Félix Houphouët-Boigny was born in the city of Yamoussoukro (Ivory Coast) in 1905. His political background marked his nation´s history, as he was elected president in the country´s first elections after its independence from France.   Of his curriculum, we can highlight the founding of the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (the main inter-territorial pre-independence political party for all French Western African regions, except Mauritania), his participation in the National French Assembly, and a long etcetera.

His true political weight arrived with the steps prior to the nation´s independence, when President Charles de Gaulle offered to hold a referendum in the French colonies to choose between joining the new federal community and becoming independent nations. Houphouët-Boigny successfully campaigned for independence within the French community, although independence was not definitively obtained until 1960, when the political became the first president of the Ivory Coast.

In May 1959, Houphouët-Boigny strengthened his position as a dominant figure in Western Africa by leading the Ivory Coast, Niger, Alto Volta (Burkina Faso) and Dahomey (Benin) to the Entente Council, a regional organisation that promoted economic development. He believed that the road to African solidarity was achieved through economic and political cooperation, recognising the principle of not intervening in the matters of other African states.

In summary, an entire life within the political world that ended in 1993, the year of his death.

Sources:

• Wikipedia

• www.ikuska.com