Albert Zafy (born 1 May 1927) is a Malagasy politician. He was the President of Madagascar from 27 March 1993 to 5 September 1996.

Zafy was born in Ambilobe, Diana Region. He studied at the University of Montpellier in France. After his return to Madagascar he became Minister of Public Health and Social Affairs under Gabriel Ramanantsoa. After Didier Ratsiraka took power in 1975, Zafy resigned from the government and joined the University of Madagascar.

In 1988 he founded the National Union for Democracy and Development (UNDD). At a national conference of the opposition in 1990, Zafy was elected as President of the Committee of Active Forces (CFV), a cooperation group of several opposition parties, including Zafy's UNDD. On July 16, 1991, the CFV declared the creation of an alternative government, with Zafy as its Prime Minister. Zafy was detained for a week in late July 1991 and was met with a crowd of about 100,000 supporters upon his release. He was subsequently wounded during a protest. The opposition was ultimately successful in forcing Ratsiraka to agree to the Panorama Convention, which established a transitional government and stripped Ratsiraka of most of his powers, on October 31, 1991. Zafy became head of the High Authority of the State, which, along with the Social and Economic Recovery Council, replaced the Supreme Revolutionary Council and the National Assembly during the 1991–1993 transitional period.

Marc Ravalomanana (Malagasy [raˌvaluˈmananə̥]) (born 12 December 1949) is a Malagasy politician who was the President of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009. A member of the Merina ethnic group, Ravalomanana served as Mayor of Antananarivo from 1999 to 2002. He took office as President amidst a dispute over the results of the December 2001 presidential election in which he successfully pressed his claim to have won a majority in the first round. He was re-elected in December 2006, again with a majority in the first round.

In the municipal elections held on 14 November 1999, Ravalomanana was elected mayor of Antananarivo, receiving 45% of the votes and defeating former Prime Minister Guy Willy Razanamasy.

He announced on 5 August 2001 that he would run for President in the election to be held later that year on 16 December. Two months later, polls showed him ahead of the incumbent president, Didier Ratsiraka. Following the election, official results put Ravalomanana in first place, with 46%, against Ratsiraka's 40%; without a majority, a run-off would be required between the two. Ravalomanana, however, claimed to have won a majority in the first round, and he refused to participate in a run-off, instead demanding that the High Constitutional Court review the votes. Ratsiraka's supporters then blockaded the capital, which Ravalomanana's supporters controlled. Ravalomanana declared himself president on 22 February 2002. After a recount, on 29 April 2002 the High Constitutional Court pronounced Ravalomanana the winner of the election, and he was sworn in for a second time on 6 May. The Presidency remained disputed, however, until fighting forced Ratsiraka to flee into exile on 5 July 2002, after he had lost control of most of the country's provinces.

Andry Nirina Rajoelina (Malagasy: [ˈjaɳɖʐʲ nʲˈrinə̥ radzoˈelə̥]), born 30 May 1974, is the former mayor of Antananarivo who became Head of state of Madagascar on 21 March 2009 after the 2009 Malagasy political crisis.

Rajoelina is the youngest head of government in Africa and the third youngest in the world, surpassed by Prime Minister of Montenegro Igor Lukšić, who is two years his junior, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, ten years his junior.

The son of a colonel^{[citation needed]}, he soon gained prominence after establishing his own radio station, Viva Radio, and a successful advertising company. He earned the nickname TGV after the French high-speed train, which he later continued to use as the name of his political movement.

As the head of the TGV association, Tanora malaGasy Vonona (Young Malagasies Determined), Rajoelina decided to run for mayor of Antananarivo, the national capital. He faced Hery Rafalimanana, presidential candidate and previous mayor of the city. ^{[citation needed]}.