General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 Marcel Razanakombana Ranjeva (born 15 January 1944) is a Malagasy

Malagasy people

The Malagasy ethnic group forms nearly the entire population of Madagascar. They are divided into two subgroups: the "Highlander" Merina, Sihanaka and Betsileo of the central plateau around Antananarivo, Alaotra and Fianarantsoa, and the côtiers elsewhere in the country. This division has its...

 politician. He was the Minister of Defense in the government of Madagascar under President Didier Ratsiraka

Didier Ratsiraka

Vice Admiral Didier Ratsiraka is a Malagasy politician who was President of Madagascar from 1975 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2002.-Second Republic:...

 until he resigned on March 8, 2002, and pledged his support to Marc Ravalomanana

Marc Ravalomanana

Marc Ravalomanana is a Malagasy politician who was the President of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009. A member of the Merina ethnic group, Ravalomanana served as Mayor of Antananarivo before becoming President in 2002...

, the opposition presidential candidate who claimed to have won the December 2001 presidential election

Malagasy presidential election, 2001

Presidential elections were held in Madagascar on 16 December 2001. Initial results suggested a second round was necessary, with neither of the main candidates, incumbent President Didier Ratsiraka and Marc Ravalomanana. However, Ravalomanana rejected the results and declared himself President in...

. Ravalomanana appointed Ranjeva as Minister of Foreign Affairs

Foreign minister

A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...

 in May 2002, and he remained Foreign Minister until Ravalomanana's ouster in March 2009. He was succeeded by Ny Hasina Andriamanjato

Ny Hasina Andriamanjato

Ny Hasina Andriamanjato is a Malagasy politician who served in the government of Madagadcar as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2010.The son of Pasteur Richard Andriamanjato, Andriamanjato studied in Madagascar and the Soviet Union, and he became Minister for Post and Telecommunications...

on March 23, 2009; he was present for the ceremony transferring control of the ministry and wished Andriamanjato luck.