The News
Tidjane Thiam, the former CEO of Credit Suisse, will run for president of Côte d’Ivoire in October’s election.
The country’s main opposition Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) overwhelmingly endorsed the 62-year-old after his only rival, the country’s former trade minister, pulled out of the race.
It’s not yet clear who he will face from the ruling party but President Alassane Ouattara, 83, is expected to seek a fourth term at the helm of Francophone West Africa’s largest economy.
Thiam served as a planning and development minister in Côte d’Ivoire until a 1999 military coup. He then worked overseas for around two decades for firms including McKinsey, Aviva, Prudential, and Credit Suisse, eventually resigning from the Swiss bank over a spying scandal.
In February, Thiam gave up his French citizenship in order to stand in the election.