Ruler · 1933 – 2015

Mathieu Kérékou

Lived 1933 – 2015; statesperson, politician, military personnel. President of the Republic of Benin (Benin), 1980 – 1991 and 1 more term; also in the line of People's Republic of Benin and Republic of Dahomey.

For the full story, the article on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); this page holds what the record says of the reign.

Lived: 1933 – 2015; 82 years
In office: 21 years; 2 reigns
Lines: 3; states
Left it: deposed; the ruler's own article

President of the Republic of Benin

Benin · the 1st and 3rd of 6 dated reigns · 1980 – 2026

Mathieu Kérékou1980 – 1991

Nicéphore Soglo1991 – 1996

Mathieu Kérékou1996 – 2006

Thomas Boni Yayi2006 – 2016

Patrice Talon2016 – 2026

Romuald Wadagni2026 – …

deposed, abdicated, exiled or removedleft alive by a regular roadstill in officeending not on recordthis entry

Reigned 1980 – 1991 · 11 years · came to it aged 47 · term 1 of 2

Came to it: elected
Left it: deposedread from the ruler's own article

the article also: lost an election

In 1980, Kérékou was elected president by the Revolutionary National Assembly; he retired from the army in 1987.

After seizing power in a military coup, he ruled the country for 18 years under an officially Marxist–Leninist ideology, before he was stripped of his powers by the National Conference of 1990.

Reigned 1996 – 2006 · 10 years · came to it aged 63 · term 2 of 2

Left it: resignedread from the ruler's own article

Yayi Boni defeated Adrien Houngbédji in a run-off vote on 19 March, and Kérékou left office at the end of his term, at midnight on 6 April 2006.

Also in the line of People's Republic of Benin (1st of 1) and Republic of Dahomey (14th of 14).

Open in the atlas

Mathieu Kérékou in the atlas: the article, every line they sat in, and the map in their years.
Analyse the succession of Benin: every reign, how each ended, and the numbers over them.
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Wikidata Q206719 (CC0) · the reigns from Wikidata's P39 terms, the rulers' own articles read by grammar (sentences quoted above, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Kokkonen & Sundell where they code the line · data built 2026-10-06 · Pastlas v2.9.1, by Oleh Voronko. The published atlas and its data are for non-commercial use.