Sylvestre Ntibantunganya (born 8 May 1956) is a Burundi

Burundi

Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. He was Speaker of the National Assembly of Burundi

National Assembly of Burundi

The National Assembly is the lower chamber of Parliament in Burundi. It consists of 100 directly elected members and between 18 to 21 co-opted members who serve five-year terms....

 from December 1993 to 1 October 1994 and President of Burundi from 6 April 1994 to 25 July 1996 (interim to October 1994).

Biography

Ntibantunganya was born in Gishubi, Gitega

Gitega Province

Gitega is one of the 17 provinces of Burundi. Its capital is Gitega. It has a population of about 675,000 and an area of 1,979 km²....

, and is an ethnic Hutu

Hutu

The Hutu , or Abahutu, are a Central African people, living mainly in Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo.-Population statistics:The Hutu are the largest of the three peoples in Burundi and Rwanda; according to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, 84% of Rwandans and 85% of Burundians...

. He served as foreign minister

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...

 briefly during 1993.

He came into office when the previous president, Cyprien Ntaryamira

Cyprien Ntaryamira

Cyprien Ntaryamira , was President of Burundi from 5 February 1994 until his death when his plane was shot down on 6 April 1994.-Biography:...

, was killed in a plane crash (an assassination

Assassination of Habyarimana and Ntaryamira

The assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira on the evening of April 6, 1994, was the catalyst for the Rwandan Genocide. The airplane carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali, Rwanda....

 in which the Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana

Juvénal Habyarimana

Juvénal Habyarimana was the third President of the Republic of Rwanda, the post he held longer than any other president to date, from 1973 until 1994. During his 20-year rule he favored his own ethnic group, the Hutus, and supported the Hutu majority in neighboring Burundi against the Tutsi...

 was also killed). Ntibantunganya left office when he was deposed by Pierre Buyoya

Pierre Buyoya

Major Pierre Buyoya is a Burundian politician who has ruled Burundi twice, from 1987 to 1993 and from 1996 to 2003...

 in a military coup of 1996

1996 Burundian coup d'état

The 1996 Burundian coup d'état was a military coup d'état that took place in Burundi on 25 July 1996. In the midst of the Burundi Civil War, former president Pierre Buyoya deposed Hutu President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya. According to Amnesty International, in the weeks following the coup, more...

.

Ntiybantunganya is presently a Senator for life

Senate of Burundi

The Senate is the upper chamber of Parliament in Burundi. It consists of no fewer than 37 and no more than 54 members who serve 5-year terms....

as a former head of state.