Ivory Coast: Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko in office since last year, dies at 56

Bloomberg | Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko died, less than a year after being appointed to the position following the death of his predecessor. He was 56.

Bakayoko succumbed to cancer on Wednesday, President Alassane Ouattara said in a tweet.

“I pay tribute to the prime minister, Hamed Bakayoko, my son and close collaborator, taken too soon,” Ouattara said. “Bakayoko served Ivory Coast with devotion and selflessness.”

The death of Bakayoko, who also served as defense minister, will lead to a cabinet reshuffle in the world’s biggest cocoa-producing nation. He may be succeeded by Patrick Achi, the secretary-general of the ruling party appointed as interim premier on March 8. Bakayoko was also seen as a front-runner to succeed Ouattara when his current term ends in 2025.

Bakayoko became the second-most powerful politician in Côte d’Ivoire in July, after then-Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly died. Gon Coulibaly had been the governing party’s presidential candidate in last year’s election, and his death led Ouattara to reverse an earlier decision not to seek a third term as president.

Bakayoko, who drew political support from mainly working-class voters, was also a legislative candidate to represent the diamond-rich Seguela constituency in the country’s north. He won the seat in absentia in elections held on March 6.

He is survived by his wife, Yolande Tanoh, and 4 children.