REBIRTH OF THE RAM?

Côte d’Ivoire: Is Tidjane Thiam ready for the political arena?

By Aïssatou Diallo

Reserved for subscribers

Posted on December 14, 2022 08:15

Tidjane Thiam 2017 Tidjane Thiam, then head of Crédit Suisse, 28 April 2017 in Zurich ©MICHAEL BUHOLZER / AFP — Tidjane Thiam, then head of Crédit Suisse, 28 April 2017 in Zurich ©MICHAEL BUHOLZER / AFP

Last August, the Franco-Ivorian banker’s return to the country after more than two decades was widely followed. Some are now pushing him to run for president in 2025.

“How can we in Côte d’Ivoire not be proud of Tidjane Thiam’s success? He is one of the biggest financiers on the planet and this skill must serve his country,” says Patrice Kanté Koffi, as if it were obvious.

There's more to this story

Get unlimited access to our exclusive journalism and features today. Our award-winning team of correspondents and editors report from over 54 African countries, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Abidjan to Abuja to Addis Ababa. Africa. Unlocked.

Subscribe Now

cancel anytime

Already a a subscriber Sign In

More Politics

Félix Tshisekedi arrives at the extraordinary summit of East African Community heads of state in Bujumbura on February 4, 2023. © Tchandrou Nitanga/AFP

'economic colonisation'

DRC: Tshisekedi wants to renegotiate Kabila’s ‘contract of the century’ with China A task force was created by DRC President Félix Tshisekedi ahead of his meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in order to identify the axes ...

© A view of the newly-commissioned Dangote Petroleum refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria May 22, 2023. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja

distribution details

Will Dangote’s Refinery solve Nigeria’s fuel consumption problems? President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Plant, the world’s largest single-train refinery, on 22 May in Lagos am...

Coffee With

Angélique Kidjo, an encounter beyond space and time Fresh from winning the prestigious Polar Music Prize, the Benin-born singer tells The Africa Report what motivates her to cross cultural divides in he...

© A pedestrian walks past a mural depicting Russia’s para military mercenaries ‘Wagner Group’ reading : “Wagner Group – Russian knights” on a building’s wall in Belgrade, on November 17, 2022. (Photo by OLIVER BUNIC / AFP)

Cracking down

US sanctions Wagner commander in Mali in latest crackdown on Russian mercenary operations in Africa The US government slapped new sanctions on Russia’s Wagner Group on 25 May, putting African nations on notice that working with the Kremlin-linked mer...