Financier and former minister Tidjane Thiam takes over the presidency of the Kurdistan Democratic Party
Tidjane Thiam, 61 years old, was elected with 96.5% of the vote on the evening of Friday, December 22, as head of the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire, during a conference held in Yamoussoukro. He therefore succeeds Henry Conan Bede, who died on 1 August.
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Tijan Thiam is from the center of the country. He is one of the nephews of Felix Houphouet-Boigny, the first president of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. He completed his education in the Ivorian curriculum: at Nide de Cocody, then at the Classical High School in Abidjan. An outstanding student, he left to study in France: he was the first Ivorian to join the Polytechnic, our envoy recalls private In Yamoussoukro Benita Diagne. He took over as head of the School of Mines in 1986, then spent a few years at McKinsey.
In his homeland, Tidjane Thiam was appointed to the Department of Control of Major Works from 1994 to 1999. In 1998, he was appointed Minister of Planning. It launches huge projects to restructure the economic capital, such as the expansion of the port of Abidjan, the airport, and the Azito power station. Tidjani Thiam was then appointed Minister of Planning, a position he held for a year. In 1999, a coup overthrew the regime. For Tidjane Thiam, it is “ shock » : « Coups are harmful » Comments too late.
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The desire for collective management of the party
Tidjani Thiam then focused on his career in the private sector and built his credibility internationally. He worked for 15 years at the British insurance company Prudential as CFO and then General Manager. At the helm of Credit Suisse Since 2015, he began a large-scale restructuring of the company to transform the Swiss bank in less than five years. From afar, he maintains a secret relationship with the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire, through his older brother Abdelaziz. Tijani Thiam « He contributed financially to every major PDCI event and remained close to Bédié », confirms an executive official in the party.
With these elections, he became the third elected president in the history of the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire, which was founded in 1946, after Felix Houphouet-Boigny and Henri Conan Bidier. Tidjane Thiam, newly elected head of the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire, wants to adopt a “more inclusive” approach and therefore hopes to implement collective management of party affairs.
” We are a family and in a family, every vote matters. We are a team and our success will depend on our cooperation and common determination. In the coming months and years, I will commit to working closely with you by promoting transparency, internal democracy, and mutual respectannounces the newly elected president. We need everyone and we will invite everyone. »
Report during the Eighth Extraordinary Congress of the People's Democratic Party
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