Pierrot Rajaonarivelo

Pierrot Jocelyn Rajaonarivelo (born 17 June 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. however, he was barred from standing. to 1997. He was also elected as National Secretary of AREMA on 29 November 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.

While in exile, Rajaonarivelo was sentenced to five years in prison on 14 March 2003 for abuse of office; he was subsequently convicted on charges of misuse of funds in August 2006 and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor, as well as barred from holding public office. Rajaonarivelo faced arrest upon return to Madagascar; he argued that the charges against him were politically motivated. although his spokesman said he was afraid of being met by a "death squad" upon arrival;

President Ravalomanana was forced out of office by popular protests and military intervention in March 2009; the leader of the protests, Andry Rajoelina, assumed the presidency. When he was sworn in as president on 21 March 2009, Rajoelina said that he would pardon political prisoners and exiles; Rajaonarivelo then returned to Madagascar on 25 April 2009. Prime Minister Monja Roindefo had requested on 23 April that political exiles not return for the time being, but Rajaonarivelo, citing Rajoelina's inauguration statement, returned anyway.