Thomas Yayi Boni

Thomas Boni Yayi served as the president of Benin from 2006 to 2016. He was the former chief executive of the West African Development Bank and was relatively new to national politics when he won the 2006 presidential election. During his administration, Yayi focused on economic development and combating government corruption. He was reelected in 2011 amidst concerns about voter registration issues. Yayi's second term was marked by alleged plots against him, including an assassination attempt and a foiled coup, with businessman Patrice Talon implicated in some of these events. Yayi's efforts to amend the constitution, which some feared would allow him a third term, were unsuccessful.12