]] in Italy, and a house in [[Chêne-Bourg]], Switzerland. He owned real estate companies, such as Grand Air SI, SI Picallpoc and Interfalco, and had many shares in prestigious jewelry and watchmaking companies, such as [[Piaget SA]] and [[Harry Winston Diamond Corporation|Harry Winston]]. He placed his fortune in Switzerland, once asking if "there is any serious man on Earth not stocking parts of his fortune in Switzerland".<ref name=fortune/>
In 1983, Houphouët-Boigny moved the capital from [[Abidjan]] to [[Yamoussoukro]].<ref name=universalis/> There, at the expense of the state, he built many buildings such as the Institute Polytechnique and an international airport. The most luxurious project was the [[Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro|Basilica of Our Lady of Peace]], which is currently the largest church in the world, with an area of {{convert|30000|m2|sqft}} and a height of {{convert|158|m|ft}}.<ref>{{cite news|title=The biggest, longest, tallest...|url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,11710,1240318,00.html |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=17 July 2004 |accessdate=22 July 2008}}</ref><ref name=ebony>{{cite news |first=Hans J. |last=Massaquoi |title=An African's gift to the Vatican: the world's largest church — Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Basilica of Our Lady of Peace |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n2_v46/ai_9177142 |work=[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]] |date=December 1990 |accessdate=24 July 2008 }}</ref> Personally financed by Houphouët-Boigny,<ref name=bio2/> construction for the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace was carried out by the Lebanese architect [[Pierre Fakhoury]] at a total cost of about US$150–200 million. Houphouët-Boigny offered it to [[Pope]] [[John Paul II]] as a "personal gift";<ref name=ebony/> the latter, after having unsuccessfully requested it being shorter than [[St. Peter's Basilica|St. Peter's]] in Rome, [[consecration|consecrated]] it all the same on 10 September 1990.<ref>Brockman 147</ref> Due to a collapse of the national economy coupled with lavish amounts spent on its construction, the Basilica was criticized: it was called "the basilica in the bush" by several western news agencies.<ref name=ebony/>
==Death and legacy==
===Succession and death===
The political, social, and economic crises also touched the issue of who would succeed Houphouët-Boigny as head of state. After severing ties with his former political heir [[Philippe Yacé]] in 1980, who, as president of the National Assembly, was entitled to exercise the full functions of President of the Republic if the Head of State was incapacitated or absent,<ref name=universalis/> Houphouët-Boigny delayed as much as he could in officially designating a successor. The president's health became increasingly fragile,<ref name=memoires80>{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Yves|chapter=Pays du monde: Côte-d'Ivoire: 1980–1989|title=Mémoires du XXe siècle: Dictionnaire de France|publisher=Société générale d'édition et de diffusion|location=Paris|year=1995|isbn=2-84248-041-4|oclc=41524503|language=fr}}</ref> with Prime Minister [[Alassane Ouattara]] administering the country from 1990 onwards, while the president was hospitalised in France.<ref name=rvx/> There was a struggle for power, which ended when Houphouët-Boigny rejected Ouattara in favour of [[Henri Konan Bédié]], the President of the National Assembly. In December 1993, Houphouët-Boigny, terminally ill with [[prostate cancer]],<ref name=leaderfreedom/> was urgently flown back to Côte d'Ivoire so he could die there. He was kept on [[life support]] to ensure that the last dispositions concerning his succession were defined. After his family consented, Houphouët-Boigny was disconnected from life support at 6:35 am [[GMT]] on 7 December.<ref name=leaderfreedom/><ref name=p214>Nandjui, p. 214.</ref> At the time of his death, Houphouët-Boigny was the longest-serving leader in Africa and the third in the world, after [[Fidel Castro]] of Cuba and [[Kim Il Sung]] of North Korea.<ref name=lavishnyt/>
Houphouët-Boigny left no written will or legacy report for Côte d'Ivoire upon his death in 1993. His recognised heirs, especially Helena, led a battle against the government to recover part of the vast fortune Houphouët-Boigny had left, which she claimed was "private" and did not belong to the State.<ref name=fortune/>
===Funeral===
{{Quote box |width=300px|align = right |bgcolor = #c6dbf7
|quote = His peaceful fight for peace among men and women will be continued by all Ivorians, steadfastly true to the memory of the person who was for us, at one and the same time, the first President of our Republic, the father of our independence, the builder of our State, and the symbol and bond of our national unity. He sowed the seeds of peace, braving all the dangers. Deep in his heart, he cherished the constant hope to see the harvests gathered in, so that men and women might come to persevere with the solidarity required of them, like so many ears of corn reaped in fields of harmony.
|source = — Henri Konan Bédié, President of Côte d'Ivoire<ref name=unescotributes>{{cite journal |url=http://www.unesco.org/prixfhboigny/le_prix/laureats/1994/ang/tributes_fhb.htm |title=Tributes to the memory of President Félix Houphouët-Boigny |accessdate=24 July 2008 |journal=[[UNESCO]] |year=1994 |oclc=43919619}}</ref>}}
Following Houpouët-Boigny's death, the country's stability was maintained, as seen by his impressive funeral on 7 February 1994.<ref name=Nandjul216/> The funeral for this "doyen of francophone Africa"<ref>{{cite book |last= Martin |first= Guy |title= Africa in World Politics: A Pan-African Perspective|publisher=Africa World Press |year= 2000 |page= 85 |isbn= 0-86543-858-7|oclc=43919619}}</ref> was held in the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, with 7,000 guests inside the building and tens of thousands outside. The two-month delay before Houpouët-Boigny's funeral, common among members of the Baoule ethnic group, allowed for many ceremonies preceding his burial. The president's funeral featured many traditional African funerary customs, including a large chorus dressed in bright batik dresses singing "laagoh budji gnia" ([[Baoulé language|Baoulé]]: "Lord, it is you who has made all things") and village chiefs displaying strips of [[kente]] and korhogo cloth. Baoulés are traditionally buried with objects they enjoyed while alive; Houpouët-Boigny's family, however, did not state what, if anything, they would bury with him.<ref name=lavishnyt/>
Over 140 countries and international organisations sent delegates to the funeral. However, according to ''[[The New York Times]]'', many Ivorians were disappointed by the poor attendance of several key allies, most notably the United States. The small United States delegation was led by [[United States Secretary of Energy|Secretary of Energy]] [[Hazel R. O'Leary]] and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs [[George Moose]].<ref name=lavishnyt/> In contrast, Houphouët-Boigny's close personal ties with France were reflected in the large French delegation,<ref>{{cite book |last= Martin |first= Guy |title= Africa in World Politics: A Pan-African Perspective|publisher=Africa World Press |year= 2000 |page= 84 |isbn= 0-86543-858-7|oclc=43919619}}</ref> which included President [[François Mitterrand]]; Prime Minister [[Édouard Balladur]]; the presidents of the National Assembly and of the Senate, [[Philippe Séguin]] and [[René Monory]]; former President [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]]; [[Jacques Chirac]]; his friend [[Jacques Foccart]]; and six former Prime Ministers.<ref name=Nandjul216>Nandjui, p. 216.</ref> According to ''The New York Times'', "Houphouët-Boigny's death is not only the end of a political era here, but perhaps as well the end of the close French-African relationship that he came to symbolize."<ref name=lavishnyt/>
===Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize===
{{main|Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize}}
[[Image:Nelson Mandela.jpg|thumb|right|South African leader [[Nelson Mandela]], the 1991 recipient of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize.]]
To establish his legacy as a man of peace, Houphouët-Boigny created an award in 1989, sponsored by [[UNESCO]] and funded entirely by extra-budgetary resources provided by the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny Foundation,<ref>Koné, p. 182.</ref> to honor those who search for peace. The prize is "named after President Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the doyen of African Heads of State and a tireless advocate of peace, concord, fellowship and dialogue to solve all conflicts both within and between States".<ref>{{cite web|title=Resolution of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize|url=http://www.unesco.org/prixfhboigny/le_prix/presentation/ang/establishement.htm|work=[[UNESCO]]|date=22 October 2003|accessdate=29 July 2008}}</ref> It is awarded annually along with a check for [[Euro|€]]122,000, by an international jury composed of 11 persons from five continents, led by former [[United States Secretary of State]] and [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner [[Henry Kissinger]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Presentation of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize|url=http://www.unesco.org/prixfhboigny/le_prix/presentation/ang/presentation.htm|work=[[UNESCO]]|date=17 May 2004|accessdate=29 July 2008}}</ref> The prize was first awarded in 1991 to [[Nelson Mandela]], president of the [[African National Congress]], and [[Frederik Willem de Klerk]], president of the Republic of South Africa, and has been awarded each year since, with the exception of 2001 and 2004.<ref>{{cite web|title=Prizewinners of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize|url=http://www.unesco.org/prixfhboigny/le_prix/laureats/Liste_laureat_us.htm|work=[[UNESCO]]|date=19 December 2005|accessdate=29 July 2008}}</ref>
{{Clear}}
==Positions in government==
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2017}}
===France===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!width=31%|Position
!width=31%|Start date
!width=31%|End date
|-
|Member of [[National Assembly of France|French National Assembly]]
|various
|various
|-
|Member of the [[Council of Ministers of France|Council of Ministers]] under Prime Minister [[Guy Mollet]]
|1 February 1956
|13 June 1957
|-
|[[Minister of State]] under Prime Minister [[Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury]]
|13 June 1957
|6 November 1957
|-
|Minister of Public Health and Population under Prime Minister [[Félix Gaillard]]
|6 November 1957
|14 May 1958
|-
|[[Minister of State]] under Prime Minister [[Pierre Pflimlin]]
|14 May 1958
|17 May 1958
|-
|[[Minister of State]] under Prime Minister [[Charles de Gaulle]]
|1 June 1958
|8 January 1959
|-
|[[Minister of State]] under Prime Minister [[Michel Debré]]
|8 January 1959
|20 May 1959
|-
|Advising minister under Prime Minister Debré
|23 July 1959
|19 May 1961
|}
===Côte d'Ivoire===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!width=31%|Position
!width=31%|Start date
!width=31%|End date
|-
| President of the Territorial Assembly
|24 March 1953
|30 November 1959
|-
| Governor of [[Abidjan]]
|1956
|1960
|-
| Prime Minister
|1 May 1959
|3 November 1960
|-
| [[Minister of Interior]]
|8 September 1959
|3 January 1961
|-
| President of the Republic, [[Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
|3 January 1961
|10 September 1963
|-
| President of the Republic, [[Minister of Defense]], Minister of Interior, [[Minister of Agriculture]]
|10 September 1963
|21 January 1966
|-
| President of the Republic, Minister of Economy and Finances, Minister of Defense, Minister of Agriculture
|21 January 1966
|23 September 1968
|-
| President of the Republic
|23 September 1968
|5 January 1970
|-
| President of the Republic
|5 January 1970
|8 June 1971
|-
| President of the Republic, Minister of National Education
|8 June 1971
|1 December 1971
|-
| President of the Republic
|1 December 1971
|7 December 1993
|}
==Notes==
{{Reflist|20em}}
==References==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last=Amondji|first=Marcel|authorlink=Marcel Amondji|title=Félix Houphouët et la Côte-d'Ivoire: l'envers d'une légende|publisher=Karthala|location=Paris| year=1984|isbn=2-86537-104-2|oclc=11831728}}
* {{cite book|last=Amondji|first=Marcel|authorlink=Marcel Amondji|title=Côte-d'Ivoire. Le P.D.C.I. et la vie politique de 1945 à 1985|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris| year=1986|isbn=2-85802-631-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Baulin|first=Jacques|title=La Politique intérieure d'Houphouet-Boigny|publisher=Eurafor Press|location=Paris|year=1982|oclc=9982529}}
* {{cite book|last=Baulin|first=Jacques|title=La succession d'Houphouët-Boigny: les débuts de Konan Bédié|publisher=Karthala|location=Paris|year=2000|isbn=2-84586-091-9|oclc=47756505}}
* {{cite book|last=Brockman|first=Norbert C.|title=An African Biographical Dictionary|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara|year=1994|isbn=0874367484 |oclc=232129382}}
* {{cite book|last=Diarra|first=Samba|title=Les faux complots d'Houphouët-Boigny: fracture dans le destin d'une nation (1959–1970)|publisher=Karthala|location=Paris|year=1997|isbn=2-85809-106-4| oclc=37989753}}
* {{cite book|last=Diégou|first=Bailly |title=La Réinstauration du multipartisme en Côte d'Ivoire, ou la double mort d'Houphouët-Boigny|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=2000|isbn= 2-7384-2349-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Ellenbogen|first=Alice|title=La succession d'Houphouët-Boigny: entre tribalisme et démocratie|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=2002|isbn=2-7475-2950-9|oclc=62407712}}
* {{cite book|last=Gbagbo|first=Laurent|authorlink=Laurent Gbagbo|title=Côte-d'Ivoire: pour une alternative démocratique|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=1983|isbn=2-85802-303-4|oclc=11345813|page=34}}
* {{cite book|last=Goba|first=Arsène Ouegui|title=Côte-d'Ivoire: quelle issue pour la transition?|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=2000| isbn=2-7384-9483-8|oclc=216694298}}
* {{cite book|last=Grainville|first=Patrick|title=Le Tyran éternel|publisher=Seuil|location=Paris|year=1998|isbn=2-02-032685-X|oclc=38481485}}
* {{cite book|last=Handloff|first=Robert Earl (ed.)|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/citoc.html|title=Ivory Coast: A Country Study|series=Library of Congress Country Studies|publisher=United States Government Printing Office|location=Washington|year=1991|isbn=0-16-030978-6|oclc=21336559}}
* {{cite book|last=Koné|first=Amadou|title=Houphouët-Boigny et la crise ivoirienne|publisher=Karthala|location=Paris|year=2003|isbn=2-84586-368-3|oclc=52772495}}
* {{cite book|last=Le Vine|first=Victor T.|year=2004|title=Politics in Francophone Africa: The States of West and Equatorial Africa|publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers|location=Boulder|isbn=1-58826-249-9|oclc=54372166}}
* {{cite book|last=Lopez|first=Robert|title=Au temps banni d'Houphouët-Boigny: Côté d'Ivoire, France, regards croisés|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=2006|isbn=2-296-01804-1| oclc=77266134}}
* {{cite book|last=Mel|first=Frédéric Grah|title=Félix Houphouët-Boigny: Biographie|publisher=Maisonneuve & Larose|location=Paris|year=2003|isbn=2-7068-1744-5|oclc=55037638}}
* {{cite book|last=Mortimer|first=Edward|title=France and the Africans 1944–1960 – A Political History|publisher=Faber & Faber|location=London|year=1969|isbn=0-571-08251-3|oclc=31730|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/franceafricans190000mort}}
* {{cite book|last=Mundt|first=Robert J.|editor=John F. Clark and David Gardinier|year=1997|chapter=Côte d'Ivoire: Continuity and Change in a Semi-Democracy|title=Political Reform in Francophone Africa|publisher=Westview Press|location=Boulder|isbn=0-8133-2785-7|oclc=35318507|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/politicalreformi0000unse}}
* {{cite book|last=Nandjui|first=Pierre|title=Houphouët-Boigny: L'homme de la France en Afrique|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=1995|isbn=2-7384-3090-2|oclc=34875943}}
* {{cite book|last=Ruffieux|first=Jean-Marie|title=Il était une Fois Félix Houphouet Boigny|publisher=Afrique biblio club|location=Paris|year=1978|isbn=2-85809-106-4|oclc=213096671}}
* {{cite book|last=Segal|first=Ronald|title=African Profiles|publisher=Penguin Books|location=Baltimore|year=1963|oclc=13718888}}
* {{cite book|last=Siriex|first=Paul-Henri|title=Houphouët-Boigny, l'Homme de la paix|publisher=Nouvelles éditions africaines|location=Abidjan|year=1975|oclc=2389457}}
* {{cite book|last=Siriex|first=Paul-Henri|title=Houphouët-Boigny ou la sagesse africaine|publisher=Nouvelles éditions africaines|location=Abidjan|year=1986|isbn=2-7236-0781-X|oclc=17620671}}
* {{cite book|author=Taylor & Francis Group|title=Africa South of the Sahara 2004: South of the Sahara, 2004|publisher=Routledge|year=2003|edition=33rd|isbn=1-85743-183-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Teya|first=Pascal Koffi|title=Côte-d'Ivoire: le roi est nu|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=1985|oclc=17804640}}
* {{cite book|last=Toubabou|first=Le|title=Le millefeuille ivoirien: un héritage de contraintes|publisher=Harmattan|location=Paris|year=2005|isbn=2-7475-9357-6|oclc=62895346}}
* {{cite journal|last=Toungara|first=Jeanne Maddox|date=March 1990|title=The Apotheosis of Cote d'Ivoire's Nana Houphouet-Boigny|journal=The Journal of Modern African Studies|volume=28|issue=1|pages=23–54|oclc=84360549|jstor=160900|doi=10.1017/S0022278X00054215}}
{{Refend}}
* [http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/sycomore/fiche.asp?num_dept=3874 page on the French National Assembly website]
==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Harshe|first=Rajen|title=Pervasive Entente: France and Ivory Coast in African Affairs|publisher=Humanities Press|location=Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey|year=1984|isbn=0-391-02891-X|oclc=11143809}}
* {{cite book|last=Rémy|first=Myléne|title=The Ivory Coast Today|publisher=Les Éditions J.A.|location=Paris|year=1981|edition=3rd|isbn=2-85258-212-0|oclc=8499559}}
* {{cite book|last=Tuinder|first=Bastiaan den|title=Ivory Coast: The Challenge of Success|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore|year=1978|isbn=0-8018-1939-3|oclc=16421887|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/ivorycoast0000unse}}
* {{cite book|last=Wallerstein|first=Immanuel|authorlink=Immanuel Wallerstein|title=The Road to Independence: Ghana and the Ivory Coast|publisher=La Haye|location=Mouton, Charente|year=1964|oclc=935940}}
* {{cite book|last=Zartman|first=I. William|authorlink=I. William Zartman|title=Political Economy of the Ivory Coast|publisher=Praeger Publishers|location=New York|year=1984|isbn=0-03-064097-0|oclc=10430271}}
* {{cite book|last=Zolberg|first=Aristide|title=One-Party Government in the Ivory Coast|url=https://archive.org/details/onepartygovernme00zolb|url-access=registration|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, New Jersey|year=1964|oclc=965225}}
==External links==
{{Commons|Félix Houphouët-Boigny}}
* [http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2544 Speech Delivered by Mister Houphouet-Boigny, Minister of State at the Geo-Andre Stadium in Abidjan on 7 September 1958] {{in lang|en|fr}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box|title=[[Minister of Health (France)|French Minister of Health]]|years=1957–1958|before=vacant|after=[[André Maroselli]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire]]|years=1960|before=Post established|after=Himself as President}}
{{succession box|title=[[President of Côte d'Ivoire]]|years=1960–93|before=Himself as Prime Minister|after=[[Henri Konan Bédié]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire – African Democratic Rally|Leader of the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire]]|years=1947–93|before=Party established|after=[[Henri Konan Bédié]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{IvorianPresidents}}
{{IvorianPMs}}
{{Good article}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houphouet-Boigny, Felix}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Yamoussoukro]]
[[Category:People of French West Africa]]
[[Category:Baoulé people]]
[[Category:Ivorian Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from animism]]
[[Category:Rassemblement Démocratique Africain politicians]]
[[Category:Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire – African Democratic Rally politicians]]
[[Category:Presidents of Ivory Coast]]
[[Category:Heads of government of Ivory Coast]]
[[Category:Foreign Ministers of Ivory Coast]]
[[Category:French Ministers of Health]]
[[Category:State ministers of France]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1945)]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1946)]]
[[Category:Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic]]
[[Category:Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic]]
[[Category:Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic]]
[[Category:Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic]]
[[Category:People who died in office]]
[[Category:Ivorian anti-communists]]
[[Category:Planters]]
[[Category:Ivorian conspiracy theorists]]' |
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