Philibert Tsiranana: 100 years old today

Philibert Tsiranana, the first President of the Malagasy Republic would have been 100 years old today if he was still alive. Actually, he was born on October 18, 1910 in Ambarikorano, in the District of Mandritsara. For years, the real date of birth of the President Philibert Tsiranana remained unclear and became the subject of debates among some people, that is, because he was born in a period during which the Registry Office was not yet settled in rural areas. According to some sources, the President was born in 1912 or even in 1914. In spite of that, though, the President Philibert Tsiranana, during his lifetime, claimed that his birth date was the October 18, 1910. For this year, a celebration comity of the centenary of the President’s birth is organizing a series of festivities in order to commemorate the date and to pay tribute to this great father of the independence of the Great Island.