Madagascar names anticorruption chief as PM days after cabinet dissolved

President announces Mamitiana Rajaonarison as prime minister after Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo was dismissed.Published On 16 Mar 2026Madagascar’s President Michael Randrianirina, who seized power in October, has appointed the country’s anticorruption chief as prime minister, barely a week after dissolving the cabinet.The presidency said on Sunday that Mamitiana Rajaonarison, a former senior gendarmerie officer and career civil administrator, would head the new government.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Madagascar’s Randrianirina promises ‘profound change’list 2 of 3Madagascar’s new prime minister named after military couplist 3 of 3Madagascar cyclone death toll hits 40, 16,000 displaced; Mozambique bracesend of listColonel Randrianirina, who promised a string of reforms after he took power last year, said Rajaonarison would lead the government “on a clean path” and ‌restore hope. “The Malagasy nation needs bold decisions. We are now at a turning point,” Randrianirina said at a ceremony in the presidential palace broadcast on state television.“This country needs a person of integrity, a person of principle, incorruptible and who cannot be bought with money.”Randrianirina said “integrity” is what he expects from Rajaonarison in the post of prime minister.The appointment came after Randrianirina dismissed Prime Minister Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo and all other cabinet ministers last Monday, offering no explanation for the move.Rajaonarivelo, drawn from the private sector, had been appointed in October shortly after Randrianirina seized power during protests that forced former President Andry Rajoelina to flee.The new prime minister, Rajaonarison, has led the Financial Intelligence Unit (SAMIFIN), which combats illicit financial flows, money laundering and terrorism financing, since 2021.He is expected to announce his new cabinet shortly.In September, demonstrations against water and power shortages on the Indian Ocean island snowballed into a protest movement that the government failed to stop with a crackdown that resulted in several casualties.