Former Ivorian President Henri Konan Bedie dies at 89

The former President of Cote D’Ivoire, Henri Konan Bedie has died at the age of 89. 

The heir of Felix Houphouet-Boigny died at the age of 89, at the Polyclinique internationale Sainte Anne-Marie (PISAM) following an illness.

Former Ivorian President, Henri Konan Bedie, held the position of head of state from 1993 until 1999, when his presidency was abruptly cut short by a military coup, marking a significant turning point in the nation’s history.

Despite his advanced age, Bedie had not ruled out the possibility of making a political comeback.

In a statement released today, the Ivory Coast Democratic Party-African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA) expressed profound sorrow as they announced the passing of Bedie. The former leader breathed his last in a hospital located in Abidjan on Tuesday, leaving the party and its members in a state of deep mourning.

According to an AFP journalist, a growing crowd has assembled outside the individual’s residence in the capital city.

Born in 1934 into a family of cocoa planters, Henri Konan Bedie has established himself as a career politician. He was handpicked as the successor to Ivory Coast’s founding father, Felix Houphouet-Boigny. Houphouet-Boigny, who governed the West African nation from its independence from France in 1960 until his passing in 1993 at the age of 88, left behind a significant legacy.

He was appointed ambassador at 26, minister of the economy at 32, and led the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), the party of the first Ivorian president, Félix Houphouet-Boigny.