Aimé Henri Konan Bédié

Aimé Henri Konan Bédié was born in Daoukro, French West Africa. He earned a doctorate in economics from the University of Poitiers in France. In 1960, upon Ivorian independence, founding President Félix Houphouët-Boigny appointed the 26-year-old Bédié as the country's first ambassador to the United States and the United Nations.

Bédié served as Minister of Economy and Finance from 1966 to 1977 and President of the National Assembly from 1980 until Houphouët-Boigny's death in December 1993, when Bédié succeeded him as President. To consolidate his power against northern rival Alassane Ouattara, Bédié championed the doctrine of Ivoirité (Ivorian identity), which restricted citizenship rights and ignited deep ethnic and regional fault lines. In December 1999, General Robert Guéï overthrew Bédié in Côte d'Ivoire's first military coup. Bédié remained a dominant kingmaker and head of the PDCI until his death at age 89.