Background:
Close ties to France since independence in 1960, the development of
cocoa production for export, and foreign investment made Cote
d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the tropical African states,
but did not protect it from political turmoil. On 25 December 1999,
a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history -
overthrew the government led by President Henri Konan BEDIE. Junta
leader Robert GUEI held elections in late 2000, but excluded
prominent opposition leader Alassane OUATTARA, blatantly rigged the
polling results, and declared himself winner. Popular protest forced
GUEI to step aside and brought runner-up Laurent GBAGBO into power.
GBAGBO spent his first two years in office trying to consolidate
power to strengthen his weak mandate, but he was unable to appease
his opponents, who launched a failed coup attempt in September 2002.
Rebel forces claimed the northern half of the country and in January
2003 were granted ministerial positions in a unity government.
However, the central government has yet to exert control over the
northern regions and tension remains high between GBAGBO and rebel
leaders. Several thousand French and West African troops remain in
Cote d'Ivoire to maintain peace and help implement the peace accords.