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Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon[1] (born 1 May 1958) is a Beninese politician and businessman who has been serving as the eighthpresident of Benin since 2016.
Talon is ofFon origin and was born inOuidah. He descends from slave traders.[2] His father was from Ouidah while his mother came from a Guédégbé family inAbomey. He obtained a baccalaureate inDakar,Senegal.[3] After obtaining a "C" grade in his bachelor's degree in science at theUniversity of Dakar,[4] he was transferred to theÉcole nationale de l'aviation civile in Paris. With dreams of becoming a pilot, Talon failed a medical test and this dream became impossible.[5]
In 1983, Talon became involved in trading packaging and agricultural inputs. In 1985, he returned to Benin and established the Intercontinental Distribution Company(Société Distribution Intercontinentale;SDI), which supplies agricultural inputs to cotton producers. In 1990, after recommendations by the World Bank to liberalize economies in West African countries, Benin was called upon to withdraw from the cotton production chain. Talon then won the chance to establish three cotton ginning factories in Benin.[4] He was also known as the "King of Cotton" for his involvement in the cotton industry. He built his empire due to connections with the Beninese political class.[6]
Talon was one of PresidentThomas Boni Yayi's chief financial backers, financing his campaigns in the2006 and2011 elections.[7] His company, Benin Control, acquired two nationally owned enterprises, Sodeco in 2009 and PVI in 2011. In 2011, Talon received management of Cotonou's imports at the Port of Cotonou. In 2012, he fled to France after he was accused of embezzling more than 18 million euros in taxes.[6] He fell out with Boni Yayi and was accused of involvement in a plot to kill him. He was pardoned in 2014.[8] In 2015,Forbes listed Talon as sub-Saharan Africa's 15th-richest person, with wealth valued at approximately US$400 million.
Talon ran as an independent candidate in theMarch 2016 presidential election. He finished second to Prime MinisterLionel Zinsou of theCowry Forces for an Emerging Benin in the first round of voting, but won the second round with 65% of the vote. Zinsou conceded on election night. On 25 March 2016, Talon said that he would "first and foremost tackle constitutional reform", discussing his plan to limit presidents to a single term of five years in order to combat "complacency". He also said that he planned to reduce the government from 28 to 16 members.[9]
Talon was sworn in on 6 April 2016.[10] The composition of his government was announced later that day. There was noprime minister, and two defeated presidential candidates who had backed Talon in the second round,Pascal Koupaki andAbdoulaye Bio-Tchane, were appointed to key posts, Secretary-General of the Presidency and Minister of State for Planning and Development, respectively.[11] Talon pledged to increase Benin's fortunes in five years and improve its relationship with France.[12] Some of his policy goals are to reduce the power of the executive and limit presidents to single terms of five years.[5] He appointed 22 ministers, four of which were women.[13]
On 4 April 2017, theNational Assembly failed to pass a bill that would have led to a referendum on Talon's proposal to limit presidents to a single five-year term. 63 votes in the 83-member National Assembly were required for passage, and the bill received 60 votes.[14] Talon said a few days later that he would not pursue the matter any further.[15][16] He said he was saddened by the outcome of the vote but respected it because of his commitment to democracy. He declined to say whether he would stand for reelection in 2021,[16] but eventually it became apparent that he would. Benin's democratic reputation has declined during Talon's presidency. Changes in the law mean that presidential candidates need the support of 16 members of parliament, and nearly all current MPs are members of parties that support Talon. It was predicted that Talon could be reelected unopposed.[17] Ultimately, he was reelected with 86% of the vote.[18]
In 2018, Sébastien Ajavon, an opponent who came third in the 2016 presidential election, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for "drug trafficking" and "forgery and fraud".[19] Several opposition figures were sentenced to heavy prison terms in December 2021. Former Minister of Justice Rekaya Madougou was sentenced to twenty years in prison for "terrorism", and the law professor Joël Aïvo to ten years for "money laundering" and "undermining state security". According to journalist and teacher Francis Kpatindé, Talon's policies have led to a decline in human rights and the right to strike.[13]
In March 2022, Patrice Talon was appointed the new president of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) at the end of a double ECOWAS-WAEMU summit.[20] In July 2023, after thecoup d'état in neighboring Niger and the ensuingNigerien crisis, Talon expressed support for ousted presidentMohamed Bazoum and condemned the coup.[21]
In September 2024 authorities announced the discovery of a coup plot against Talon, scheduled for 27 September and led by the businessman and Talon allyOlivier Boko. Former sports ministerOswald Homéky and the commander of the Republican Guard were named as co-conspirators,[22] leading to the arrest of Boko and Homéky.[23] Both were convicted and sentenced in January 2025 to 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of 60 billion CFA francs ($95 million).[24]
On 23 January 2025, Talon announced that he would not seek a third presidential term and that he would not amend the constitution (which imposes an absolute two-term limit on the presidency) to do so.[25] On 14 March 2025, Patrice Talon reaffirmed that he would not run in the 2026 presidential election.[26]
^Sieff, Kevin (29 January 2018)."An African country reckons with its history of selling slaves".The Washington Post. Retrieved2 February 2018.In the 2016 presidential election, one candidate,Lionel Zinsou, angrily pointed out in a televised debate that his opponent, Patrice Talon, who is now president of Benin, was the descendant of slave merchants.
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