Yamoussoukro << yah moo SOO kroh >> (pop. 299,243) is the official capital of Côte d’Ivoire. The city stands in the south-central part of the country, also known as Ivory Coast.
Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who in 1960 became the first president of Côte d’Ivoire, was born in Yamoussoukro about 1905. At that time, Yamoussoukro was just a village. As president, Houphouët-Boigny decided to make Yamoussoukro the nation’s capital. Throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, it received the largest share of urban development funds outside of Abidjan, which was the capital at that time. The National Assembly officially designated Yamoussoukro as the nation’s capital in 1983. Today, the city has wide boulevards; modern hotels, offices, and apartment buildings; and a lavish presidential palace. The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, a Roman Catholic church, is the largest Christian church in Africa and one of the largest in the world.
Despite Houphouët-Boigny’s wishes, most government business continued to take place in Abidjan, the former capital, instead of Yamoussoukro. Houphouët-Boigny died in 1993 and was buried in Yamoussoukro.
See also Côte d’Ivoire; Houphouët-Boigny, Félix.
