- Émile Derlin Zinsou
Emile Derlin Zinsou (born
23 March 1918 ) is a Beninpolitical figure and was thePresident of Dahomey (nowBenin ) fromJuly 17 1968 untilDecember 10 1969 , supported by the military regime that took power in 1967. He was previously theforeign minister of Dahomey from 1962 to 1963 and from 1965 to 1967. He is said to have opposed the one-party Marxist policies ofMathieu Kérékou , who ruled Benin from 1972 to 1990. Zinsou was present at the signing of the treaty that formed theAfrican Union on12 July 2000 inTogo . He was born inOuidah .Zinsou was a mediator in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo during that country's civil war in the late 1990s; he arrived in Kinshasa onSeptember 20 1999 , along with fellow mediator PadreMatteo Zuppi , and met with PresidentLaurent-Desire Kabila . [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/455364.stm "Congolese mediators meet Kabila"] , BBC News, September 23, 1999.]Zinsou is, as of 2007, the honorary president of the National Union for Democracy and Progress political party. [Chales Yansunnu, [http://www.sonangnon.net/actualites/2007/juin/intfraternite1506_2.php "Mathieu Kérékou refuse l’école des anciens présidents"] , "Fraternite" (sonangnon.net),
June 15 ,2007 fr icon.] In January 2006, he announced his support forYayi Boni in the March 2006 presidential election. [Thibaud Nagnonhou, [http://www.sonangnon.net/actualites/2006/janvier/intinformat2301_3.php "5e Conseil national de l’UNDP : Le Président Zinsou et les siens jettent leur dévolu sur Yayi Boni"] , "L'Informateur" (sonangnon.net),January 23 ,2006 fr icon.]References
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