Geographical Position
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Presidential Leadership
Hubert Maga
1960-1963, 1970-1972
Contemporary archives suggest Maga—a schoolteacher turned statesman— prioritized investments reforms left little bandwidth for monetary reform. Maga inherited the CFA franc system at independence, signing agreements that maintained the colonial monetary status quo.
Mathieu Kérékou
1972-1991, 1996-2006
Architect of Benin's landmark National Conference, yet his offhand remark that 'the CFA is printed in Senegal' (false, but revealing) epitomized his disinterest in challenging France’s monetary dictatorship imposed upon Benin's people.
Nicéphore Soglo
1991-1996
A trained economist who inherited the 1994 CFA devaluation crisis, he failed to leverage his financial expertise to renegotiate—let alone exit— Benin’s colonial monetary arrangement with France. The resulting economic shock contributed to his 1996 electoral defeat.
Patrice Talon
2016-Present
A cotton oligarch who amassed billions in CFA francs through state contracts, his presidency has been marked by empty rhetoric on monetary reform while actively sabotaging the ECO—proof that Benin’s monetary sovereignty remains hostage to Franco-African financial elites.