Wed, March 18, 2009
Below are some key facts about Madagascar's President Marc Ravalomanana and the mayor of the capital, Andry Rajoelina, who is demanding he steps down.
* MARC RAVALOMANANA:
-- President Marc Ravalomanana, 59, is a self-made dairy tycoon who before becoming president was elected mayor of the capital Antananarivo, the post now held by his opponent.
-- Ravalomanana was ruled the winner of the first round of a 2001 presidential election but only took up the presidency in 2002 after incumbent Didier Ratsiraka gave up a violent struggle to keep power and fled. Ravalomanana was re-elected in 2006.
-- He was born on Dec. 12, 1949, and educated by missionaries in the family village of Imerikasina, 25 km (16 miles) from the capital.
-- Following secondary education in Sweden at a Protestant school, Ravalomanana turned to business.
-- In his early 20s, he made yoghurt which he sold on the capital's streets. He soon secured a World Bank loan, with the help of the Protestant church, to set up his first factory.
-- He owns the TIKO empire. At one stage TIKO was the largest non-foreign owned firm on the island with a monopoly on all dairy and oil products sold locally.
* ANDRY RAJOELINA:
-- Andry Rajoelina, 34, is leader of the opposition and mayor of the capital, Antananarivo. He is regarded by some as a maverick and is nicknamed TGV, after the French high speed train, for his rapid-fire personality.
-- Rajoelina contested municipal elections in 2007 as an independent, running against Ravalomanana's party. Since taking office, he has become one of the most ardent critics of the government, labelling it a dictatorship.
-- Rajoelina was incensed at the closure of his private TV station last December. The authorities took Viva off the air after the station broadcast an interview with former President Ratsiraka. Rajoelina has accused the government of snuffing out the right to free speech.
(Agencies)
