Ivorian Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko, 56 have died at a hospital in Germany after battling with a health condition; government officials have confirmed.
The 56-year-old had seen his health deteriorate sharply in recent days which saw him being flown to France on February 18 for medical checks and later to Freiburg in Germany.
“Our country is in mourning – “He was a great statesman, a model for our youth, a personality of great generosity and exemplary loyalty,” President Alassane Ouattara said on Twitter.
Hamad Bakayoko was appointed as prime minister in July 2020 following the sudden death of his predecessor Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who had been handpicked by Ouattara to succeed him.
A former media executive who turned to politics, Bakayoko acted as a negotiator and intermediary between warring factions as a prolonged civil conflict racked Ivory Coast from the early 2000s.
