[4] Born in Antananarivo, Rakotomavo was Minister of Economy and Finance from 1982 to 1989,[5] and Special Adviser to President Didier Ratsiraka from 1989 to 1993.
[1] His appointment as Prime Minister in February 1997, following Ratsiraka's return to the presidency, was considered surprising.
[8] On 28 February 2002, Ratsiraka appointed General Léon-Claude Raveloarison as military governor of Antananarivo Province under martial law.
Rakotomavo was the only one of the six provincial governors to not sign a declaration that Toamasina, Ratsiraka's stronghold during the 2002 political crisis, was the nation's provisional capital.
[9] After Ravalomanana prevailed in the dispute, Rakotomavo, unlike the governors of the other provinces, was not prosecuted.