James Michel
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The Honourable James Michel |
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|---|---|
 |
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| 3rd President of Seychelles | |
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In office 16 April 2004 – 16 October 2016 |
|
| Vice President |
Joseph Belmont Danny Faure |
| Preceded by | France-Albert René |
| Succeeded by | Danny Faure |
| Vice President of Seychelles | |
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In office August 1996 – 16 April 2004 |
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| President | France-Albert René |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Belmont |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
16 August 1944 Mahé, Seychelles |
| Political party | People's Party |
| Spouse(s) | Natalie Michel |
James Alix Michel, GCSK (born August 16, 1944) is a Seychellois politician who was President of Seychelles from 2004 to 2016. He previously served as Vice-President under his predecessor, France-Albert René, from 1996 to 2004. He began as a teacher, but became involved in the archipelago's booming tourism industry and joined René's political party before independence in 1976.
Michel followed President René through different political posts during all periods of the Seychelles' history as an independent entity. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Seychelles People's United Party from 1974 to 1977; subsequently, when the party was transformed into the Seychelles People's Progressive Front (SPPF), he became a member of its Central Executive Committee. René staged a coup against the country's first President, James Mancham, only one year after independence, and Michel was appointed as Minister of Public Administration and Information in June 1977. During the 1977–1993 one-party socialist rule, Michel held various ruling party and ministerial portfolios. In 1984 he became the SPPF's Deputy Secretary-General, and in 1994 he became its Secretary-General.
During the rule of President René, Michel was the head of the Seychellois economy on several occasions. In these 27 years, the Seychelles experienced a period of economic growth based on its tourism and fishery sectors, which was followed by stagnation in the 1990s. Starting from 2008, Michel has presided over a macro-economic reform program, leading to a massive reduction in budget deficit and complete liberalization of foreign exchange transactions.
Michel also played a major role in the country's democratisation process, which started with multi-party elections in 1993. However, according to the opposition, Seychelles still suffers from limited freedom and transparency of the press and rigged election, although all elections held since have been certified free and fair by international observers. According to official results, President René and his Seychelles People's Progressive Front party won presidential and legislative elections in 2001 and 2002 respectively, with about 54% of the vote in both cases.
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