COULIBALY, DANIEL OUEZZIN
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Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly (c. 1909 – September 7, 1958) was a West African teacher and political leader who played a significant role in the late-colonial politics of French West Africa, particularly Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) and Côte d’Ivoire. He was a founding activist of the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (RDA) and part of the early generation of African elites advocating for political reform and greater autonomy within the French colonial system.
Coulibaly was born in Pouy, Upper Volta, into the Bobo community, the son of Sémiolé, a high priestess. He received his early education in Ouagadougou before entering the prestigious École Normale William-Ponty in 1925, the main training institution for teachers and administrators in French West Africa. He graduated in 1928 and taught in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso (1928–1932). In 1932, he became a school principal in Banfora, and in December 1935, he was assigned to William Ponty in a senior supervisory and instructional role.
By 1942, he was teaching psychology and pedagogy, and in 1943, he earned the Higher Diploma of Professional Aptitude (DSAP). He joined the senior teaching staff in January 1944 and served as a school district director in 1945–1946. His educational career positioned him among the influential African intellectuals who later transitioned into politics.
Although encouraged to stand in the 1945 Constituent Assembly elections, Coulibaly withdrew his candidacy in favour of Félix Houphouët-Boigny. On November 10, 1946, he was elected deputy for Côte d’Ivoire to the French Constituent Assembly and participated in the founding of the RDA.
He later served as a senator from 1953 to 1956, and in 1956 was re-elected deputy to the French National Assembly. In 1957, he was elected territorial councillor for the Banfora district. He became Vice-President of the Governing Council of Upper Volta, making him one of the leading political figures in the territory during the final years of French colonial rule.
Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly died on September 7, 1958, in Paris, shortly before most West African colonies gained independence, with the exception of Ghana, which became independent in 1957. He is remembered as an early architect of organised political activism in French West Africa and as a bridge between the educational elite and the emerging independence-era political leadership.
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