Pierrot Rajaonarivelo

Pierrot Rajaonarivelo
Malagasy Ambassador to the United States
In office December 20, 1989 – 1997
Prime Minister	Victor Ramahatra
Preceded by	Leon Rajaobelina
Succeeded by	Zina Andrianarivelo-Razafy
Personal details
Born	1946 (age 70–71) Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar
Political party	AREMA

Pierrot Jocelyn Rajaonarivelo (born 1946) is a Malagasy politician who served in the government of Madagascar as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2013. He previously served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1997 to 2002, under President Didier Ratsiraka, and he was also National Secretary of the AREMA party at that time. He went into exile when Ratsiraka was ousted in 2002, and he was subsequently convicted of abuse of office in absentia. He was seen by many as the main potential challenger to President Marc Ravalomanana in the December 2006 presidential election; however, he was barred from standing.

Rajaonarivelo was born on the island of Sainte-Marie, Analanjirofo Region. He served as Madagascar's Ambassador to the United States from December 20, 1989 to 1997. Following the election of Ratsiraka as President, he became Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the Budget and Decentralization in the government named on February 27, 1997. He was also elected as National Secretary of AREMA on November 29, 1997 at a national congress of the party.

Following the December 2001 presidential election, a dispute arose between Ratsiraka and Ravalomanana regarding the results; after months of struggle, this dispute led to defeat for Ratsiraka and his supporters. A few days before Ratsiraka fled Madagascar in early July 2002, with the situation having turned clearly in Ravalomanana's favor, Rajaonarivelo announced his willingness to work with Ravalomanana. Like Ratsiraka, however, Rajaonarivelo went into exile in France when Ravalomanana prevailed.

In a meeting with representatives of the African Union on October 29, 2002, Ravalomanana said that he was prepared to form a national unity government that would include members of AREMA, and he said that consultations with Rajaonarivelo regarding AREMA's participation would follow. AU representatives subsequently met with Rajaonarivelo in Pretoria on November 22, 2002; at that meeting, Rajaonarivelo stated again that AREMA recognized Ravalomanana's election as President, and he said that AREMA was prepared to work with Ravalomanana for the sake of national reconciliation and stability. He also said that AREMA was willing to participate in a planned parliamentary election, as long as the election was free, fair, and transparent, although he proposed that the election be delayed to ensure that it would occur under the proper conditions. He complained that members of AREMA were being harassed, intimidated, and arrested. Although the AU agreed with Rajaonarivelo's position on a delay, the election was nevertheless held as planned in December 2002.

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