Dominique Folloroux-Ouattara

Dominique Folloroux-Ouattara
First Lady of Côte d'Ivoire
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 April 2011
Preceded by	Simone Gbagbo
Personal details
Born	16 December 1953 Constantine, Algeria
Spouse(s)	Alassane Ouattara
Children	Two

Dominique Folloroux-Ouattara (born 16 December 1953) is the current first lady of Côte d'Ivoire. Born as Dominique Nouvian to a Pied-Noir (French) family in Constantine in French Algeria, she married a French teacher named Français Folloroux in 1979 and moved to Abidjan, the largest city and commercial capital of Côte d'Ivoire. She had two children by her husband and established AICI, a property management company that rapidly rose to prominence for its role in managing the estate of Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the first President of Côte d'Ivoire. The company now employs 250 people and is based in Paris, where it manages 250 buildings and 8,500 apartments, and Cannes as well as Libreville, Gabon and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. It is also a Jacques Dessange franchisee in the United States.^[1]

Her husband died in 1983 but a few years later she met Alassane Ouattara, the head of the Central Bank of West African States. The couple were married in Paris in 1991 in the town hall of the prestigious 16th arrondissement.^[1] Although there have been claims that the marriage ceremony was presided over by French President Nicolas Sarkozy when he was mayor of Neuilly, this was not actually the case, although two prominent French business figures with interests in Africa – Martin Bouygues, head of the Bouygues industrial group, and Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, son of former French president François Mitterrand – were present as friends of Ouattara.^[2] According to an account published by Grazia magazine, her access to President Houphouët-Boigny made her a key contact for French business leaders: "Her proximity to Houphouët-Boigny was highly coveted by a bunch of businessmen, the Bouygues, Bolloré and especially the cocoa industry ... They had to go through her to gain access to the old man."^[1]

Folloroux-Ouattara also established the Children of Africa Foundation, which is supported by French and international stars. Her dual role as a leading businesswoman and charitable activist earned her the award of "Best Business Woman of the Year 2000" in Venice.^[1]

External links

• [1] Profile on the Children of Africa Foundation's website

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Dominique Ouattara, amie de la jet-set et des affaires". L'Alsace-Le Pays. 13 April 2011. http://www.lalsace.fr/actualite/2011/04/13/dominique-ouattara-amie-de-la-jet-set-et-des-affaires. Retrieved 14 April 2011. 
2. ^ "Nicolas Sarkozy n'a pas marié Alassane et Dominique Ouattara". 24heuresactu.com. 11 April 2011. http://24heuresactu.com/blog/2011/04/11/nicolas-sarkozy-na-pas-marie-alassane-et-dominique-ouattara/. Retrieved 14 April 2011. 

Persondata
Name	Folloroux-Ouattara, Dominique
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	16 December 1953
Place of birth	Constantine, Algeria
Date of death
Place of death