Paul Biya
President of Cameroon since 1982 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Paul Biya (born Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo; 13 February 1933) is a Cameroonian politician who is the second president of Cameroon since 6 November 1982, having previously been the prime minister of Cameroon from 1975 to 1982.[1][2] He is the second-longest-ruling president in Africa, the longest consecutively serving current non-royal national leader in the world and the oldest head of state in the world. He is regarded as an authoritarian leader and dictator.[by whom?]
Paul Biya | |
---|---|
2nd President of Cameroon | |
Assumed office 6 November 1982 | |
Prime Minister | Bello Bouba Maigari Luc Ayang Sadou Hayatou Simon Achidi Achu Peter Mafany Musonge Ephraïm Inoni Philémon Yang Joseph Ngute |
Preceded by | Ahmadou Ahidjo |
1st Prime Minister of Cameroon | |
In office 30 June 1975 – 6 November 1982 | |
President | Ahmadou Ahidjo |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Bello Bouba Maigari |
Personal details | |
Born | Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo (1933-02-13) 13 February 1933 (age 91) Mvomeka'a, Ntem, French Cameroon (now Cameroon) |
Political party | RDPC |
Spouses | |
Children | 3 |
Education | National School of Administration, Paris Institute of Political Studies, Paris |
Signature | |
A native of Cameroon's south, Biya rose rapidly as a bureaucrat under President Ahmadou Ahidjo in the 1960s, as Secretary-General of the Presidency from 1968 to 1975 and then as Prime Minister. He succeeded Ahidjo as President upon the latter's surprise resignation in 1982 and consolidated power in a 1983–1984 staged attempted coup in which he eliminated all of his major rivals.[3]
Biya introduced political reforms within the context of a one-party system in the 1980s, later accepting the introduction of multiparty politics in the early 1990s under serious pressure. He won the contentious 1992 presidential election with 40% of the plural, single-ballot vote and was re-elected by large margins in 1997, 2004, 2011, and 2018. Opposition politicians and Western governments have alleged voting irregularities and fraud on each of these occasions. Many independent sources[citation needed] have provided evidence that he did not win the elections in 1992 and that subsequent elections suffered from rampant fraud.[4]