Gatien Houngbédji is a Benin

Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

ese politician and the president of the Union for Economic and Social Development (UDES). Under President Mathieu Kérékou

Mathieu Kérékou

Mathieu Kérékou, was President of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2006. After seizing power in a military coup, he ruled the country for 17 years, for most of that time under an officially Marxist-Leninist ideology, before he was stripped of his powers by the National Conference of...

, he was Minister of Trade, Craft Industry, and Tourism from April 1996 to May 1998. He unsuccessfully ran for the office of President of Benin as the candidate of UDES in the March 1991 presidential election

Beninese presidential election, 1991

Presidential elections were held in Benin in March 1991, the first such election since 1970. The first round, held on 10 March, saw no candidate receive more than 37% of the vote; the second round on 24 March resulted in Nicéphore Soglo being declared the winner, with almost two-thirds of the vote...

, in which he received 0.89% of the vote (11th place). He also ran as the UDES candidate in the March 2001 presidential election, in which he received 0.33% of the vote (14th place). In January 2006, he was again designated as the UDES candidate for the March 2006 presidential election

Beninese presidential election, 2006

A presidential election was held in the West African state of Benin on March 5, 2006. Long-time president Mathieu Kérékou was barred from running again by a two term limit and an age limit of 70 years for candidates; in July 2005 he signalled that he would not seek to change the constitution, as...

; in this election he received 0.22% of the vote (21st place).