Jean-Pierre Thystère Tchicaya
Encyclopedia
Jean-Pierre Thystère Tchicaya (January 7, 1936 – June 20, 2008) was a Congolese
politician. He was briefly Acting Head of State of the Republic of the Congo in February 1979 and was President of the National Assembly of the Republic of the Congo
from 2002 to 2007. He also led a political party, the Rally for Democracy and Social Progress
(RDPS), from 1990 to 2008.
Joining the Central Committee of the PCT in December 1972, he held leading posts in the PCT during the 1970s. From December 1974 to December 1975, he was President of the PCT Central Commission of Control and Verification. He was included on the Council of State announced on January 8, 1976. Shortly after Denis Sassou Nguesso
became President in early 1979, Tchicaya was elected as Vice-President by an extraordinary PCT party congress on March 31, 1979. From March 1979 to July 1984, he was a member of the PCT Political Bureau in charge of ideology and education and was the second ranking leader of the PCT. He was removed from all his positions in the party, including his seat on the Central Committee, in 1984. Although this decision was not officially explained, some speculated that Tchicaya was believed to have been involved in 1982 bomb attacks in Brazzaville
. In August 1986, the Revolutionary Court of Justice sentenced Claude-Ernest Ndalla
to death for those bomb attacks; Tchicaya was also tried, along with ten others, and he was given a five-year suspended sentence.
Standing as the RDPS candidate in the August 1992 presidential election
, he placed fifth with 5.78% of the vote. His best showing was in Kouilou Region
(which includes Pointe-Noire
, the country's second-largest city and economic capital), where he obtained 28% of the vote and placed second behind Pascal Lissouba
. Tchicaya backed Bernard Kolélas
of the Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development
(MCDDI) in the second round, but Lissouba defeated Kolélas.
After President Lissouba lost his parliamentary majority, he dissolved the National Assembly in preparation for a new parliamentary election. This led to a political crisis and the formation of a new government under Prime Minister Claude Antoine Dacosta that incorporated both Lissouba's supporters and members of the Union for Democratic Renewal
(URD)–PCT opposition coalition. In this government, appointed on 25 December 1992, Tchicaya was Minister of Mines, Energy and Hydrocarbons. Dacosta's "60/40" government remained in place until the time of the May–June 1993 parliamentary election
, in which Tchicaya won a seat in the National Assembly. The URD-PCT opposition coalition rejected the election results as fraudulent and formed a rival government in which Tchicaya was Prime Minister; he was also named Minister of National Defense and Minister of Hydrocarbons in the rival government. From 1993 to 1997 he was President of the URD Parliamentary Group. He was elected as Mayor of Pointe-Noire in July 1994, serving as Mayor from August 1994 to October 1997.
During the 1997 civil war, Tchicaya was the Second Vice-President of the National Mediation Committee, which was chaired by URD leader Bernard Kolélas
and established in June 1997. After Kolélas was appointed Prime Minister, he formed a government on September 14, 1997 that included Tchicaya as Minister of State for Decentralization and Regional Development; this government fell only one month later, on October 14, 1997, when rebel forces loyal to former President and PCT leader Denis Sassou Nguesso captured Brazzaville
. A few days later, Tchicaya announced the support of the RDPS for Sassou Nguesso.
At the end of the transitional period that followed the war, Tchicaya was elected to the National Assembly in the 2002 parliamentary election
as the RDPS candidate in Pointe Noire's Mvou Mvou constituency; he won the seat in the first round with 68.55% of the vote. Following the parliamentary election, Tchicaya was elected as President of the National Assembly on August 10, 2002; he received 122 votes from the 128 deputies who voted. Additionally, when the Pan-African Parliament
began meeting in March 2004, he became one of Congo's five members.
Tchicaya was critical of the way the 2007 parliamentary election
was organized. Together with Justin Lekoundzou
, the President of the Parliamentary Group of the Presidential Majority, Tchicaya sent a letter to President Sassou Nguesso on March 24 2007. In this letter, Tchicaya and Lekoundzou urged the establishment of an independent national electoral commission to oversee the election. In the election, Tchicaya was re-elected as the RDPS candidate from Mvou Mvou 1 constituency in Pointe-Noire. He faced seven challengers and prevailed with 55.20% of the vote when the election was held over again in his constituency in July 2007 due to problems that plagued the first attempt. When the National Assembly held its first meeting of the new parliamentary term on September 4, 2007, Justin Koumba
of the PCT was elected to succeed Tchicaya as President of the National Assembly.
in October 2007. He subsequently died at the Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris on June 20, 2008. Prime Minister Isidore Mvouba
described Tchicaya as a "great statesman" and a "worthy son of our country", and he said that Tchicaya had "always shown great consistency in his commitment to the values of the Republic and democracy" as a deputy in the National Assembly. Tchicaya's body was returned to Brazzaville from Paris on July 4, and he was the subject of an official tribute in the Palace of the Parliament on July 5. His body was then taken to Pointe-Noire on July 5 for his funeral and burial. This was marked by some disorder. Youths in the second arrondissement of Pointe-Noire initially refused to allow his coffin to be transferred from the Kokolo Copa Stadium to the Franco Anselmi Stadium, which was the site of the funeral, although they surrendered it after negotiations. Some looting and arrests occurred. After the funeral on July 7, he was buried at his family cemetery of Mboukou, located in the city's third arrondissement, Tié-Tié.
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
politician. He was briefly Acting Head of State of the Republic of the Congo in February 1979 and was President of the National Assembly of the Republic of the Congo
National Assembly of the Republic of the Congo
The Parliament of the Republic of Congo has two chambers. The lower house is the National Assembly . It has 153 members, for a five year term in single-seat constituencies.-See also:...
from 2002 to 2007. He also led a political party, the Rally for Democracy and Social Progress
Rally for Democracy and Social Progress
The Rally for Democracy and Social Progress is a political party in the Republic of the Congo, founded by Jean-Pierre Thystère Tchicaya....
(RDPS), from 1990 to 2008.
Political career under single-party rule
Tchicaya, a founding member of the Congolese Labour Party (PCT), became Minister of Vocational and Technical Education in December 1971, and in August 1973 his portfolio was expanded to include higher education; he held that post until December 1974. Also during that period, he temporarily assumed responsibility for the portfolio of information, culture, arts, and sports on March 2, 1973 following the arrest of Sylvain Bemba.Joining the Central Committee of the PCT in December 1972, he held leading posts in the PCT during the 1970s. From December 1974 to December 1975, he was President of the PCT Central Commission of Control and Verification. He was included on the Council of State announced on January 8, 1976. Shortly after Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso is a Congolese politician who has been the President of Congo-Brazzaville since 1997; he was previously President from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as President, he headed the single-party regime of the Congolese Labour Party for 12 years...
became President in early 1979, Tchicaya was elected as Vice-President by an extraordinary PCT party congress on March 31, 1979. From March 1979 to July 1984, he was a member of the PCT Political Bureau in charge of ideology and education and was the second ranking leader of the PCT. He was removed from all his positions in the party, including his seat on the Central Committee, in 1984. Although this decision was not officially explained, some speculated that Tchicaya was believed to have been involved in 1982 bomb attacks in Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
. In August 1986, the Revolutionary Court of Justice sentenced Claude-Ernest Ndalla
Claude-Ernest Ndalla
Claude-Ernest Ndalla is a Congolese politician. First coming to prominence as a radical youth leader in 1960s Congo-Brazzaville, he was one of the leading members of the Congolese Labour Party in the period immediately following its founding in 1969, but after a few years his career fell into a...
to death for those bomb attacks; Tchicaya was also tried, along with ten others, and he was given a five-year suspended sentence.
Political career after 1990
After splitting from the PCT, Tchicaya was part of the opposition National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) at the beginning of the transition to multiparty democracy, but he left the UNDP to found another opposition party, the RDPS, on October 29, 1990. He was a delegate at the 1991 Sovereign National Conference, and at the Conference he famously declared "never again!" (plus jamais ça!).Standing as the RDPS candidate in the August 1992 presidential election
Republic of the Congo presidential election, 1992
Presidential elections were held in the Republic of the Congo in August 1992, marking the end of the transitional period that began with the February–June 1991 National Conference...
, he placed fifth with 5.78% of the vote. His best showing was in Kouilou Region
Kouilou Region
Kouilou is a department of the Republic of the Congo. Covering the country's coastline, it has an area of 13,694 square kilometres and at the start of 2007 it was home to about 806,670 people . The department borders Niari Department, and internationally, Gabon and the Cabinda area of Angola...
(which includes Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department since 2004. Before this date it was the capital of the Kouilou region . It is situated on a headland between Pointe-Noire Bay and the Atlantic Ocean...
, the country's second-largest city and economic capital), where he obtained 28% of the vote and placed second behind Pascal Lissouba
Pascal Lissouba
Pascal Lissouba was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of the Congo from August 31, 1992 to October 15, 1997. He was overthrown by the current President Denis Sassou Nguesso in the 1997 civil war....
. Tchicaya backed Bernard Kolélas
Bernard Kolélas
Bernard Bakana Kolélas was a Congolese politician and President of the Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development...
of the Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development
Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development
The Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development is a political party in the Republic of the Congo, led by Bernard Kolélas....
(MCDDI) in the second round, but Lissouba defeated Kolélas.
After President Lissouba lost his parliamentary majority, he dissolved the National Assembly in preparation for a new parliamentary election. This led to a political crisis and the formation of a new government under Prime Minister Claude Antoine Dacosta that incorporated both Lissouba's supporters and members of the Union for Democratic Renewal
Union for Democratic Renewal (Congo)
The Union for Democratic Renewal was a coalition of political parties in the Republic of the Congo. The coalition was led by Bernard Kolélas, who was also the leader of the coalition's largest party, the Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development...
(URD)–PCT opposition coalition. In this government, appointed on 25 December 1992, Tchicaya was Minister of Mines, Energy and Hydrocarbons. Dacosta's "60/40" government remained in place until the time of the May–June 1993 parliamentary election
Republic of the Congo parliamentary election, 1993
Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of the Congo on 2 May 1993, with a second round in several constituencies on 6 June. The result was a victory for the Presidential Tendency coalition, which won 65 of the 125 seats in the National Assembly....
, in which Tchicaya won a seat in the National Assembly. The URD-PCT opposition coalition rejected the election results as fraudulent and formed a rival government in which Tchicaya was Prime Minister; he was also named Minister of National Defense and Minister of Hydrocarbons in the rival government. From 1993 to 1997 he was President of the URD Parliamentary Group. He was elected as Mayor of Pointe-Noire in July 1994, serving as Mayor from August 1994 to October 1997.
During the 1997 civil war, Tchicaya was the Second Vice-President of the National Mediation Committee, which was chaired by URD leader Bernard Kolélas
Bernard Kolélas
Bernard Bakana Kolélas was a Congolese politician and President of the Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development...
and established in June 1997. After Kolélas was appointed Prime Minister, he formed a government on September 14, 1997 that included Tchicaya as Minister of State for Decentralization and Regional Development; this government fell only one month later, on October 14, 1997, when rebel forces loyal to former President and PCT leader Denis Sassou Nguesso captured Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
. A few days later, Tchicaya announced the support of the RDPS for Sassou Nguesso.
At the end of the transitional period that followed the war, Tchicaya was elected to the National Assembly in the 2002 parliamentary election
Republic of the Congo parliamentary election, 2002
A parliamentary election was held in the Republic of the Congo in 2002; the first round was held on 26 May and the second round on 20 June. The Congolese Labour Party and its allies won a majority of seats in the National Assembly....
as the RDPS candidate in Pointe Noire's Mvou Mvou constituency; he won the seat in the first round with 68.55% of the vote. Following the parliamentary election, Tchicaya was elected as President of the National Assembly on August 10, 2002; he received 122 votes from the 128 deputies who voted. Additionally, when the Pan-African Parliament
Pan-African Parliament
The Pan-African Parliament , also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union and held its inaugural session in March 2004. The PAP exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, lasting for the first five years...
began meeting in March 2004, he became one of Congo's five members.
Tchicaya was critical of the way the 2007 parliamentary election
Republic of the Congo parliamentary election, 2007
A parliamentary election was held in the Republic of the Congo on 24 June 2007, with a second round initially planned for 22 July 2007, but then postponed to 5 August 2007. According to the National Commission of the Organization of the Elections , 1,807 candidates stood in the first round for 137...
was organized. Together with Justin Lekoundzou
Justin Lekoundzou
Justin Lekoundzou Itihi Ossetoumba is a Congolese politician. He is a founding member of the Congolese Labour Party , and during the PCT's single-party rule he held important party and government positions in the 1970s and 1980s...
, the President of the Parliamentary Group of the Presidential Majority, Tchicaya sent a letter to President Sassou Nguesso on March 24 2007. In this letter, Tchicaya and Lekoundzou urged the establishment of an independent national electoral commission to oversee the election. In the election, Tchicaya was re-elected as the RDPS candidate from Mvou Mvou 1 constituency in Pointe-Noire. He faced seven challengers and prevailed with 55.20% of the vote when the election was held over again in his constituency in July 2007 due to problems that plagued the first attempt. When the National Assembly held its first meeting of the new parliamentary term on September 4, 2007, Justin Koumba
Justin Koumba
Justin Koumba is a Congolese politician who has been President of the National Assembly of Congo-Brazzaville since September 2007...
of the PCT was elected to succeed Tchicaya as President of the National Assembly.
Death
Tchicaya was falsely reported to have died in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in October 2007. He subsequently died at the Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris on June 20, 2008. Prime Minister Isidore Mvouba
Isidore Mvouba
Isidore Mvouba is a Congolese politician who was Prime Minister of Congo-Brazzaville from January 2005 to September 2009. He is a member of the Congolese Labour Party and has held key positions under President Denis Sassou-Nguesso since 1997.Mvouba was Director of the Cabinet of the Head of State...
described Tchicaya as a "great statesman" and a "worthy son of our country", and he said that Tchicaya had "always shown great consistency in his commitment to the values of the Republic and democracy" as a deputy in the National Assembly. Tchicaya's body was returned to Brazzaville from Paris on July 4, and he was the subject of an official tribute in the Palace of the Parliament on July 5. His body was then taken to Pointe-Noire on July 5 for his funeral and burial. This was marked by some disorder. Youths in the second arrondissement of Pointe-Noire initially refused to allow his coffin to be transferred from the Kokolo Copa Stadium to the Franco Anselmi Stadium, which was the site of the funeral, although they surrendered it after negotiations. Some looting and arrests occurred. After the funeral on July 7, he was buried at his family cemetery of Mboukou, located in the city's third arrondissement, Tié-Tié.