Patrice Talon

Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon[1] (born 1 May 1958) is a Beninese politician and businessman who has been President of Benin since 6 April 2016.

Patrice Talon
Talon in 2017
President of Benin
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 April 2016
Preceded by	Thomas Boni Yayi
Personal details
Born	1 May 1958 Ouidah, Dahomey
Political party	Independent
Spouse(s)	Claudine Gbènagnon
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Dakar École nationale de l'aviation civile

Early life and career

Talon is of Fon origins and was born in Ouidah. He descends from slave traders.[2] His father was from Ouidah while his mother came from a Guédégbé family in Abomey. He obtained a baccalaureate in Dakar, Senegal.[3] After obtaining a "C" grade in his bachelor's degree in science studies at the University of Dakar,[4] he was transferred to the National School of Civil Aviation in Paris. With dreams of becoming a pilot, Talon failed a medical test and this dream became an impossibility.[5]

In 1983, he became involved in trade of packaging and agricultural inputs activities. In 1985, he returned to Benin and established the Intercontinental Distribution Company (Société Distribution Intercontinentale; SDI), which supplies agricultural inputs to cotton producers. Although in 1990, following recommendations by the World Bank to liberalize economies in West Africa countries, in which Benin was called upon to withdraw from the cotton production chain. He then won the chance to establish three cotton ginning factories in the country.[4] He was also known as the "King of Cotton" for his involvement in the cotton industry, Talon built his empire due to connections with the Beninese political class.[6]

He was one of the chief financial backers of President Thomas Boni Yayi, financing his campaigns for the 2006 and 2011 elections.[7] His company, Benin Control acquired two nationally owned enterprises, Sodeco in 2009 and PVI in 2011. In 2011, Talon received management of Cotonou’s imports at the Port of Cotonou. In 2012, he fled to France after he was accused of embezzling more than 18 million euros in taxes.[6] He fell out with Boni Yayi and was accused of involvement in a plot to kill him. He was subsequently pardoned in 2014.[8] In 2015, US magazine Forbes listed him as the 15th richest person in sub-Saharan Africa with wealth valued at approximately US$400 million.

President

Talon ran as an independent candidate in the March 2016 presidential election. Although he finished second to Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou of the Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin in the first round of voting, he won the second round with 65% of the vote. His opponent, outgoing Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou recognized his defeat the night of the election. Speaking on 25 March 2016, Talon said that he would "first and foremost tackle constitutional reform", discussing his plan to limit presidents to a single term of five years in order to combat "complacency". He also said that he planned to slash the size of the government from 28 to 16 members.[9]

He was sworn in on 6 April 2016.[10] The composition of his government was announced later in the day. There was no prime minister, and two defeated presidential candidates who had backed Talon in the second round, Pascal Koupaki and Abdoulaye Bio-Tchane, were appointed to key posts; Koupaki as Secretary-General of the Presidency and Bio-Tchane as Minister of State for Planning and Development.[11] Talon pledged to increase the fortunes of Benin in five years and improve its relationship with France.[12] Some of his policy goals are reducing the power of the executive and reducing presidents to single terms of five years, an unheard of suggestion in Africa.[5]

On 4 April 2017, the National Assembly failed to pass a bill that would have led to a referendum on Talon's proposal to limit presidents to a single six-year term. 63 votes in the 83-member National Assembly were required for passage, and the bill fell just short, with 60 votes.[13] Talon said a few days later that he would not pursue the matter any further.[14][15] He said that he was saddened by the outcome of the vote but that he respected it because of his commitment to democracy. He declined to say if he would stand for re-election in 2021,[15] but eventually it was apparent. Benin's democratic reputation has been reduced during the last few years. Changes in the law mean that Presidential candidates need the support of 16 members of parliament and nearly all the current MPs are members of parties that Talon agrees with. It was predicted that Talon may be re-elected unopposed.[16]

Personal life

He is married to Claudine Gbènagnon from Porto-Novo and has two children.

References

1. "Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming Meets with President Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon of Benin". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. 9 September 2016.
2. Sieff, Kevin (January 29, 2018). "An African country reckons with its history of selling slaves". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 2, 2018. In the 2016 presidential election, one candidate, Lionel Zinsou, angrily pointed out in a televised debate that his opponent, Patrice Talon, who is now president of Benin, was the descendant of slave merchants.
3. Macmillan, Palgrave (28 February 2017). The Statesman's Yearbook 2017: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. Springer. p. 210. ISBN 978-1-349-68398-7.
4. "Accueil BIOGRAPHIE DE PATRICE A.G.TALON [BIOGRAPHY OF PATRICE A. G. TALON]" (in French). 31 March 2016.
5. Agon, Benjamin (21 March 2016). "Patrice Talon: from self-made tycoon to new African leader". Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
6. Adida, Claire (13 April 2016). "Benin has a new president: Patrice Talon, an ironic outsider politician". Washington Post. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
7. "Benin heading for presidential run-off vote", France 24, 8 March 2016.
8. "Benin president pardons 'poison-plot' businessman who fled to France", Radio France Internationale, 15 May 2014.
9. "Newly-elected Benin president aims to reduce presidential terms", Reuters, 26 March 2016.
10. "Businessman sworn in as Benin's president", Reuters, 6 April 2016.
11. Vincent Duhem, "Bénin : Patrice Talon nomme un gouvernement sans Premier ministre", Jeune Afrique, 6 April 2016 (in French).
12. "Patrice Talon pledges to 'miraculously' change Benin in 5 years". Africanews. August 26, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
13. Allegresse Sasse, "Benin parliament rejects bill aiming to reduce presidential terms", Reuters, 5 April 2017.
14. "Benin president abandons plan to reduce number of presidential terms", Reuters, 9 April 2017.
15. "Bénin : Patrice Talon renonce à la réforme de la Constitution", Jeune Afrique, 10 April 2017 (in French).
16. 21votes (2020-06-09). "Benin Presidential Election: April 11, 2021". 21votes. Retrieved 2021-01-25.