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Philibert Tsiranana

Philibert Tsiranana
Personal data
Date of birth18 October 1912
Place of birthAmbarikorano, Madagascar
Date of death16 April 1978(age 65)
Place of deathAntanarivo, Madagascar
NationalityMalagasy
Political partySocial Democratic Party
ProfessionProfessor of French and Mathematics
1st President of Madagascar
In office1 May 1959 - 11 October 1972
Succeeded byGabriel Ramanantsoa
Preceded byNone (position first established)
Prime Minister of Madagascar|term_start2=14 October 1958
In office14 October 1958 - 1 May 1959
Succeeded byNone (position abolished)
Preceded byNone (position first established)

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Philibert Tsiranana (18 October 1912 � 16 April 1978) was a Malagasy politician and leader, who served as the first President of Madagascar from 1959 to 1972.

During the twelve years of his administration, the Republic of Madagascar enjoyed institutional stability that stood in contrast to the political turmoil many countries of the African mainland experienced in this period. This stability contributed to Tsiranana's popularity and his reputation as a remarkable statesman. Compared with the leaders of other developing countries of the time, his conduct appears honorable. Madagascar experienced moderate economic growth under his pragmatic socialist policies and came to be known as "the Happy Island." However, the democratization process was fraught with challenges and his term ultimately terminated in a political impasse that brought about the end of the democratic First Republic and ushered in the isolationist, Soviet-inspired socialist Second Republic.

The "benevolent schoolmaster" public image that Tsiranana cultivated disguised intense firmness that tended toward authoritarianism. Nonetheless, he remains an esteemed Malagasy political figure remembered throughout the country as its "Father of Independence."


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