Former Ivory Coast president Henri Konan Bedie is dead!

Former Ivory Coast President, Henri Konan Bedie, who served from 1993 to 1999, has passed away at the age of 89, according to his party, the “Ivory Coast Democratic Party-African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA).” His death was sudden and occurred at a hospital in Abidjan on Tuesday.

Known as a career politician with a talent for political survival, Bedie was the chosen successor to Ivory Coast’s founding father, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, who governed the nation since its independence from France in 1960 until his death in 1993. However, Bedie’s presidency was cut short when he was overthrown by a military coup in 1999, making it the country’s first-ever coup.

Throughout his political career, Bedie made unsuccessful attempts to return as president in 2000, 2010, and 2020. Despite these setbacks, he remained resilient and expressed interest in running for the presidency again in 2025.

One of Bedie’s significant contributions to national politics was his promotion of “Ivoirite,” a nationalist policy aimed at establishing a unified Ivorian identity and economy. However, this policy also led to discrimination against immigrants, favoring those with two Ivorian parents and impacting numerous workers in the cocoa plantations.

Bedie’s rivalry with current President Alassane Ouattara spanned three decades, and he played a role in preventing Ouattara’s candidacy for the presidency in 1995 due to his supposed Burkinabé heritage. This decision contradicted Houphouet-Boigny’s efforts to maintain unity and contributed to the armed conflict and turmoil that occurred from 2000 to 2011.

Despite his age, Bedie remained influential within his party, deterring younger generations from replacing him. He was considered a skilled tactician and was able to garner support from the young members of the PDCI for the 2020 presidential election, in which he secured 1.7 percent of the vote.

Henri Konan Bedie’s passing marks the end of an era in Ivorian politics, leaving behind a complex legacy that shaped the nation’s identity and governance. The country mourns the loss of a leader who played a significant role in its history.