Céline Ratsiraka

Céline Marthe Ratsiraka (née Velonjara; 30 January 1938 – 22 August 2025) was a Malagasy politician, political figure and wife of former President Didier Ratsiraka. She was the longest tenured First Lady of Madagascar in the country's history, having held the position from 1975 to 1993 and from 1997 until 2002. She was an influential figure within the ruling Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar (AREMA) from the 1970s to the 1990s, especially within the party's left-wing.

Biography Ratsiraka was born on 30 January 1938. She was the daughter of Pascal Velonjara, a parliamentarian during the French colonial period and founder of the Parti des déshérités de Madagascar (PADESM).

In April 2013, the Ratsirakas returned to Madagascar after living in exile in France for eleven years so her husband could contest the 2013 presidential election. Didier Ratsiraka was removed from the race by the electoral court in August 2013 for missing the six-month residency deadline.

On 22 March 2021, both Céline Ratsiraka and her husband were admitted to Soavinandriana Military Hospital (CENHOSOA) in Antananarivo, for treatment of a "small flu", according to their relatives. Didier Ratsiraka died at the hospital from cardiac arrest several days later on 28 March 2021, at the age of 84.

Awards