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Biography of the President of the Republic of Seychelles, H.E. Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan

On October 26, 2020, Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan was sworn in as President of the Republic of Seychelles

Author: | internet@granma.cu

He was born in Mahé, the main island of Seychelles. His father was a metallurgist and his mother a primary school teacher. He is married to Linda and has three sons: Samuel, Caleb and Amos. He is an ordained minister of the Anglican Church.
It was his mission as a priest that brought Ramkalawan into politics through his pastoral work.
In 1990, Ramkalawan delivered a landmark sermon that was broadcast nationwide on national radio. In 1991, while still a priest, he joined Roger Mancienne and Jean-François Ferrari, to form Parti Seselwa, initially an underground organization, of which he became its leader.
After the entry into force of the new Constitution in 1993, two other opposition parties joined Parti Seselwa to form the United Opposition (uo) and contested the 1993 general elections. The party won 9% of the vote, which enabled it to nominate one member (Ramkalawan) to the National Assembly.
In 1998, Ramkalawan led his party, The UO, to the second multiparty general election. The party won 27% of the national vote and increased its representation in the National Assembly to three. Ramkalawan became the party's first directly elected member of the Assembly, winning his home constituency of St. Louis. Ramkalawan was elected leader of the opposition, until 2011. In 2016, his party won a majority in the National Assembly elections. He also served as Leader of the Opposition, leading a majority in the Legislature.
In December 2015, Mr. Ramkalawan led a united opposition during the presidential election.
He led the National Assembly delegation to the Pan-African Parliament and the SADC Permanent Forum, where he chaired the Democratization, Governance and Human Rights Committee. In the National Assembly, he chaired the Truth and National Reconciliation Committee, the Defense and Security Committee, the Islands Committee and the Finance and Public Accounts Committee.
On October 26, 2020, Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan was sworn in as President of the Republic of Seychelles.