HouphouëtBoigny

Félix Houphouët-Boigny (18 October 1905 – 7 December 1993) was an Ivorian statesman and physician who led Ivory Coast from the era of French colonial rule to independence and remained its long-serving president until his death. He was one of Africa's most enduring postwar leaders and shaped Ivory Coast's political and economic development.

Born in Yamoussoukro to a Baoulé family, Houphouët trained as a medical doctor in Europe and returned to the colony to practice and to work as a community leader among farmers and workers. In 1946 he founded the Parti Démocratique de Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI), which became the dominant political force and a key member of the anti-colonial movement within the French Community.

Ivory Coast gained independence in 1960, and Houphouët-Boigny became the first president, a position he held for more than three decades. He established a one-party state with the PDCI as the sole legal party for many years, pursuing policies of economic development anchored in cocoa and coffee exports, rural modernization, and social welfare. He favored strong ties with France and Western partners, arguing for stability, gradual reform, and a non-aligned posture during the Cold War.

His presidency saw relative political stability and rapid economic growth, but it also faced criticism for constrained political pluralism and suppression of opposition. After his death in 1993 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's political system faced a transition period and eventual challenges to the inherited one-party framework.