Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon was born on 1 May 1958 and is a Beninese politician and businessman who has been President of Benin since 6 April 2016.
18 Facts About Patrice Talon
2.
Patrice Talon's father was from Ouidah while his mother came from a Guedegbe family in Abomey.
3.
In 1983, Patrice Talon became involved in trading packaging and agricultural inputs.
4.
Patrice Talon then won the chance to establish three cotton ginning factories in Benin.
5.
Patrice Talon was known as the "King of Cotton" for his involvement in the cotton industry.
6.
Patrice Talon built his empire due to connections with the Beninese political class.
7.
Patrice Talon was one of President Thomas Boni Yayi's chief financial backers, financing his campaigns in the 2006 and 2011 elections.
8.
In 2011, Patrice Talon received management of Cotonou's imports at the Port of Cotonou.
9.
Patrice Talon fell out with Boni Yayi and was accused of involvement in a plot to kill him.
10.
Patrice Talon ran as an independent candidate in the March 2016 presidential election.
11.
On 25 March 2016, Patrice Talon said that he would "first and foremost tackle constitutional reform", discussing his plan to limit presidents to a single term of five years in order to combat "complacency".
12.
Patrice Talon said that he planned to reduce the government from 28 to 16 members.
13.
Patrice Talon pledged to increase Benin's fortunes in five years and improve its relationship with France.
14.
Patrice Talon appointed 22 ministers, four of which were women.
15.
Patrice Talon said a few days later that he would not pursue the matter any further.
16.
Patrice Talon said he was saddened by the outcome of the vote but respected it because of his commitment to democracy.
17.
Patrice Talon declined to say whether he would stand for reelection in 2021, but eventually it was apparent that he would.
18.
Patrice Talon is married to First Lady Claudine Gbenagnon from Porto-Novo and has two children.