Andry Nirina Rajoelina (/ˈɑːndriː rɑːdʒoʊiːˈliːnɑː/,[1] Malagasy: [ˈjanɖʐʲ nʲˈrinᵊ ratʐ'welinᵊ]; born 30 May 1974) is a Malagasy-French politician and businessman who has served as president of Madagascar since 2019.

He was previously president of a provisional government from 2009 to 2014 following a political crisis and military-backed coup, having held the office of Mayor of Antananarivo for one year prior.

Before entering the political arena, Rajoelina was involved in the private sector, including a printing and advertising company called Injet in 1999 and the Viva radio and television networks in 2007.

Rajoelina was appointed as President of the High Transitional Authority of Madagascar (HTA) by a military council, in a move characterised as a coup d'état by the international community.

[2] Rajoelina dissolved the Senate and National Assembly, and transferred their powers to a variety of new governance structures responsible for overseeing the transition toward a new constitutional authority.

His tenure included directing the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Madagascar, during which he promoted misinformation and unproven treatments for the disease, as well as a 2021 food insecurity crisis and Cyclone Batsirai.

[3] His father, now-retired Colonel Roger Yves Rajoelina, held dual nationality and fought for the French army in the Algerian War.

[4][5] Although his family could afford a college education for their son, Andry Rajoelina opted to discontinue his studies after completing his baccalauréat to launch a career as a DJ.

[7] In 1999, he launched Injet, the first digital printing technology company available on the island, which gained quick traction with its expansion of billboard advertising throughout the capital.

[15] Within a week Rajoelina met with twenty of Madagascar's most prominent opposition leaders, referred to in the press as the "Club of 20", to develop a joint statement demanding that the Ravalomanana administration improve its adherence to democratic principles.

Rajoelina also promised to dedicate a politically open public space in the capital which he would call Place de la Démocratie ("Democracy Plaza").

A week later, the transmission failure message of Viva TV was changed to a still picture of Andry Rajoelina, which led the authorities to seize the channel's transmitter by force.

[18] This self-declaration of power discredited Rajoelina's democratic aims, and the number of attendees at subsequent rallies declined, averaging around 3,000 to 5,000 participants.

[34] The United States, Madagascar's largest bilateral donor and provider of humanitarian aid, also refused to acknowledge the Rajoelina administration, and ordered all nonessential embassy employees to leave the Island.

[39] In August 2009, the living historic Presidents of Madagascar (Rajoelina, Ravalomanana, Ratsiraka & Zafy) signed the Maputo Accords, which established guidelines for a period of consensual political transition.

[38] In November 2011, his talk at the UN 66th Session of the United Nations General Assembly marked the first major form of international recognition of the Transition government.

[48] A special electoral court ruled in August 2013 that the candidatures of Rajoelina, Ravalomanana and former president Ratsiraka were invalid and would not be permitted to run in the 2013 election.

During this time, Rajoelina sought to be nominated for the position of Prime Minister of Madagascar but Rajaonarimampianina picked Roger Kolo, with the support of the majority in the parliament.

[53] Upon taking office in 2009, Rajoelina dissolved the Senate and Parliament to transfer their powers to his cabinet, the officials of the HAT, and the newly established Council for social and economic strengthening, through which his policies were issued as decrees.

[56] Additionally, on 28 August 2010, the HAT sentenced Ravalomanana, who had been living in exile in South Africa since March 2009, in absentia to hard labor for life and issued an arrest warrant for his role in the protests and ensuing deaths.

[59] Sanctions and suspension of donor aid amounted to 50% of the national budget and 70% of public investments, which obstructed the government's management of state affairs.

[60] Rajoelina occasionally organized events to distribute basic items to the population, including medicines, clothing, house maintenance materials and school supplies.

[87] During the COP26 meeting in Glasgow, Rajoelina vowed to protect the biodiversity of Madagascar's forests from the threat of deforestation, while also announcing the use of bioethanol and gas-based stoves in the country to fight the effects of climate change.

[88] In June 2021, a severe drought struck Madagascar, causing hundreds of thousands of people, with some estimations claiming more than one million, to suffer from food insecurity in the country's southern regions.

[89] Among other measures, Rajoelina ordered the distribution of butane gas stoves to replace charcoal as an alternative for people in the poorest areas of the country.

[90] On 22 July 2021, police announced they had arrested six people, including foreign nationals, after months of investigation into a plot to kill Rajoelina.

[92] In July 2023, the former president of the Syndicate of Magistrates of Madagascar and opponent Fanirisoa Ernaivo claimed that Rajoelina was a naturalized French citizen and therefore has invalidated his Malagasy citizenship, and has "filed a complaint for treason, espionage, use of forgery and attack on the security of the State".

[93] In June 2023, the revelation of his acquisition of French nationality in 2014 led to the opening of a parliamentary inquiry, followed by the questioning of the High Constitutional Court by a group of citizens of the Malagasy diaspora in France.

[97][98] The spyware was acquired with the aim of "fighting corruption" but the hacking operations were used to spy on several political opponents, including the opposition journalist, Roland Rasoamaharo who was subsequently imprisoned.

[98] Rajoelina took the oath of office on 16 December 2023 for his second term as president of Madagascar amid a boycott by opposition parties that challenged the 16 November election results.