Mathurin Nago

Mathurin Coffi Nago is a Beninese politician who has been the President of the National Assembly of Benin since 2007. He is also President of the Union for Progress and Democracy (UPD-Gamesu),[1] and he was Minister of Higher Education and Vocational Training from 2006 to 2007.

Political career

As a candidate of the Union for Democracy and National Solidarity, Nago was elected to the National Assembly in the 1995 parliamentary election.[2] He served in the National Assembly until the end of the parliamentary term in 1999, and during that period he was a member of the National Assembly's Commission of Planning, Equipment and Production. He has also been Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of Benin. He became Minister of Higher Education and Vocational Training in April 2006 as part of President Yayi Boni's first government.[3] He participated in the Cauris Forces for an Emerging Benin (FCBE), which backs Boni, in the March 2007 parliamentary election,[4][5] and was elected to a seat.[5] Afterwards, he was elected by the National Assembly to be its president in a vote on May 3, 2007; he took 45 votes against 34 for Bruno Amoussou.[4][6] Nago had one month to choose between his position as a minister and his National Assembly seat, and on May 22 Nago resigned from the government, along with four other ministers who had been elected to the National Assembly, as they had been instructed to do by Boni.[7][8]

Nago was elected President of the UPD-Gamesu at its first ordinary congress on August 18, 2007.[1][9]

Re-elected to the National Assembly in the March 2011 parliamentary election as a candidate of the FCBE,[10] Nago was then re-elected as President of the National Assembly on 21 May 2011. There were 60 votes in favor of his candidacy, two against, and two abstentions.[11]

Amidst a dispute over a potential change to the constitution, Nago quit the FCBE in February 2015, and on 14 March 2015 he launched a new alliance of parties, the United Democratic Forces, which intended to participate in the April 2015 parliamentary election.[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Réunion avec les populations de Bopa: Le président Nago triomphalement accueilli", Le Matinal, September 3, 2007 (French).
  2. ↑ Jeune Afrique économie, issues 193–198 (1995) (French).
  3. ↑ "Le gouvernement du Bénin, formé le 07 avril 2006", Afrique Express (French).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Mathurin Nago becomes Benin’s Speaker of Parliament", African Press Agency, May 3, 2007.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Proclamation des résultats des élections législatives du 31 mars 2007", BeninInfo.com (French).
  6. ↑ "Election du bureau de l’Assemblée nationale : Comment Yayi Boni a gagné le perchoir", Le Matinal, May 4, 2007 (French).
  7. ↑ Fidèle H. Nanga, "Pour siéger à l’Assemblée nationale : Cinq ministres démissionnent du gouvernement", Le Matinal, May 23, 2007 (French).
  8. ↑ "Benin : 5 cabinet ministers resign to become MPs", African Press Agency, May 23, 2007.
  9. ↑ "Bénin: Mathurin Nago prend les rênes de l'Upd-Gamesu", Fraternité, August 20, 2007 (French).
  10. ↑ " Assemblée nationale/6ème législature:Liste complète des 83 députés proclamés élus par la Cour", Le Matinal, 13 May 2011 (French).
  11. ↑ Karim Oscar Anonrin, "Election du bureau de l’Assemblée nationale, 6ème législature: Mathurin Coffi Nago réélu pour un mandat de 4 ans", Fraternité, 23 May 2011 (French).
  12. ↑ "Bénin: le président de l’Assemblée lance son mouvement politique", RFI, 15 March 2015 (French).