12 little-known facts about Sylvie Kinigi, the first female President in Africa

Ms Sylvie Kinigi. She served as the Prime Minister and as the acting President of Burudi between 1993 and 1994 (Photo: Courtesy)

Sylvie Kinigi became the acting President of Burundi on October 27, 1993 following the assassination of President Mechior Ndabaye in an attempted coup.

Kinigi took over the reins after the ouster Francois Ngeze who had taken over power after the coup. She became the first woman head of State in Africa and she also served as the first woman prime minister of Africa.

A young Ms Kinigi during her days in active politics (Photo: Courtesy)

Here are some the little-known facts about the first female president in Africa:

Sylvie Kiningi is a Burundi politician born in November 24, 1953 She was the first female president in Africa when she formed a caretaker government in Burundi after a military coup killed the president She also served as prime minister of Burundi from February 1993 to October 1994, the first and only woman to hold the position in the country Kinigi (Burundi) and Agathe Uwilingiyimana, the then prime minister of neighbouring Rwanda, served simultaneously as the first female prime ministers of Africa She was the acting president of the country from October 1993 to February 1994 following the assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye in an attempted coup that sparked civil war She was sworn in as president on October 27, 1993 after Francois Ngeze, who had taken over power after the coup, was ousted She was replaced by Cyprien Ntaryamira as president in February 1994 but Ntaryamira would die barely two months later in a plane crash She resigned from her position as Prime Minister in the wake of the instability in the country during the Burundi Civil war that emanated from the assassination of President Ndadaye. She was replaced by Anatole Kanyenkiko’ She is an Economics graduate from the Burundi University She worked as an adviser to the prime minister from 1991. Before, she worked at the Burundi Central Bank After her brief stint as president, Kinigi has worked with the United Nations Development Programme She left Burundi and has been part of a number of peace and democracy drives across the continent