Rosine Soglo

Early life Soglo, whose real name was Rose-Marie Honorine Vieyra, in Ouidah, French Dahomey, into a wealthy family from the city's Afro-Brazilian community. In 1946, she moved to France to attend secondary school at Lycée de Jeunes Filles de Caen. Vieyra Soglo was multilingual and spoke fluent English, Fon, French, and Mina (also known as the Gen language).

Career While Nicéphore Soglo studied at the École nationale d'administration (ENA), Rosine Vieyra Soglo chose to pursue her own studies in law in France. Rosine Vieyra Soglo founded the Benin Rebirth Party to garner political support for her husband, who lacked widespread support from the country's political class.

Leading up to the April 2011 parliamentary election, Soglo was the head of the ADD. However, during the 2011 elections, she joined the Union Makes the Nation coalition and promised to improve the quality of Benin's government and habitability.

In the April 2015 parliamentary election, Soglo was re-elected to the National Assembly as a Benin Renaissance candidate in the 16th constituency. Beginning on 19 May 2015, Soglo began presiding over debates as the Dean of the National Assembly, a role given to the oldest member of the legislature.

In her final address to the National Assembly on 18 February 2019, Rosine Soglo announced her resignation and retirement from office due to the loss of her eyesight, joking that "The old woman goes away and tells you bye bye" in her speech.

Outside of politics, Rosine Vieyra Soglo established the Vidolé Association (l’association Vidolé), which provides support to women and families who have twins, triplets, and quadruplets.

She was survived by her husband, former President Nicéphore Soglo, who was abroad in Paris for medical treatment at the time of her death, and their two sons.

Tributes poured in from figures across Beninese politics, including President Patrice Talon, a frequent political nemesis, who called her "a brave and exceptional woman" in a Facebook post. Others paying tribute to Soglo included former President Thomas Boni Yayi and the President of the Beninese Parliament, Louis Vlavonou, who called her, "a woman of exception and conviction whose participation in six successive legislatures inevitably leaves an indelible imprint on the parliamentary institution and the country as a whole." Opposition leader Paul Hounkpè also stated, "the death of Rosine Soglo, an emblematic figure in Benin's politics since the historic national conference of February 1990, is a great loss for our country and our democracy...She is an intrepid fighter for peace, freedom and democracy in Benin."