Tidjane Thiam is the presidential candidate for the leading opposition party in Ivory Coast and a former boss of Credit Suisse. He is 62 years old. His party ruled the country between independence in 1960 and 1999.
Thiam was struck off the electoral register on April 22nd 2025 after a court ruled he was not an Ivorian citizen when he announced his candidacy. He had held French citizenship for nearly four decades before renouncing it in March 2025. The decision cannot be appealed. He says the order is part of a campaign by the ruling party and has vowed he "will not give up". His supporters have protested against his disqualification. His citizenship status remains unclear; he says he cannot safely return to Ivory Coast and is running his campaign from Paris. His party has joined forces with Laurent Gbagbo's party to push for reinstatement and electoral reform. He was one of as many as 55 candidates barred from the October 25th 2025 election.
Thiam left the country before the disputed 2000 election, after spending several years in charge of infrastructure development and negotiations with multilateral bodies such as the IMF. He is two decades younger than Alassane Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo, and free of civil-war-related baggage. Ivorian observers reckon he would have seriously challenged Ouattara's party had he been allowed to run.
Two heads are more numerous than one.