{"id":"thomas-boni-yayi","type":"person","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/thomas-boni-yayi","language":"en","name":"Thomas Boni Yayi","name_en":"Thomas Boni Yayi","name_ne":null,"description":"Beninese politician and Former President of Benin","headline":"Beninese politician and Former President of Benin","also_known_as":[],"summary":"Thomas Boni Yayi is a Beninese banker and politician who was the president of Benin from 2006 to 2016. He took office after winning the March 2006 presidential election and was re-elected to a second term in March 2011. He also served as the chairperson of the African Union from 29 January 2012 to 27 January 2013 and currently serves as a senator since 30 July 2026.","summary_more":[],"facts":[{"key":"born","label":"Born","values":[{"text":"1 July 1952","date":"1952-07-01"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29196#P569"}},{"key":"birthplace","label":"Place of birth","values":[{"text":"Tchaourou","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1364580"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29196#P19"}},{"key":"citizenship","label":"Citizenship","values":[{"text":"Benin","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q962"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29196#P27"}},{"key":"occupation","label":"Occupation","values":[{"text":"politician","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q82955"},{"text":"economist","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q188094"},{"text":"banker","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q806798"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29196#P106"}},{"key":"party","label":"Political party","values":[{"text":"independent politician","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q327591"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29196#P102"}},{"key":"education","label":"Education","values":[{"text":"University of Abomey-Calavi","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6979225"},{"text":"Paris Dauphine University","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1546437"},{"text":"University of Orléans","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q13334"},{"text":"Université Cheikh Anta Diop","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q671363"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29196#P69"}},{"key":"spouse","label":"Spouse","values":[{"text":"Chantal Yayi","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106764651"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29196#P26"}},{"key":"website","label":"Official website","values":[{"text":"ortb.bj","url":"http://www.ortb.bj/"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29196#P856"}},{"key":"positions","label":"Positions held","values":[{"text":"Chairperson of the African Union (29 January 2012 – 27 January 2013)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q946339","start":"2012-01-29","end":"2013-01-27"},{"text":"President of the Republic of Benin (6 April 2006 – 6 April 2016)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2407810","start":"2006-04-06","end":"2016-04-06"},{"text":"President of West African Development Bank (1994–2006)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116780419","start":"1994","end":"2006"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29196#P39"}},{"key":"awards","label":"Awards","values":[{"text":"Commander of the National Order of Benin","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q59647775"},{"text":"Grand Cross of the National Order of Benin","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q94440635"},{"text":"National Order of Burkina Faso","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3885157"},{"text":"National Order of Chad","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16944807"},{"text":"Commander of the National Order of Mali","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3368887"},{"text":"National Order of Niger","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q112257"},{"text":"Grand Cross of the National Order of the Ivory Coast","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q61950504"},{"text":"Commander of the National Order of the Lion","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19541851"},{"text":"Algerian National Order of Merit, Atheer rank","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q109954031"},{"text":"Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Rose of Finland","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23769799","date":"2010-09-03"},{"text":"Knight of the National Order of Merit","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q13422138"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29196#P166"}}],"office":null,"sections":[],"cited":[],"cited_from":null,"videos":[],"last_reviewed":null,"organizations":[],"same_as":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Boni_Yayi","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29196","http://www.ortb.bj/"],"faq":[{"q":"When was Thomas Boni Yayi born?","a":"Thomas Boni Yayi was born on 1 July 1952 in Tchaourou."},{"q":"What positions has Thomas Boni Yayi held?","a":"Positions held by Thomas Boni Yayi include: Chairperson of the African Union (2012–2013); President of the Republic of Benin (2006–2016); President of West African Development Bank (1994–2006)."},{"q":"Where did Thomas Boni Yayi study?","a":"Thomas Boni Yayi was educated at University of Abomey-Calavi, Paris Dauphine University, University of Orléans, Université Cheikh Anta Diop."}],"related":[{"name":"Abdel Fattah el-Sisi","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/abdel-fattah-el-sisi"},{"name":"Paul Kagame","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/paul-kagame"},{"name":"Jakaya Kikwete","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/jakaya-kikwete"},{"name":"John Kufuor","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/john-kufuor"},{"name":"Macky Sall","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/macky-sall"},{"name":"Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/teodoro-obiang-nguema-mbasogo"},{"name":"Mathieu Kérékou","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/mathieu-kerekou"},{"name":"Nicéphore Soglo","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/nicephore-soglo"},{"name":"Patrice Talon","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/patrice-talon"},{"name":"Romuald Wadagni","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/romuald-wadagni"}],"places_in":[],"nearby":[],"image":{"url":"https://diginpl.com/kb-img/thomas-boni-yayi-8e5b6abaf3.jpg","width":500,"height":592,"license":"CC BY 3.0 br","credit":"Wilson Dias/ABr","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yayi_Boni.jpg"},"sources":[{"label":"Wikipedia (English): Thomas Boni Yayi","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Boni_Yayi","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"},{"label":"Wikidata item Q29196","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29196","license":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"},{"label":"Image: Yayi Boni.jpg by Wilson Dias/ABr (CC BY 3.0 br)","url":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yayi_Boni.jpg","license":null}],"license":{"text":"CC BY-SA 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/","facts":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"},"attribution":"Text from the Wikipedia article Thomas Boni Yayi, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Yayi Boni.jpg — Wilson Dias/ABr, CC BY 3.0 br.","cite":"\"Thomas Boni Yayi\". DigiNepal. Last updated 1 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/thomas-boni-yayi. Retrieved 6 November 2026.","date_modified":"2026-11-01T07:02:55Z","facts_checked":"2026-11-05","alternates":{"html":"https://diginpl.com/people/thomas-boni-yayi","en":"https://diginpl.com/people/thomas-boni-yayi","ne":"https://diginpl.com/people/thomas-boni-yayi?lang=ne"}}