Anosy is a region of Madagascar located along the south-eastern coast of the country, with the name "Anosy" meaning island(s) in Malagasy.
Due initially to its strategic importance, Anosy has been a crossroads for the Malagasy and the rest of the world over the last 500 years. In the 1500s it served as a stopping point for European ships traveling to and from India, and in the mid-1600s it was the location of an early French colonial port in the Indian Ocean. The region was part of the Merina Kingdom for much of the 1800s and part of the French colony of Madagascar from the late-1800s to 1960. Its exports have included human slaves (shipped to Réunion, Mauritius and the US in the 1700s), live cattle (exported to Réunion for almost 300 years), natural rubber, graphite, uranothorite, lobster, sapphires, and, in the last five years, ilmenite. Due to its biodiversity and natural beauty, efforts commenced in the 1980s to promote environmental conservation and tourism in the region.
Anosy is a region in southeastern Madagascar. It borders Androy region in west, Atsimo-Andrefana in north-west, Ihorombe in north and Atsimo-Atsinanana in north-east. This region, covering 25,731 km2 (9,935 sq mi), about the size of the US State of Vermont, the island of Cyprus or the nation of Israel, runs from approximately Manantenina in the northeast corner of the region, west to Ranomafana, west to the Mandrare river. The distance from Manantenina at the northern edge of Anosy to the Mandrare river at the south is almost 150 km. "Anosy" means island or islands in Malagasy. Some[who?] argue anosy is named after the island in the Fanjahira (now named Efaho) river where the Zafiraminia first settled when they arrived in this region in the 16th century, while others[who?] argue it means "land of the islands" because of the large amount of water in this region. During the rainy season, the Efaho valley floods, creating many temporary islands.
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].