Gbagbo born in May 31, 1945 has been the President of Côte d'Ivoire since 2000.
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Gbagbo was born in the village of Mama, near Gagnoa. He became a history professor and an opponent of the regime of President Félix Houphouët-Boigny.
He formed what would become the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) in 1982.
Following the introduction of multiparty politics in 1990, Gbagbo was the only candidate to stand against Houphouët-Boigny in the October 1990 presidential election, receiving 18.3% of the vote.
In the November 1990 parliamentary election, Gbagbo won a seat in the National Assembly.
The FPI boycotted the 1995 presidential election. In 1996, Gbagbo was re-elected to his seat in the National Assembly and in the same year he was elected as President of the FPI.
At the FPI's 3rd Ordinary Congress on July 9–11, 1999, Gbagbo was chosen as the FPI's candidate for the October 2000 presidential election. That election took place after a December 1999 coup in which Robert Guéï took power.
Guéï claimed victory in the election, held on October 22, 2000, but a popular revolt in favor of Gbagbo (who claimed he had actually won with 59.4% of the vote) broke out in Abidjan. Guéï was forced to flee, and Gbagbo became President on October 26.
On September 19, 2002, a coup attempt against Gbagbo's government failed.
The situation developed into a civil war between a government-held south and a rebel-held north, but after several months of fighting a peace agreement was reached.
Peace talks collapsed in 2004.
Gbagbo's original mandate as president expired on October 30, 2005, but due to the lack of disarmament it was deemed impossible to hold an election, and therefore his term in office was extended for a maximum of two year, according to a plan worked out by the African Union; this plan was endorsed by the United Nations Security Council.
A peace deal between the government and the rebels, or New Forces, was signed on March 4, 2007.
On August 30, 2008, Gbagbo was designated the FPI's candidate for the November 2008 presidential election. The presidential election was again postponed to 2010.
Source: excerpted from Wikipedia
Côte d'Ivoire Votes in Landmark Elections
Polls in Côte d'Ivoire opened Sunday in presidential elections that are seen as a chance to reunite a country that was divided by civil war.
