French Ivory Coast
•
0 views
Felix Houphouet-Boigny
Yamoussoukro, French Ivory Coast
Archival Overview
Founding Father and first President of Ivory Coast known as 'The Sage of Africa', who made Ivory Coast the world's leading cocoa exporter in the 'Ivorian Miracle'.
Biographical Record
Trained as a physician and wealthy cocoa planter, Felix Houphouet-Boigny (1905–1993) founded the African Agricultural Union in 1944 and co-founded the RDA. In 1946, as a member of the French National Assembly, he passed the historic Houphouet-Boigny law abolishing forced labor across French Africa.
President of Ivory Coast from 1960 until his death in 1993, he fostered close relations with France (Francafrique), market capitalism, and peace. He turned Yamoussoukro into the nation's political capital and constructed the colossal Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, the largest Christian church in the world.
Key Life Milestones
Abolition of Forced Labor Law
Enacted the French law banning forced labor across all French colonial territories in Africa.
Consecration of Yamoussoukro Basilica
Consecrated the world's largest Christian basilica by Pope John Paul II in his native Yamoussoukro.
Memorial Guestbook & Tributes
0 messages recordedLeave a Respectful Tribute
Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialYamoussoukro, Ivory Coast