Born to Hutu and Tutsi parents in Ruanda-Urundi, Rwagasana worked for the colonial administration and advised King Mutara III Rudahigwa of Ruanda before cofounding UNAR, a Tutsi-dominated monarchist political party.
Michel Rwagasana was born in 1927 in Ruhango District, Gitarama Province, Ruanda-Urundi[1] to a Hutu father and Tutsi mother.
[6] He cofounded the Union Nationale Rwandaise (UNAR),[3] a monarchist, Tutsi-dominated political party,[7] and became its first secretary general in September 1959.
Faced with this exclusionary trend in national politics,[10] Rwagasana and other UNAR leaders went into self-imposed exile in British Tanganyika in 1960.
[3] In January 1961 thousands of Rwandan municipal officials gathered in Gitarama and, acting as a constituent assembly, voted to dissolve the monarchy and replace it with a presidential system.
[12] In February 1962 the United Nations brokered a compromise, the New York Accord,[13] in attempt to ensure Rwandan politics remained inclusive.
[16] The Rwandan regime subsequently moved to purge moderate Hutu politicians and UNAR members, including Rwagasana.
[3] In February 2002 Ibuka, a genocide remembrance organization, published a list of suggested Rwandan "national heroes", including Rwagasana.