Andry Nirina Rajoelina (born 30 May 1974) is a politician and businessman who served as the eighth president of Madagascar from 2019 to 2025. He was previously President of the High Transitional Authority 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.
He formed the political party Young Malagasies Determined and was elected Mayor of Antananarivo in 2007. While in this position, he led an opposition movement against then-President Marc Ravalomanana that culminated in a 2009 political crisis. 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. 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. This conflicted with an internationally mediated process to establish a transitional government. Voters approved a new constitution in a controversial national referendum in November 2010, ushering in the Fourth Republic.
He held the Presidency of the HTA until general elections were held in 2013, and stepped down in 2014. He won the 2018 presidential election and was inaugurated President of Madagascar on 19 January 2019. 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. Rajoelina then proceeded to win the 2023 Malagasy presidential election.
In September 2025, widespread protests erupted against frequent water and power cuts, causing the deaths of over 20 people. In response, Rajoelina fired Prime Minister Christian Ntsay on 29 September 2025. He said, without providing evidence, that some politicians were plotting to take advantage of the protests and had considered staging a coup while he was addressing the United Nations. On 12 October, Rajoelina's office said that an attempt to topple his government was underway; a statement said the situation was under control. However, on 13 October, an opposition lawmaker reported that Rajoelina had fled the country. Rajoelina addressed the nation later that day, stating that he fled "in fear for his life" but remained defiant, saying that he "would not allow Madagascar to be destroyed" and refusing to step down. After attempting to dissolve the National Assembly, he was impeached and removed from office as the military announced that they had seized power.
Andry Rajoelina was born on 30 May 1974 to a relatively wealthy family in Antsirabe. His father, now-retired Colonel Roger Yves Rajoelina, held dual Malagasy/French nationality and fought for the French army in the Algerian War. 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.
In 1994, Rajoelina met his future wife Mialy Razakandisa, who was then completing her senior year of high school in Antananarivo. The couple maintained a long-distance relationship for six years while Mialy completed her undergraduate and masters studies in finance and accounting in Paris. They reunited in Madagascar in 2000 and married that same year. They have three children, born in 2001, 2003, and 2005.
In 1993, at the age of 19, Rajoelina established his first enterprise, a small event production company called Show Business. Before launching his events business, Rajoelina worked as a disc jockey in nightclubs in Antananarivo and became known for promoting music events among the city's youth.
In 1999, he launched Injet, a digital printing company that expanded into large-format and billboard advertising in Antananarivo. Following his marriage in 2000, Andry and Mialy Rajoelina took over Domapub, a competing Antananarivo-based billboard advertising business owned by his wife's family. The couple divided responsibilities in the family businesses, with Andry primarily overseeing Injet and Mialy managing Domapub.
In May 2007, Rajoelina purchased the Ravinala television and radio stations and renamed them Viva TV and Viva FM, adding broadcast media to his existing activities in events and outdoor advertising.
Mayor of Antananarivo (2007–2009)
In 2007, Rajoelina created and led the political association Tanora malaGasy Vonona (TGV), translating to "determined Malagasy youth", and shortly afterward announced his candidacy to run for Mayor of Antananarivo. His very young age became a lever to gain a quick popularity throughout the nation reflecting a trend of "jeunification of politics" - the promotion of younger leaders as symbols of political renewal and change. Rajoelina was elected on 12 December 2007 with 63.3% of the vote on a 55% voter turnout, beating TIM party incumbent Hery Rafalimanana.
Opposition movement against Ravalomanana
The first conflicts between Andry Rajoelina and president Marc Ravalomanana date back to 2003, when the national government ordered the removal of Antananarivo's first Trivision advertising panels, which Rajoelina had installed at a major roundabout in the capital.
In November and December 2008, the government became embroiled in two scandals. A July 2008 deal with Daewoo Logistics to lease half the island's arable land for South Korean cultivation of corn and palm oil, and the November 2008 purchase of a second presidential jet, a Boeing 737, at a cost of US$60 million, which led the World Bank and the IMF to suspend $35 million worth of financial support to the Island. Rajoelina used this to garner support against Ravalomanana's government.
At the beginning of Rajoelina's tenure as mayor, the Antananarivo's treasury had a debt of 8.2 billion Malagasy Ariary (approximately US$4.6 million). On 4 January 2008, due to unpaid debts to the Jirama, the city of Antananarivo was hit by a general water cutoff, and brownouts of the city's street lights. After an audit, it was found that the Jirama owed about the same amount of money to the City Hall, and the sanction on the city's population was retrieved.
On 13 December 2008, the national government closed Andry Rajoelina's Viva TV, stating that a Viva interview with exiled former head of state Didier Ratsiraka was "likely to disturb peace and security". Within a week Rajoelina met with 20 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").
Beginning in January 2009, Andry Rajoelina led a series of political rallies in downtown Antananarivo. On 13 January, he launched an ultimatum to the government to restore Viva TV. 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. On 17 January, Andry Rajoelina gathered 30,000 supporters at a public park which he renamed Place de la Démocratie to defy the public executive power of Ravalomanana. At a rally on 31 January 2009, Rajoelina announced that he was in charge of the country's affairs, declaring: "Since the president and the government have not assumed their responsibilities, I therefore proclaim that I will run all national affairs as of today." He added that a request for President Ravalomanana to formally resign would shortly be filed with the Parliament of Madagascar. 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.