Rajoelina, Andry
Rajoelina, Andry
(än`drē räjōēlēn`ä), 1974–, Malagasy businessman and politician. Rajoelina was a popular disc jockey and built a successful media conglomerate. Elected mayor of Antananarivo in 2007, he used his office as a platform for criticizing President Marc RavalomananaRavalomanana, Marc, 1949–, Malagasy political leader. He made a fortune manufacturing dairy products and began his political career in 1999 when he was elected mayor of Antananarivo. In 2001 he challenged incumbent Didier Ratsiraka for the country's presidency.
..... Click the link for more information. , and after the government closed his television station (Dec., 2008) he led demonstrations against him. The president removed him from office in Feb., 2009; the next month, with military support, Rajoelina named himself president and Ravalomanana went into exile, a move condemned internationally as an unlawful coup. Extended talks with former leaders of Madagascar on forming a transitional government were ultimately abandoned by Rajoelina, who won approval of a new constitution in a Nov., 2010, referendum. Barred from running in the 2013 presidential election, he was succeeded (Jan., 2014) by Hery Rajaonarimampianina, whom Rajoelina had supported. In 2018, Rajoelina ran for president, and defeated Ravalomanana in a runoff.