Andry Rajoelina was born on 30th May 1974. He was born into the home of a wealthy Colonel. His father’s name is Colonel Roger Rajoelina. Although his family could afford to send him to college, Andry chose to fulfill his dream of being an entrepreneur. The highest education he got was a baccalaureate (the equivalent of a diploma).
In the year 2000, Andry got married to Mialy Razakandisa. They met while she was in high school in Antananarivo. They have two children – a son and a daughter.
Media entrepreneur
At the young age of 19 years, Rajoelina had established his first Enterprise. It was an event company called Show Business. In 1994, Andry organized a concert that brought together a large number of Malagasy musical artists. In 1999 he founded Injet, the first printing technology company in Madagascar. It was a huge success largely because it was founded at a time when billboard advertising had started to grow. After his marriage, Andry acquired Domapub. Domapub was a company owned by his wife’s family. Incidentally, the company operated in the same industry as Injet. The acquisition allowed Andry to scale up his business. In 2007, Andry went further to acquire a television and radio station.
Mayor of Antananarivo
In 2007, Andry Rajoelina founded a political association called Tanora Malagasy Vonona (TGV). Shortly afterward, he announced his intention to run for mayor of Antananarivo. He won the support of many youths because of his age and gained popularity throughout the nation. He won the election for Mayor in December 2007, pulling 63% of the votes.
Disagreements with Ravalomanana
The first conflicts between Andry Rajoelina and president Ravalomanana were far back as 2003. The government or that advertising panels which Rajoelina had installed at a major roundabout in Antananarivo to be removed.
On February 3rd, the Ministry of domestic affairs deemed it fit to punish Rajoelina. They dismissed him from office as mayor and appointed a delegation to manage affairs. Rajoelina contested the decision taken against him.
Resignation of Ravalomanana
In February, during a rally organized by Andry Rajoelina, the orange movement leaders declared him as President of the High Transitional Authority. They then went on a procession to the Presidential palace. The presidential guards responded aggressively, opening fire on the procession. 31 people died, and more than 200 others were wounded.
The aftermath of the massacre led to a steady decline in the popularity of the ruling president. The army confirmed that they got orders to open fire from the presidency. On 6th March, Malagasy authorities attempted to arrest Rajoelina. He took refuge in the French embassy. The ruling president resigned and transferred the presidency seal to a committee of the Army.
On March 18th. The army transferred power to Rajoelina, making him the President of the Transitional Authority. Rajoelina was sworn in as President on March 21, aged 35 years.
Resolution of the Political Conflict
In 2009, the African Union suspended Madagascar due to irregularities in its government transition. It stated that the sanction would continue until the constitutional government was restored. The United States also failed to recognize the Andry Rajoelina administration. In the same year, the IMF froze its aid to Madagascar. Other donor organizations followed suit, including the United Nations. The international community maintained that free and fair elections had to be conducted before the new government could be legitimate.
In August 2009, Madagascar’s historic presidents signed the Maputo Accords that defined guidelines for the transition. They agreed that Rajoelina should stay in power until elections were held.
In 2013, the election took place, and Henry Rajaonarimampianina won the election race. Rajoelina stepped down in January 2014.
2018 Presidential Elections
In August 2018, Rajoelina announced his candidacy for the Presidential elections. He introduced an initiative for the emergence of Madagascar that defined the guidelines of his campaign. One of his campaign promises was to close the Senate in order to save money and build universities instead. He won the election and was inaugurated in January 2019.
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