Jean-Jacques Ekindi

Jean-Jacques Ekindi (born January 1945) is a Cameroonian politician. He has been the National President of the Progressive Movement (Mouvement Progressiste, MP), an opposition political party, since its foundation in 1991, and he was a Deputy in the National Assembly of Cameroon from 2007 to 2013.

Ekindi was born in Douala. Early in his political career, he was a member of the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC). He was politically active while studying in France, and he was arrested for political reasons in 1970 when he returned to Cameroon for a visit. After nearly two years in prison, he was released and resumed his studies in France. When the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) was created as the governing party in 1985, replacing the Cameroon National Union (CNU), Ekindi joined the party, encouraged by President Paul Biya's promises of reform.

Ekindi was elected as the President of the Wouri Section of the CPDM in 1986. His election was considered part of an effort by President Biya to reconcile factions in the party by allowing politicians such as Ekindi, who had been considered disloyal in the past, to take prominent leadership roles as Section Presidents. In 1990, at the beginning of the period of multiparty political reform, he was considered to be among the leading progressive figures within the CPDM. In early 1991, Ekindi was re-elected as President of the Wouri Section, defeating Albert Dzongang. However, he left the CPDM in May 1991. Ekindi was considered the most important CPDM member to defect to the opposition at that time.

In opposition, Ekindi founded a new party, the MP; he has been the MP's National President since it was founded on 23 August 1991. He participated in a rally held by the National Coordination of Opposition Parties and Associations (NCOPA) in Douala on 23–24 September 1991, and on that occasion he was arrested and treated so badly that he required hospitalization. 30 to 60 people were arrested when they protested in Douala against Ekindi's arrest. Ekindi was in custody for less than 24 hours and was released without charge at the request of foreign consuls.

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