Houngbédji lived in exile for several years, but returned to Benin to take part in the National Conference of 1990.
He built up his party largely around other exiled Beninese.
In 1996, PRD joined the government, and Houngbédji was appointed prime minister.
In the presidential election of 5 March 2006, Houngbédji, the PRD candidate, won 24.2% of the votes in the first round.
This article about a political party in Benin is a stub.