Patrick Ramiaramanana
Mayor of Antananarivo, Madagascar

Patrick Ramiaramanana first joined the Municipality of Antananarivo (Madagascar) in 2002 as an inspector. One year later, in December 2003, he was elected Mayor of the city, capital of Madagascar, while he was president of the special delegation of the Commune Urbaine of Antananarivo, created during the political events of 2001. In 2006 he was included among the top ten mayors in the annual World Mayor project.

Patrick Ramiaramanana studied at Düsseldorf (Germany) University where he took his doctorate in chemistry, specialising in electrochemistry. He then did research work at the Jülich Research Centre for several years before returning to Madagascar in 1997 to join the Tiko Group, where he held different managerial positions.

In accordance with the Malagasy Government’s policies, the country’s development is strongly linked to municipal and regional development. Aware of this, Patrick Ramiaramanana vision is to develop local authorities so as to strengthen the capacity of the municipality and manage its development programs in each local district of the city.

Thus, for the past two years, he has concentrated on the rehabilitation of Antananarivo to make it more liveable. His idea is to create a synergy between the people of Antananarivo and their leaders and to rebuild the city through a vision of sustainable development by applying long-term programs.

The objective of the mayor’s program is to make Antananarivo “a developed and clean city where people enjoy living”.

Because of his deep concern over local needs and the struggle against poverty and the social actions he has implemented, he has become very popular. In recognition of this, he was elected Man of the Year 2003 while he was still President of the Special Delegation.

His experiences abroad, while studying and working, explain his willingness to open up Antananarivo to international recognition as a. special city with many assets. With this idea constantly at the forefront of his mind, he has participated in the work of different international organisations such as the Cités et Gouvernements Locaux Unis (CGLU) and the Association Internationale des Maires Francophones (AIMF) or Metropolis. The policy is proving to be a success in relation both to the international conferences that have taken place in Antananarivo this year and the investors that are arriving in the special economic zones.

His strong leadership and concern for making Antananarivo a better place to live and to have international standing, resulted in his being presented with the 2005 Metropolis Award during the last conference in Berlin in May. On that occasion Patrick Ramiaramanana was also made vice president of the African Region to represent African countries in Metropolis.