Émile Derlin Zinsou

Emile Derlin Zinsou (born 23 March 1918) is a Benin political figure and was the President of Dahomey (now Benin) from July 17 1968 until December 10 1969, supported by the military regime that took power in 1967. He was previously the foreign minister of Dahomey from 1962 to 1963 and from 1965 to 1967. He is said to have opposed the one-party Marxist policies of Mathieu Kérékou, who ruled Benin from 1972 to 1990. Zinsou was present at the signing of the treaty that formed the African Union on 12 July 2000 in Togo. He was born in Ouidah.

Zinsou was a mediator in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during that country's civil war in the late 1990s; he arrived in Kinshasa on September 20 1999, along with fellow mediator Padre Matteo Zuppi, and met with President Laurent-Desire Kabila. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/455364.stm "Congolese mediators meet Kabila"] , BBC News, September 23, 1999.]

Zinsou is, as of 2007, the honorary president of the National Union for Democracy and Progress political party. [Chales Yansunnu, [http://www.sonangnon.net/actualites/2007/juin/intfraternite1506_2.php "Mathieu Kérékou refuse l’école des anciens présidents"] , "Fraternite" (sonangnon.net), June 15, 2007 fr icon.] In January 2006, he announced his support for Yayi Boni in the March 2006 presidential election. [Thibaud Nagnonhou, [http://www.sonangnon.net/actualites/2006/janvier/intinformat2301_3.php "5e Conseil national de l’UNDP : Le Président Zinsou et les siens jettent leur dévolu sur Yayi Boni"] , "L'Informateur" (sonangnon.net), January 23, 2006 fr icon.]

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