Mayor of Antananarivo

The Mayor of Antananarivo is the Mayor of the capital and largest city in Madagascar, Antananarivo.

The post of mayor of Antananarivo is considered to be one of the most prominent and influential offices in Madagascar.[1] It is also considered one of the "politically defining posts" in the country, from which politicians often emerge into higher offices, such as the Malagasy Presidency.[1]

The former President of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, was mayor of the city when he rose to power in 2002.[1] Andry Rajoelina was elected as Mayor in December 2007 and became Ravalomanana's main opponent, leading a general strike in Antananarivo in January 2009.[1]

On 3 February 2009, after declaring himself to be in charge of the country, Rajoelina was dismissed as Mayor and a special delegation, headed by Guy Randrianarisoa, was appointed instead. Rajoelina denounced the decision, saying that there was "no valid reason" for it and that he was prepared to face arrest if necessary; he warned that the city would "not accept this decision".[2] At a rally on 4 February, Rajoelina described the appointment of Randrianarisoa as "an insult to the people of Madagascar"; he instead designated Michèle Ratsivalaka to succeed him as Mayor and gave her his mayoral scarf.[3] Rajoelina took power as head of state in March 2009. He later replaced Ratsivalaka with Edgard Razafindravahy, who served without vice-presidents throughout his term.[4] He resigned in August 2013 to enter in the 2013 presidential election and the city of Antananarivo remained without leadership until November 2013, when Olga Rasamimanana was named to one of the vice-presidency positions, making her de facto mayor of Antananarivo.