Opposition leader Andry Rajoelina has taken the presidency of Madagascar after President Marc Ravalomanana stepped down following a power struggle.
Here are key facts about him:
* Rajoelina presents himself as the champion of a new generation of reformists. However, at just 34 and having effectively strong-armed Ravalomanana out of power, critics say his behaviour resembles one of Africa's old "Big Men".
* A former disc jockey and nicknamed "TGV" after the fast French train for his rapid-fire rhetoric and charismatic personality, Rajoelina has led demonstrations against the president since the turn of the year. The protests, triggered by the closure of his Viva TV station at the end of 2008 for airing an interview with former president Didier Ratsiraka, quickly became a mass movement bent on toppling Ravalomanana.
* Viewed as something of a maverick given to sweeping statements and grand claims, Rajoelina won municipal elections in 2007 as an independent, running against Ravalomanana's party. As mayor, he became one of the most ardent critics of the government, labelling it a dictatorship, but was fired on Feb. 3 of this year by Ravalomanana at the height of the protests.
* Army backing was the clinching factor in bringing Rajoelina to power this week. Analysts say, however, that he has close links with the exiled Ratsiraka's camp and may also have enjoyed the tacit support of the French government.
* Rajoelina says his first and biggest challenge is to improve standards of living for the Malagasy, many of whom live on less than $2 a day. On the international stage, he will have to convince doubters of his legitimacy given his unconstitutional rise to power several years before the next presidential election was due.
* Rajoelina will also have to control some dissent in the military, where diplomats say some officers opposed his rise but were quashed by more powerful voices.
* He is expected to continue his predecessor's free market economic policies, welcoming foreign investors in the key mining and oil exploration sectors, while also trying to cut down on waste and put more emphasis on social policies.
* Rajoelina has displayed supreme confidence throughout the months-long crisis, only disappearing into hiding once when Ravalomanana's security forces came to arrest him. At rallies, he exuded certainty that he was on the verge of power. During Tuesday's extraordinary turn of events, he actually walked into Ravalomanana's office and announced his plans as president before the military formally conferred power on him.
SOURCE: REUTERS
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