Background
He was born on May 23, 1928, at Dori, in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso).
He was born on May 23, 1928, at Dori, in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso).
He graduated from the Sorbonne, Paris, where he took a Diploma of Higher Studies (DES) in mathematics, followed by post-graduate studies and diplomas at the Statistics Institute of the University of Paris and at the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank, Washington.
His professional career started at the top; appointed Chef de Cabinet at the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 1958, then Technical Adviser and Director of Cabinet at the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Planning. In January 1963 he was appointed General Administrator for Planning and, exactly three years later, Minister of Planning. From January 1964 until January 1966 he was also a member of the Economic and Social Council, and Governor of the Ivorian Bank for Industrial Development between February 1965 and July 1967.
A dedicated economist, planner, statistician and technocrat, he has been accused of being partly responsible for the Ivory Coast’s “growth without development”. But this is largely unfair; he is known to favour extension of state ownership and his policy is to gradually reduce the country’s dependence on the foreign sector and. create a new class of Ivorian businessman. The frustrations of politics have led to continual rumours about his possible retirement for a career in private business.
