Richard Ratsimandrava
President of Madagascar) | |
---|---|
Succeeded by | Gilles Andriamahazo (as Chairman of the National Military Leadership Committee) |
Personal details | |
Born | Antananarivo, French Madagascar | 21 March 1931
Died | 11 February 1975 Antananarivo, Democratic Republic of Madagascar | (aged 43)
Manner of death | Assassination |
Colonel Richard Ratsimandrava (March 21, 1931 – February 11, 1975) was a Malagasy politician and soldier who served as the head of state of Madagascar for six days in February 1975 before his assassination in office.
Biography
Military career
He was born in 1931 and was a
Death
Six days following his taking office, Ratsimandrava was assassinated at 8 p.m. while driving from the presidential palace to his home.[1] His death was announced by the new ruling military committee. It claimed that the President had been killed by members of the Republican Security Forces (Groupe Mobile de Police-GMP),[2] a counterinsurgency outfit dissolved by his predecessor.[3] The event nearly plunged the country into civil war between supporters of the military government and former President Tsiranana. In 2006, on the 31st anniversary of colonel's murder, a conference was held in Madagascar.[4]
Further reading
L'assassinat du president Ratsimandrava, Le Journal La Croix (1975). preview of newspaper article on assassination of Ratsimandrava
References
- ^ OnWar.com, Armed Conflict Events Data, retrieved 9 March 2009.
- ^ "Maldives - MADAGASCAR". www.country-data.com. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
- ^ TIME, 24 February 1975, accessed 9 March 2009
- ^ MAD on line Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine, Conference called on the tragedy of Ratsimandrava, 17 March 2006, accessed 9 March 2009
External links