Wavel Ramkalawan was born on 15 March 1959 and is a Seychellois politician and Anglican priest who has been serving as the president of Seychelles since 26 October 2020.
13 Facts About Wavel Ramkalawan
2.
Wavel Ramkalawan served as the Leader of the Opposition from 1998 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020.
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On 25 October 2020, Wavel Ramkalawan won the presidential election, the country's first such victory for an opposition candidate since independence, marking its first successful peaceful transition of power.
4.
Wavel Ramkalawan was born in Mahe, the principal island of Seychelles.
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Wavel Ramkalawan was born into a modest family, the youngest of three children.
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Wavel Ramkalawan's father was a tinsmith while his mother was a teacher.
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Wavel Ramkalawan was ordained as a priest in 1985 following theological studies at St Paul's Theological College, Mauritius, and thereafter followed further studies in theology at Birmingham University.
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In 1990, Wavel Ramkalawan came to prominence when he preached a sermon, broadcast on the national radio station, in which he questioned the practices of the one-party government and advocated for greater freedom, respect for human rights, and observance of the rule of law in the country.
9.
In 1998, Wavel Ramkalawan led his party into the second multi-party general elections.
10.
Wavel Ramkalawan became the first directly elected member of the party in the Assembly, winning his home constituency of St Louis, which he has represented continuously since.
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The next year, Wavel Ramkalawan led his party, now renamed the Seychelles National Party, into the National Assembly elections.
12.
In 2005, Wavel Ramkalawan took a sabbatical from his clerical duties in order to devote himself fully to his political life; he considered this time to be a crucial and important point in the country's affairs.
13.
However, Wavel Ramkalawan lost to James Michel in the 2006 and 2011 presidential elections.