Jakarta (ANTARA) – Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina reportedly fled to France with a French military helicopter after reaching an agreement with President Emmanuel Macron, French radio RFI reported on Monday (10/13).
Rajoelina admitted that her decision to flee her country was due to fear for her life after the military rebellion broke out in Madagascar, as reported by The Guardian.
His decision to fly to France was made after a wave of Gen Z-initiated demonstrations in Madagascar occurred for weeks starting last September. At least 22 people were reportedly killed and hundreds more injured during the demonstration.
Rajoelina’s flight abroad was considered a “desertion from service”, so much so that the National Assembly used it as an accusation to impeach Rajoelina as president of Madagascar.
On Tuesday (14/10), the elite military unit Administration Corps of Personnel and Administrative and Technical Services (CAPSAT) said it had seized power in Madagascar.
It has long been rumored that Andry Rajoelina himself has French citizenship, which has been a source of dissatisfaction for some residents of Madagascar for years.
The following is Andry Rajoelina’s profile to watch.
Read also: Madagascar MP calls on military to lead country and hold elections
Andry Rajoelina’s profile
Andry Rajoelina was the leader of the country located in the Indian Ocean for three terms. Rajoelina was born on May 30, 1974 in Antsirabe, Madagascar. He is the son of a soldier and military instructor, Yves Roger Rajoelina; and Olga Rakotomalala Rasoanjanahary.
Rajoelina attended high school in Antananarivo, but decided not to pursue higher education and instead become an entrepreneur. In addition to being known as a successful businessman, Rajoelina was also known as a disk jockey (DJ) before entering the world of politics.
In 1993, at the age of just 19, he became known as an organizer and promoter of events. Thanks to this success, he launched a digital printing company called Injet in 1999.
In 2000, Rajoelina married Mialy Razakandisa and they were blessed with three children, namely Arena, Ilonstoa and Ilona. Rajoelina then purchased a television and radio station which was later named Viva Radio and Viva TV in 2007.
Thanks to his experience in the fields of entertainment, media and advertising, he decided to enter the world of politics. He then officially founded his own party, Tanora MalaGasy Vonona (TGV) or Young Dynamic Madagascan, which is a play on the name of the French high-speed train.
Read also: Madagascar Army announces formation of presidential-style functional committee
He was elected mayor of Antananarivo on 12 December 2007 and served until 2009. At that time, Rajoelina became the main opposition figure to Madagascar’s President Marc Ravalomanana.
When the demonstrations that led to the overthrow of President Ravalomanana broke out in 2009, he was appointed president of the High Transitional Authority of Madagascar.
He held this position from 2009 to 2014. While serving as president of the High Transitional Authority of Madagascar, Rajoelina became Africa’s youngest head of state at the age of 34.
At the end of the transition period, Rajoelina won the presidential election in 2018. He officially served as president of Madagascar from 2019 to 2023.
He returned to power after winning the 2023 election and served as Madagascar’s president until a wave of large demonstrations in September led to calls for his resignation as president.
On 13 October, Rajoelina reportedly fled to France after increasing military pressure, and control of Madagascar has now been assumed by the elite military unit CAPSAT in a transitional government.
Read also: Madagascar is in turmoil, President Rajoelina would have fled to France
Reporter: Melusa Susthira Khalida
Publisher: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
Automatic retrieval of content, crawling or indexing by artificial intelligence on this website is strictly prohibited without written permission from ANTARA news agency.
About The Author
