Gabriel Ramanantsoa

Gabriel Ramanantsoa
Ramanantsoa in 1961
2nd President of Madagascar
In office
11 October 1972 – 5 February 1975
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byPhilibert Tsiranana
Succeeded byRichard Ratsimandrava (as Head of State)
8th Prime Minister of Madagascar
In office
18 May 1972 – 5 February 1975
PresidentPhilibert Tsiranana
Himself
Preceded byOffice reestablished
Philibert Tsiranana (1958–1959)
Succeeded byOffice abolished from 1975 to 1976
Joël Rakotomalala
Personal details
Born(1906-04-13)13 April 1906
Antananarivo, French Madagascar
Died9 May 1979(1979-05-09) (aged 73)
Paris, France
Spouse
Marcelle Larguier
​
(m. 1934)​
[1]

Gabriel Ramanantsoa (13 April 1906 – 9 May 1979) was a Malagasy politician who served as the second president and eighth prime minister of Madagascar from 1972 to 1975. He presided over an era of military rule in Madagascar, restructuring the government and reducing the presence of France, the country's former colonial overlord. Continued unrest and ongoing economic difficulties undermined his political support, and he turned over control of the country to Richard Ratsimandrava in 1975.

Early years

Ramanantsoa was a member of the Merina ethnic group, and came from a wealthy family. He graduated from Saint-Cyr in 1931. He was a career officer in the French army and was a colonel when Madagascar became independent in 1960. He joined the Malagasy military, and became the first general in the history of independent Madagascar.[2][3]

Head of State

In May 1972, amidst massive political protests known as rotaka, he became prime minister and minister of defense of the country. In an attempt to stabilize the First Republic, President Philibert Tsiranana vested Ramanantsoa with full executive powers. Despite French troops still being stationed in Madagascar and Tsiranana's pro-French policies, the French made no effort to support Tsiranana or intervene to stabilize the government.[2]

In October 1972, voters approved a referendum that suspended the existing governmental structure in favor of a five-year transition period under military leadership, with Ramanantsoa at the head. The position of president was eliminated, leaving Tsiranana without any governmental power, and Ramanantsoa as the uncontested head of state.[2]: 273–274 

Ramanantsoa tried to start post-rotaka political reconciliation by appointing a cabinet with members across the Malagasy political spectrum. Among these cabinet members were Richard Ratsimandrava as Minister of the Interior and Didier Ratsiraka as Minister of Foreign Affairs. These two men would be Ramanantsoa's successors as president of Madagascar, with Ratsimandrava directly succeeding Ramanantsoa, and Ratsiraka ascending to the presidency after Ratsimandrava's assassination.[4]: 410–414 

One of Ramanantsoa's major governmental goals was to reduce France's post-colonial power over Madagascar and to assert a Malagsy identity for the island, a process known as Malgachization. He withdrew Madagascar from the Franc Zone and removed French military presence from the island. His administration nationalized some of the remaining French companies and opened state-run corporations. Education in the Malagasy language was also introduced, but this increased ethnic tensions and fears that the Malagasy identity would be a specifically Merina identity.[2][5]: 229 

His popularity faded due to continued unrest and rumors of corruption involving him and his wife, and the government was nearly overthrown in December 1974 by a coup led by Bréchard Rajaonarison, a colonel.[6] After the coup, Ramanantsoa dismissed the government and attempted to form a new one. In the process, he lost the backing of Richard Ratsimandrava and Didier Ratsiraka, and on 5 February 1975, he resigned and named Ratsimandrava as his successor. He continued to exert some informal political power under Ratsimandrava and the early days of Ratsiraka's presidency, but by the end of 1975, Ramanantsoa had retired from all military and governmental roles.[2]

Post-government

Four years later, he died in Paris, France on 9 May 1979.[7] His nephew, Bernard Ramanantsoa, served as dean of the French business school HEC Paris from 1996 to 2015.

References

  1. ^ "Madagascar First ladies : De Justine à Voahangy, en passant par les deux Thérèse". Madagate.com. 14 February 2014. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e Allen, Philip M.; Covell, Maureen (2005). Historical Dictionary of Madagascar. Scarecrow Press. pp. 241–244. ISBN 978-0-8108-4636-4.
  3. ^ "Madagascar's President Yields Power to General". The New York Times. 19 May 1972. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  4. ^ Gow, Bonar A. (September 1997). "Admiral Didier Ratsiraka and the Malagasy Socialist Revolution". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 35 (3): 409–439. doi:10.1017/S0022278X97002486. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  5. ^ Ramsamy, Katiana Sandra (3 April 2021). "French involvement in the Malagasy crisis and during SADC's mediation". African Security Review. 30 (2): 223–246. doi:10.1080/10246029.2021.1887905. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  6. ^ Allen, Philip M. (2 April 2019). Madagascar: Conflicts Of Authority In The Great Island. Routledge. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-429-71799-4.
  7. ^ "Gen. Gabriel Ramanantsoa, 73, Former President of Madagascar". New York Times. 11 May 1979. Retrieved 11 April 2026.


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