20 Facts About Alassane Ouattara

Alassane Ouattara was born on 1 January 1942, in Sindou in Haute Volta.

Alassane Ouattara is Muslim and is a member of the Dyula people.

Alassane Ouattara received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1965 from the Drexel Institute of Technology, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Alassane Ouattara then obtained both his master's degree in economics in 1967 and a Ph.

In 1991, Alassane Ouattara married Dominique Nouvian, a French Algerian-born Catholic businesswoman of maternal Jewish descent.

Alassane Ouattara was an economist for the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC from 1968 to 1973, and afterwards he was the Charge de Mission in Paris of the Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest from 1973 to 1975.

Alassane Ouattara has a reputation as a hard worker, keen on transparency and good governance.

Alassane Ouattara subsequently became Prime Minister of Cote d'Ivoire on 7 November 1990, still under the IMF imposition, after which Charles Konan Banny replaced him as Interim BCEAO Governor.

Alassane Ouattara held the position of Minister of Economy and Finance from October 1990 to November 1993.

Houphouet-Boigny died on 7 December 1993, and Alassane Ouattara announced his death to the nation, saying that "Cote d'Ivoire is orphaned".

Alassane Ouattara then returned to the IMF as Deputy Managing Director, holding that post from 1 July 1994 to 31 July 1999.

The Rally of the Republicans, an opposition party formed as a split from the ruling Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire in 1994, sought for Alassane Ouattara to be its presidential candidate.

The government would not change the electoral code and Alassane Ouattara declined the nomination.

Alassane Ouattara said he was eligible to stand in the election, pointing to documents he said demonstrated that he and his parents were of Ivorian birth.

Alassane Ouattara was accused of forging these papers, prompting investigations.

President Gbagbo affirmed on 6 August 2007 that Alassane Ouattara could stand in the next Ivorian presidential election.

At the time, Alassane Ouattara said publicly that he did not believe Gbagbo would organize transparent and fair elections.

The country was severely damaged by the war, and observers say it will be a challenge for Alassane Ouattara to rebuild the economy and reunite Ivorians.

In March 2020, Alassane Ouattara announced he would not run again in the presidential elections of 31October 2020, and supported Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly as the presidential candidate of the RDR.

Alassane Ouattara's candidacy was controversial, for the Ivorian constitution permits only two presidential terms.