Henri Bedie: Former Ivory Coast president Declared dead at 89

Former Ivory Coast president, Henri Konan Bedie, is dead.

Until his death, Bedie was 89 years old.

Bedie was part of an old guard of politicians and also dominated politics in the West African nation for decades.

He served as president from 1993 until his ouster in 1999 and later ran a losing race against his long-time political rival President Alassane Ouattara in elections in 2020 when he was 86 years old.

He was long remembered – and in some parts reviled – for his role in promoting the issue of Ivorian identity.

The issue fuelled tensions between those who considered themselves natives in the south and east, and the many foreign workers from neighbouring countries long settled in the country’s north.