Houphouët-Boigny’s rule

In 1946 Houphouët-Boigny helped found the African Democratic Rally (RDA), a western Africa–based umbrella organization that sought equality for Africans; the Ivoirian branch was the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI). Though at first harshly repressed, the RDA achieved many of its goals. In 1960 Houphouët-Boigny, who had been a cabinet minister in two French governments, was elected president of the newly independent Côte d’Ivoire. He ruled until his death, in 1993 during his seventh term in office. Despite reported coup attempts in 1963 and 1973, Houphouët-Boigny had a remarkable ability to reconcile opponents, which sustained the country’s peaceful and prosperous relations with France and with its neighbours throughout most of his rule. However, political unrest and strained foreign relations were increasingly evident from the late 1980s. Côte d’Ivoire’s first multiparty elections were held in 1990, and Houphouët-Boigny managed to defeat challenger Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivoirian Popular Front (FPI) in a presidential election that was unsuccessfully appealed to the Supreme Court. Upon his death in 1993, Houphouët-Boigny was succeeded by the president of the National Assembly, Henri Konan Bédié, who was, like his predecessor, a member of the Baule ethnic group and the PDCI.

Political unrest

The PDCI and Bédié were victorious again in the 1995 elections that were boycotted by most of the opposition. Long-standing ethnic and religious tensions continued to exist, exemplified by the government’s attempt to rewrite the constitution to prevent certain challengers from running for president. With tensions escalating, soldiers mutinied on December 23, 1999, and Brig. Gen. Robert Gueï, a former member of Houphouët-Boigny’s government, took control of the country the next day. Although he pledged that he would allow legislative and presidential elections by October 2000 and that he would not be a candidate, he changed his mind and ran for president. After a controversial election in which Gueï tried to manipulate the outcome, Gbagbo of the FPI was eventually installed as president.

Civil war and its aftermath

Gbagbo’s rule was not without discord, culminating in a failed coup on September 19, 2002. Gueï, who the government claimed was behind the coup, was killed during the fighting. The failed coup fueled unrest and ignited civil war, leaving the country divided into the rebel-held north and the government-controlled south. Peacekeeping troops from France, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and later the United Nations (UN) created a buffer zone, known as the “zone of confidence,” between the rebels, known as the New Forces, and the Ivoirian government troops.

Although the government and rebel forces reached a peace agreement in January 2003, months of stalemate followed, and the cultural and nationalistic issues that had ignited the civil war—including land ownership, the basis for nationality, and qualifications for holding office—were never completely settled. Despite an initiative by UN and African leaders to restart the implementation of the peace agreement, simmering tensions exploded in November 2004 when the government violated the cease-fire agreement by bombing rebel-held areas in the north. The already volatile situation worsened when French peacekeeping troops were accidentally killed in one of the Ivoirian bombing raids, prompting retaliatory bombing by France that in turn resulted in anti-French demonstrations and the looting and burning of French businesses, schools, and residences. In response to the escalating situation, the UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Côte d’Ivoire in an attempt to stem the influx of weapons into the region.

In April 2005 peace talks held in South Africa led to a new cease-fire agreement between the Ivoirian government and the rebels, with all parties declaring an end to the war. However, the terms of the agreement were not immediately implemented, fighting resumed, and elections scheduled for October 2005 were called off. Gbagbo’s mandate as president was subsequently extended. In 2007 talks in Burkina Faso resulted in a power-sharing agreement signed by both sides, and a new transitional government was inaugurated. Gbagbo remained president and Guillaume Soro, a rebel leader, was named to the post of prime minister. The nascent transitional administration was faced with several tasks, including dismantling the “zone of confidence,” disarming rebel and pro-government militias, restructuring defense and security forces, and preparing for presidential and legislative elections, to be held within 10 months.