Richard Ratsimandrava

Colonel Richard Ratsimandrava was a Malagasy politician and soldier who served as the head of state of Madagascar for six days in February 1975 before his assassination in office.

Biography

He was born in 1931 and was a Merina from a Merina family. A graduate of the French Saint Cyr military college, Ratsimandrava served throughout French Africa before returning to Madagascar when that country gained independence in 1960. He joined the army, attaining the rank of lieutenant-colonel by 1968. In 1972 President Gabriel Ramanantsoa established a military government to replace the independence government of Philibert Tsiranana, and Ratsimandrava was appointed Minister of the Interior. Several senior officers were able to manipulate the army, which led to the ousting of Ramanantsoa on February 5, 1975.

Death

Six days following his taking office, Ratsimandrava was gunned down at 8 p.m. while driving from the presidential palace to his home. His death was announced by the new ruling military committee. It claimed that the President had been killed by members of the Republican Security Forces, a counterinsurgency outfit dissolved by his predecessor. The event nearly plunged the country into civil war between supporters of the military government and former President Tsiranana. In 2006, on the 31st anniversary of colonel's murder, a conference was held in Madagascar.