President of the Assembly since March 2019, he made long stays abroad in recent months for medical reasons.
The president of the Ivorian National Assembly Amadou Soumahoro died on Saturday at the age of 68, according to a statement from Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.
“I have the deep sorrow to announce the death, this Saturday, May 7, 2022, of the President of the National Assembly, my younger brother, Amadou Soumahoro,” the text said.
“I pay tribute to a great statesman, whose commitment and political career have marked our country. Côte d’Ivoire loses a valiant son, a man of conviction and duty. I lose a faithful companion, a loyal and devoted friend,” continued the head of state.
President of the Assembly since March 2019, he made long stays abroad in recent months for medical reasons.
Amadou Soumahoro was a figure in Ivorian politics and a loyal supporter of President Alassane Ouattara.
He was a founding member of the Rassemblement des Républicains (RDR), Mr. Ouattara’s historic party, in 1994.
Mayor of the city of Seguela from 1996 to 2013, he helped establish the party in the north of the country.
A graduate of the Institute of International Economic Relations in Paris (1979), with a specialization in international trade, he had served several times as Minister of Foreign Trade in 2002 and then of Trade between 2003 and 2005 in a unity government under President Laurent Gbagbo.
After the election of Alassane Ouattara, he served as Special Advisor to the President of the Republic in charge of political affairs from 2011 to 2017.
Between 2018 and 2019, Amadou Soumahoro was promoted to Minister to the Head of State, still in charge of political affairs.
During his absence, in recent months, he was replaced by one of the vice-presidents of the Assembly, Adama Bictogo, a member of the Rassemblement des Houphouëtistes pour la Paix (RHDP), the ruling party.