James Mancham

James Richard Marie Mancham was born on August 11, 1939, in Victoria, Mahe. Educated at Middle Temple in London and the University of Paris, he was called to the Bar in 1961.

In 1964, Mancham founded the Seychelles Democratic Party (SDP). As Chief Minister and Prime Minister during self-governance, he championed the construction of Seychelles International Airport, opening the pristine islands to global tourism. On June 29, 1976, he was inaugurated as first President of independent Seychelles. Overthrown while attending the Commonwealth Summit in London in 1977, he spent fifteen years in exile writing poetry and advocating international reconciliation, returning in 1992 as the beloved 'Apostle of National Reconciliation'.