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France-Albert René | |
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| 2ndPresident of Seychelles | |
| In office 5 June 1977 – 14 July 2004 | |
| Vice President | James Michel (1996–2004) |
| Preceded by | James Mancham |
| Succeeded by | James Michel |
| 2ndPrime Minister of Seychelles | |
| In office 29 June 1976 – 5 June 1977 | |
| President | James Mancham |
| Preceded by | James Mancham |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1934-11-16)16 November 1934 Victoria,Colony of Seychelles |
| Died | 27 February 2019(2019-02-27) (aged 84) Mahé, Seychelles |
| Political party | Seychelles People's Progressive Front |
| Spouse(s) | Karen Handley (1956) Geva Adam (1974) Sarah Zarquani (1992) |
| Alma mater | King's College London |
| Profession | Lawyer, politician |
| Signature |  |
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President of Seychelles 1977-2004 Government democratization parliamentary election Later life and death .svg) .svg)  | ||
France-Albert René (French:[fʁɑ̃salbɛʁʁəne]; 16 November 1934[1] – 27 February 2019)[2] was a Seychellois lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the secondPresident of Seychelles from 1977 to 2004. He also served as the country's secondPrime Minister from its independence in 1976 to 1977. He was a member ofUnited Seychelles.
He was nicknamed by Seychellois government officials and fellow party members as "the Boss". His name is often given as simplyAlbert René orF. A. René; he was also nicknamedTi France.
France-Albert René was born to Price René, a plantation manager and administrator, and Luisa Morgan René, a seamstress, on 16 November 1934 in Victoria, on the island ofMahé, Crown Colony of Seychelles, but spent his early childhood onFarquhar. The ''modest'' family did not belong to the upper class, despite their European origins. The family returned to Victoria, Mahé when France-Albert was 5 years old and was sent to St Joseph's Convent, and later to St Louis College. With the help of scholarships, René was able to attend secondary education at Saint Louis College of the Marist Brothers in Victoria on Mahé. In 1952, at the age of 17, René was granted a scholarship inSwitzerland to study theology at the Capuchin Seminary of St Maurice in the cantonValais. After his first year, in 1954, he was transferred to study law atSt. Mary's College, Southampton,England, and later completed his university education atKing's College London. In 1957 he qualified as a lawyer at King's College London, serving until 1961, and joined Middle Temple. While abroad, he became heavily involved in the politics of theLabour Party, at the time led byClement Attlee and laterHugh Gaitskell. These experiences led him to adopt a moderate socialist ideology that favoured some state intervention in the economy and strong ties with conservative forces such as theRoman Catholic Church – René's initial career goal was to join the priesthood. Later, René denounced local church leaders who criticised his policies. From 1962 to 1964 he also studied economics at theLondon School of Economics. Upon returning to his homeland in 1964, young and enthusiastic René practiced law in Victoria. However, he became disappointed with the social policies of British colonialism that created massive injustice among the population. As a result, he decided to participate in the political development of his country. René also launched a newspaper, The People.
It was not until 1964 that any new political movements were created. In that year, theSeychelles People's United Party (SPUP, later Seychelles People's Progressive Front, SPPF), the forerunner to today's partyUnited Seychelles (US), was formed. Led by France-Albert René, a founding member, they campaigned for socialism and independence from Britain. The late London-trained lawyerJames Mancham'sSeychelles Democratic Party (SDP), created the same year, by contrast represented conservatives, businessmen and planters and wanted closer integration with Britain. After being elected to the legislative assembly of the colony in 1965, together with his party comrades, he actively fought for granting it self-government, and then independence. Elections were held in 1966, won by the SDP. In 1970 Seychelles obtained a new constitution, universal adult suffrage, and a governing council with an elected majority.
In March 1970, colonial and political representatives of Seychelles met in London for a constitutional convention, with the Seychelles Democratic Party (SDP) ofJames Mancham advocating closer integration with the UK, and the Seychelles People's United Party (SPUP) of France-Albert René advocating independence. Further elections in November 1970 brought a new constitution into effect, with Mancham as Chief Minister. Further elections were held in April 1974, in which both major political parties campaigned for independence. In 1975, in the colonial government, he became Minister of Public Works and Land Development of the coalition government, which also included representatives of the Democratic Party (DP). Following the election, negotiations with the British resulted in an agreement under which the Seychelles became an independentrepublic within the Commonwealth on 29 June 1976. The newly knighted SirJames Mancham became the country's first President, with René as Prime Minister, following assembly elections in which the Seychelles People's United Party (SPUP) came in second place. These negotiations also restored the islands ofAldabra,Farquhar, andDes Roches, which had been transferred from Seychelles in November 1965 to form part of the newBritish Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), to Seychelles upon independence.
When Mancham told him he had been seen practicing with rifles on an uninhabited island, Rene coolly told him he had been ''shooting rabbits'', and had a brace delivered to the president's office.
While James Mancham was away overseas to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in London and celebrate theSilver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, on 4–5 June 1977, less than a year after independence, between 60 and 200 partisanTanzanian-trained supporters of René installed him as President of the Republicin an almost bloodless coup d'état. René's claim that he was not party to the coup was challenged during hearing of theTruth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission[3] in 2019 and 2020 when a known participant acknowledged that he had been involved in the planning and execution. The insurgents took control of strategic points onMahé. The central police station was seized "virtually without a shot being fired." In contrast, there was an exchange of fire at theMont Fleuri police station, where the arsenal was kept. Three men were killed and a policeman and one of the insurgents were killed in the fighting. The plotters arrested sixBritish Armed Forces officers, who had been advising the Seychelles Police Force since 1976. The officers and their families, as well as the Chief Justice of theSupreme Court,Aiden O'Brien Quinn, a judge fromIreland similarly on loan byhis Government, were flown to Europe; the island was put under curfew.
When approached by the insurgents, René was said to have accepted the Presidency on three conditions: that the safety of political individuals be guaranteed, that international agreements remain in force, and that elections be planned for 1978 (they were eventuallyheld in 1979). René, who denied knowing of the plan, was then sworn in as president and formed a new government. After coming to power, René declared that he was not a Soviet-style Communist, but rather an "Indian Ocean socialist" and "socialist pan-Africanist".[4] Early on he opposed the Anglo-American military installation on the Indian Oceanatoll ofDiego Garcia because of the possible storage of nuclear weapons. René discouraged over-dependence on tourism and declared that he wanted "to keep the Seychelles for the Seychellois".
René's party, renamed the Seychelles People's Progressive Front(SPPF) in 1978, was the sole legal party from 1979 to 1991, largely financed fromTanzania,Algeria,Libya and theGDR. The newly reformed system of one-party socialism featured a directly elected president, as well as the original plurality system of legislative representation. All political activity took place under the rule of the Seychelles People's Progressive Front, and the President was voted for on a yes-no basis by any Seychelles citizen 17 or older. The President enjoyed almost unchecked executive power, and appointed his own cabinet as well as his own chair of the National Assembly. The legislature itself was unable to rule independently, and instead only enacted the bills proposed by the executive. Criticism of René or any aspect of his government was not tolerated. This[5] allowed him to be the only presidential candidate for elections in1979,1984, and1989, which he won with over 90% of the vote. Multiparty democracy commenced around 1994, but René continued to win in1993, and in1998 and2001, when he defeated the opposition leaderWavel Ramkalawan, the candidate of theSeychelles National Party.[6] In addition to the presidency, he held several cabinet posts simultaneously, includingMinister of Foreign Affairs (1977–1979) andMinister of Finance (1981–1989), Minister of Finance and Industry (1984–1989), Minister of Planning and External Relations (1986–93), Minister of Interior and Defence, Minister of Industry (since 1998). In 1988 he added the role of Minister of Tourism. The last addition was ironic, as he grudgingly acknowledged in private that he would be happier if no foreigners ever visited. In 1978-84 he also served as chairman, and from June 1984 Secretary General of the SPPF.[7][8] In 1979, a planned invasion of Seychelles by supporters of Sir James Mancham with the assistance of American diplomatic staff in Kenya and Seychelles was discovered before it could be carried out. An official investigation also implicated France with involvement in the coup.
The SPPF instituted a number of reforms, including universal access to education and healthcare, as well as environmental reforms. Compared to the rest of Africa, the Seychelles scored well in terms of child mortality, literacy rate, median income and standard of living. During this period, the Seychelles developed rapidly, to the point that it became the most developed country in Africa on theHuman Development Index. The situation forSeychellois Creole people, who constitute the majority of the nation's population, also improved significantly due to domestic policies implemented by President René aimed at racial equity. However, the white minority (mainlyFranco-Seychellois) still occupied most important posts (ministerial and parliamentary) in the state administration and dominated the ranks of the party leadership. Like his predecessor Mancham, he focused on expanding tourism. In order to finance social spending, René also promoted the settlement of international banks and established an offshore financial center. Despite the occasional coup attempts, his regime was considered stable due to the balancing of interests between socialism and capitalism.
Diplomatic relations with thePeople's Republic of China were established on 30 June 1976. China began providing Seychelles with diplomatic aid in 1977, including things such as constructing a poly-technical school and developing housing project inLes Mamelles. In 2002, China exported US$1.48 million worth of goods, while importing only $100,000 from Seychelles.
Diplomatic ties with India have existed since Seychelles gained independence in 1976. A resident high commissioner of India has been in Victoria since 1987 while Seychelles opened its resident mission in New Delhi in 2008. Relations between the two countries have been warm and cordial with regular high-level exchange visits between the countries. From India,Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi andPresidentsR Venkataraman andPratibha Patil have visited the Seychelles, whileRene,Michel andFaure of Seychelles have paid state visits to India.
In 1986, Seychelles brought around US$600,000 in Malaysian products directly, but purchased U$7 million through indirect trade withSingapore, looking for direct trade with Malaysia to get Malaysian products without using Singapore ports. In 1988, an agreement to promote co-operation in the fields of culture, education, sports and information was signed.
During the rule of René, thesocialist and non-aligned government of Seychelles – a smallAfricanIndian Ocean island nation – maintained close relations with theDemocratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. The country received significant North Korean developmental aid. Much of the cooperation was military. Uniformed North Korean soldiers were present in the country in 1980. Another example of military cooperation was the 1983 deployment of fifty-five North Korean instructors and interpreters to aid themilitary of Seychelles. During his time in power, René visitedPyongyang several times, meeting withKim Il Sung. During one meeting in 1988, he expressed support forKorean reunification, and applauded the idea of aDemocratic Confederal Republic of Koryo. At the end of that visit, the two countries signed a treaty of economic cooperation.
Relations between Seychelles and theSoviet Union were established a day after the island nation gained its independence from theUK. On 15 February 1980, the USSR and Seychelles signed theAgreement on merchant navigation inVictoria. The government of René supported theSoviet invasion of Afghanistan. In 1987The Sunday Times, quoting unnamed US intelligence officers, reported that the Soviet Union had landed 50 naval infantry troops in the Seychelles after making landfall on theIvan Rogov in October 1986; a month after a foiled assassination attempt on René. In 1999 an agreement on co-operation in the field oftourism was concluded between the two nations.
The year 1963 marked the beginning of an official U.S. presence in Seychelles when the U.S. Air Force Tracking Station was built and put into operation onMahé. The USAF Tracking Station facilities were situated on land that was leased from the Seychelles Government ($4.5 million annually). The station's complement consisted of five uniformed Air Force personnel (two officers and three sergeants), 65 employees ofLoral Corporation and Johnson Instruments, and 150 Seychellois employees. The USAF Tracking Station officially closed down on 30 September 1996.Peace Corps Volunteers served in Seychelles between 1974 and 1995. A U.S.consulate was opened in May 1976 and became anEmbassy after Seychelles' independence in June 1976. The Embassy was subsequently closed in August 1996, and the United States opened a consular agency on 2 September 1996, to provide services to residents of Seychelles. The agency is under the supervision of the American Embassy inPort Louis, Mauritius. The U.S. Ambassador to Mauritius also is accredited to Seychelles.
Numerous coup attempts were thwarted during the 1980s; there were three of them in just the first 2.5 years of government, and similar attempts were also made in 1981, 1982, 1986 and 1987. On 25 November 1981, Seychellois security forces put downa coup attempt sponsored by South Africa. Notorious British Colonel"Mad Mike" Hoare and a team of 43 mercenaries posed as members of the "Ancient Order of Froth Blowers", a defunct charitable beer-drinking fraternity, visiting the islands as tourists. Shortly after leaving theirRoyal Swazi National Airways aircraft, an airport security guard spotted aKalashnikov assault rifle in their luggage; the discovery launched a gun battle in which hostages were taken. Most of themercenaries escaped after hijacking anotherAir India plane sitting on the runway.[citation needed]
The authorJohn Perkins has alleged that this was part of a covert action to re-install the pro-American former president in the face of concerns about United States access to its military bases inDiego Garcia.[better source needed]
An independent inquiry by theUnited Nations found that South African intelligence was indeed behind the coup; Hoare described the reaction he received from aCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent inPretoria as "extremely timid". However, it is suspected by Perkins that the United States played a significant direct role in the incident,[9] given that there was co-operation at the time between the CIA and the South African government on other issues.[10] Three million dollars were paid to President René and his government by South Africa for the return of the remaining mercenaries detained in the Seychelles. The 1981 attempt was the second major threat to his government at the time.
The government was threatened again by an army mutiny in August 1982, but it was quelled after 2 days when loyal troops, reinforced by Tanzanian forces & several of the mercenaries that had escaped from the prison, recaptured the rebel-held installations. In the attempts to overthrow him at times resembled a Gilbert and Sullivan opera, he kept such an iron grip on the islands that would-be counter-revolutionaries went in fear of their lives.
Gérard Hoarau, of the exiled opposition, was head of the Mouvement Pour La Resistance (MPR). His opposition to the dictatorship of René was based in London and he was assassinated on 29 November 1985 by an unidentified gunman on the doorstep of his London home. Hoarau is buried in London. In 1985, after the assassination of Hoarau, the Seychelles community in exile put together a program titledSIROP (Seychelles International Repatriation and Onward Program).
In 1986, an attempted coup led by the Seychelles Minister of Defence,Ogilvy Berlouis, caused President René to request assistance from India. InOperation Flowers are Blooming, the Indian naval vesselVindhyagiri arrived in Port Victoria to help avert the coup. Despite these attempts, for the most part René ruled throughout this period with underground opposition at home. He used Seychelles' strategic importance to obtain significant help from both superpowers of the period without having to commit himself to either. With a suppressed opposition, he was able to power through much needed social reforms. In June 1986, theIndian Navy deployed theVindhyagiri at the SeychellesPort of Victoria to abort an attemptedcoup against President Rene by Defence Minister Berlouis in what was calledOperation Flowers are Blooming. India helped avert a further attempted coup by Berlouis in September 1986, when Indian Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi lent President René his plane so that he could fly back from an international meeting inHarare to the Seychelles. President René reportedly took shelter in the resident of the Indian High Commissioner inMalé.[citation needed]
In February 1992,Conrad Greslé, a local accountant, landowner and advocate of multi-party democracy in Seychelles was arrested and charged with treason for allegedly planning to overthrow President René's régime with the apparent aid of foreign mercenaries and with supposed CIA involvement.[citation needed] Greslé died in Seychelles in July 1992 and is survived by his wife Sylvia, son Neville and daughters Natasha and Yvette Greslé.
A number of Seychellois were displaced and exiled by the dictatorship. The Greslé family were one of a few landowners of largely French descent to remain after the coup d'état of 1977 – most had their land confiscated and were exiled. Any individual who publicly resisted the René régime was vulnerable to threats, intimidation, or exile throughout the 1980s. Disappearances and what appear to be politically motivated killing did take place but these are not officially documented or acknowledged.[citation needed] A number of Seychellois families are now calling for official acknowledgement of politically motivated violence subsequent to the 1977 coup. Although he was white, he found greatest support among the islanders with a clear African ancestry.[citation needed]
Faced with mounting pressure from the country's primary sources of foreign aid, René's administration began moving toward more democratic rule in the early 1990s. Following the collapse of the Berlin Wall anddissolution of the Soviet Union, at an Extraordinary Congress of the Seychelles People's Progressive Front (SPPF) on 4 December 1991, under the pressure of the opposition and France and Great Britain, President René announced a return to the multiparty system of government after almost 16 years of one-party rule. On 27 December 1991, the Constitution of Seychelles was amended to allow for the registration of political parties. Among the exiles returning to Seychelles was James Mancham, who returned in April 1992 to revive his party, the Democratic Party (DP). By the end of that month, eight political parties had registered to contest the first stage of the transition process: election to the constitutional commission, which took place on 23–26 July 1992.[citation needed]
The constitutional commission was made up of 22 elected members, 14 from the SPPF and 8 from the DP. It commenced work on 27 August 1992, with both President René and Mancham calling for national reconciliation and consensus on a new democratic constitution. The first draft of a new constitution failed to receive the requisite 60% of voters in 1992, but an amended version was approved in 1993. A consensus text was agreed upon on 7 May 1993, and a referendum to approve it was called for 15–18 June. The draft was approved with 73.9% of the electorate in favor of it and 24.1% against.[citation needed]
Thefirst multiparty presidential and legislative elections since 1974 held under the new constitution was held between 23 and 26 July 1993, as well as a resounding victory for President René. Three political groups contested the elections – the SPPF, the DP, and the United Opposition (UO) – a coalition of three smaller political parties, including Parti Seselwa. Two other smaller opposition parties threw in their lot with the DP. All participating parties and international observer groups accepted the results as "free and fair".[citation needed]
Three candidates contested the20–22 March 1998 presidential election: France-Albert René of the SPPF, James Mancham of the DP, andWavel Ramkalawan. President René and his SPPF won by a landslide. The president's popularity in elections jumped to 66.6% in 1998 from 59.5% in 1993, while the SPPF garnered 61.7% of the total votes cast in the 1998 National Assembly election, compared to 56.5% in 1993. In 1999, Mancham switched to the centrist liberalSeychelles National Party (SNP) which emerged as the major opposition party, losing to the SPPF in2002 parliamentary election with 42% of the vote. In his State of the Nation Address 2004, France-Albert René said, “I trust that when you walk across our islands, you’ll conclude that I have done my duty as a Seychellois worker”.[11]
On 24 February 2004, René announced that he would be stepping down in favour of his long-time lieutenant, comrade and Vice-presidentJames Alix Michel (who served until 2016), who had been in office since 1996. He did so on 14 July, whereupon he remained as leader of the People's Progressive Front, which honored him as its patron and founder.[12] Michel would go on to win the2006 presidential election against SNP leader Ramkalawan with 53.5% of the vote. René's political power, however, weakened with time, resulting in his party losing the 2016 parliamentary elections to the opposition. After stepping down in 2004, many believed René remained a powerful influence. However family members report that his successor, upon securing his position, "abandoned" René, rarely conversing or seeking advice from him except just before elections in a bid to get him to vocalise support. René endorsed a book,“Albert René – The Father of the Modern Seychelles” by British historian Dr. Kevin Shillington. The full-length biography, published in 2014, analyses his early years in politics and his struggle against colonialism.
René died on 27 February 2019 inMahé, Seychelles in hospital from respiratory failure, aged 84. The former president had been admitted to hospital with an undisclosed illness for respiratory problems on 12 February.[citation needed]
Dolor Ernesta, who served as a minister in René's government, said: “The President will be remembered as a true leader who led the fight for independence. I will also remember him as having a great vision for the development of the new Seychelles as we know it today, for he truly loved his country”. Chinese PresidentXi Jinping expressed condolences over the passing of René, stating that he had made important contributions to advancing the cause of China-Seychelles friendship.[citation needed]
In 1956, René married Englishwoman Karen Handley, with whom he had a daughter. Handley noted regarding the 1977 coup that “René plotted his communist revolution from my semi in Luton”. In 1975 France-Albert married Geva Savy Adam, a relationship that lasted until their divorce in 1992. He married for a third time in 1992, to Sarah Zarqani, 25 years his junior, with whom he had three daughters. She survived him with his children. René had numerous mistresses, regarding which he simply stated, ''I've always made a hobby out of fishing''.[citation needed]
Until 2018 René was characterized[13] as a prime example of abenevolent dictator as well as a well-loved and respected national figure, leading his country to the point of being the most developed country in Africa – as measured by theHuman Development Index – and helping build one of the continent's highest gross domestic products per capita.
However, the setting up of theTruth Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC[14]) in 2018, and their hearings (televised day after day in real time, and recorded on YouTube) revealed the testimonies of people who had been tortured, and from relatives of people who had been murdered, tortured, disappeared, assassinated, detained without trial, as well as evidence of financial crimes and looting of the state and private individuals, led to a reassessment of his record; critics of René believe that he and his party are responsible for torture and other human rights abuses involving opponents of the government, allegedly including the death of a prominent dissident in London,Gérard Hoarau.[citation needed] After the 1977 coup, a significant portion of the population, including the deposed President Sir James Mancham, fled to the UK and South Africa due to political persecution and fear of the new government's expropriation and reprisals, and alignment with theSoviet Union,Tanzania andNorth Korea.[citation needed] Between 1977 and 1984 four thousand Seychellois left the country (mainly to Britain and South Africa).[citation needed] In the period from 1979 to 1989, according to official statistics, about 1 thousand people a year left the country (which is more than 1% of the country's population).[citation needed] René also faced international pressure regarding his government's former requirement that all applicants to the country's secondary education system graduate a compulsoryNational Youth Service, which included traditional curricula, political education and, according to some critics, ideological indoctrination and paramilitary training.[citation needed] This requirement was abandoned after the transition to multiparty rule and the organisation was eventually abolished entirely. Some critics of the former René regime also point to corruption andcronyism during his tenure.[citation needed]
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| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Seychelles 1976–1977 | Succeeded by post abolished |
| Preceded by | President of Seychelles 1977–2004 | Succeeded by |
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