Ivory Coast’s ‘Iron Lady’ – From Hiding In Bunker To Presidential Hopeful

Former Ivory Coast First Lady Simone Gbagbo has gone from hiding in a bunker in an attempt to avoid arrest to defiantly announcing she will run for president.

In an extraordinary comeback, the controversial 76-year-old was this week surprisingly allowed to contest October’s elections, calling on supporters to help “build a new nation”.

For years, Gbagbo worked side-by-side with her ex-husband Laurent, and was considered to be the power behind his throne.

Now, with a criminal conviction and a divorce behind her, she takes centre stage as a presidential candidate in her own right.

Gbagbo was Ivory Coast’s first lady from 2000 to 2011 and was dubbed “the iron lady” due to her reputation for toughness.

While her supporters fondly called her “maman” (French for “mum”), Gbagbo was feared within the party she set up with her husband, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI).

“All the ministers respect me. And they often consider me above them,” she told French magazine L’Express during her husband’s presidency.

At rallies, Gbagbo often invoked her evangelist Christian faith, firing off spirited, eloquent speeches in support of her husband.

Gbagbo met Laurent in 1973, at a time when both were powerful figures in Ivory Coast’s trade union movement.

Gbagbo had degrees in history and linguistics, and as a teacher, was a key member of various educators’ unions.

The couple’s relationship was also built on the struggle against then-president Félix Houphouët-Boigny.

The Gbagbos protested against Houphouët-Boigny’s autocracy, which lasted for 33 years, calling for multi-party democracy.

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