Gaston Zossou

Gaston Zossou (born 1 October 1954 in Porto-Novo, Benin) is a former minister in the government of President Mathieu Kérékou, a teacher, author, entrepreneur, and Beninese politician.

Biography

Early life and education Gaston Zossou was born on 1 October 1954 in Porto-Novo.

Career Gaston Zossou began his professional life as an English teacher. He ventured into agricultural entrepreneurship by producing pineapples. He became well known to the Beninese people when he joined the government of General Mathieu Kérékou as the Minister of Communication and Promotion of New Technologies and then served as the Minister of Culture, Communication, and Government Spokesperson between 1999 and 2005. He was appointed Director General of the National Lottery of Benin on 31 May 2016, and took office on Thursday 3 June 2016. In 2000, Gaston Zossou published In the Name of Africa with L’Harmattan, a political essay in which he diagnoses the problems plaguing the African continent and suggests ways to overcome them.

Publications Gaston Zossou is the author of several literary works, including essays and novels:

Essays In the Name of Africa, L’Harmattan, 2000 The Duty to Speak, Tamarin, 2014

Novels at Riveneuve Editions The War of Things in the Shadows Those People Are Wild Beasts, 2008 Pure Metal Crab, 2009 A Bone in the Throat of the Gods, 2012 The Children of Sand, 2015 The Woman with the Portfolio, 2017