This period was characterized by continued economic and cultural dependence upon France, provoking resentment and sparking popular movements among farmers and students that ultimately ushered in the socialist Second Republic under Admiral Didier Ratsiraka ( 1975 – 1992 ) distinguished by economic isolationism and political alliances with pro-Soviet states.

Sporadic violence and considerable economic disruption continued until July 2002 when Ratsiraka and several of his prominent supporters fled to exile in France.

Opposition candidate Marc Ravalomanana prevailed in an extended dispute with Ratsiraka over the election results, and Ratsiraka fled into exile.

He was an opponent of President Didier Ratsiraka and was one of the lawyers advising Marc Ravalomanana when he was elected Mayor of Antananarivo in 1999.

On 15 June 1975 Lieutenant-Commander Didier Ratsiraka ( who had previously served as foreign minister ) came to power in a coup.

Presidential elections were held on November 25, 1992, after the High Constitutional Court had ruled, over Hery Velona objections, that Ratsiraka could become a candidate.

Some members of the DPS were present in covert operations in Zaire ( 1997 and 2001 ), Madagascar ( in 2002, Didier Ratsiraka called for some mercenaries to resolve the political crisis ), Côte d ' Ivoire ( 2001 – 2003 ) According to the Voltaire network, the DPS had been created with the help of Jacques Foccart and François de Grossouvre ( leader of the French branch of Gladio, NATO's secret armies ) after the dissolving of the Service d ' Action Civique ( SAC ) &.

Critics say that the hidden motivation was to make sure that Ratsiraka had a solid support from most of the provinces ; his party AREMA won the provincial elections 2000 in all provinces except Antananarivo.

Zafy received some support in the second round from those who, despite their criticisms of Zafy, felt he was preferable to Ratsiraka, such as Interim President Norbert Ratsirahonana, who had unsuccessfully stood as a candidate in the first round.

He later alleged that the High Constitutional Court had switched the numbers for himself and Ratsiraka and said that he had not spoken of that at the time for the sake of peace.

Ratsiraka said that he had not ordered the Presidential Guard to open fire, but Ratsiraka's orders have been recorded and in these records, he orders the helicopter to shoot the car of the HAS president and open fire on the strikers but the incident severely undermined his already precarious position.

Zafy was impeached in 1996, and Ratsiraka, who had been in exile in France, achieved a political comeback in late 1996 when he won that year's presidential election, running as the candidate of the AREMA party.

By 2001, however, Ratsiraka had become widely unpopular again.

By the end of February 2002, Ravalomanana had control over the capital, which had always been his base, but Ratsiraka largely maintained control over the provinces and established himself at Toamasina, his primary support base.

In mid-June Ratsiraka went to France, leading many to believe he had fled into exile and lowering the morale of his supporters, although Ratsiraka said he would return.

On August 4, 2009, Ratsiraka met with President of the High Authority of Transition of Madagascar Andry Rajoelina, as well as Ravalomanana ( who had himself been ousted and forced into exile ) and Zafy, in crisis talks mediated by former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano and held in Maputo.

After World War II and until Didier Ratsiraka took the presidency in 1975, Fort Dauphin had a thriving community of Malagasy, French, Chinese and Pakistani merchants with adequate roads connecting the city to Tulear to the west and Fianarantsoa to the west and then north.

Ratsiraka was then voted back into power on a platform of decentralization and economic reforms for a second term which lasted from 1996 to 2001.

Ratsiraka went on trial ( in absentia ) for embezzlement ( the authorities charged him with taking $ 8m of public money with him into exile ) and the court sentenced him to ten years ' hard labour.

When President Philibert Tsiranana was forced to step down in 1972, a military directorate ensured an interim government before appointing one of its own, Admiral Didier Ratsiraka, to lead the country into its socialist Second Republic.

With former president Didier Ratsiraka back in power, the constitution was amended in 1998, to include and specifically mention six autonomous provinces, divided into undefined regions and communes.

On August 6, 2003, Ratsiraka — who was accused of stealing nearly eight million dollars in public funds from the annex of the central bank in Toamasina in June 2002, just before going into exile — was sentenced to ten years of hard labor in Madagascar.

Currently, the party is divided into two antagonistic factions: those behind Rajaonarivelo and those who claim to be supported by the party founder, Ratsiraka.

Zafy travelled to Paris in June 2007, where he met with Ratsiraka and members of his former government who were also in exile.

Didier Ratsiraka returned from exile on November 24, 2011, a move that was welcomed by the Rajoelina regime as well as by former presidents ( and former opponents ) Ravalomanana and Zafy.

Elected president for a seven-year term, Ratsiraka moved further towards socialism, nationalising much of the economy and cutting all ties with France.

In the 1980s Madagascar moved back towards France, abandoning many of its communist-inspired policies in favour of a market economy, though Ratsiraka still kept hold of power.

Zafy led an attempt to impeach Ratsiraka in early 1998, accusing him of various charges, including perjury and nepotism ; he also accused Ratsiraka of violating the constitution in his moves toward decentralization and the strengthening of the presidency at the expense of the National Assembly's power.

Members of the opposition, including Zafy, unsuccessfully attempted to impeach Ratsiraka in February 1998, accusing him of violating the constitution through decentralizing reforms that would increase his own power at the expense of that of the National Assembly.

Ratsiraka has called for resolution of the political crisis through direct talks between all four political leaders, talks that should also involve other parties and civil society groups according to him.

** Albert Zafy defeats Didier Ratsiraka in the Madagascar presidential election.

* November 4 – Didier Ratsiraka, former President of Madagascar

After Didier Ratsiraka took power in 1975, Zafy resigned from the government and joined the University of Madagascar.

Vice Admiral Didier Ratsiraka ( born 4 November 1936 ) is a Malagasy politician who was President of Madagascar from 1975 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2002.

He was the Minister of Defense in the government of Madagascar under President Didier Ratsiraka until he resigned on March 8, 2002, and pledged his support to Marc Ravalomanana, the opposition presidential candidate who claimed to have won the December 2001 presidential election.

General Gilles Andriamahazo ruled after Ratsimandrava for four months before being replaced by another military appointee: Vice Admiral Didier Ratsiraka, who ushered in the socialist-Marxist Second Republic that ran under his tenure from 1975 to 1993.

The Ratsiraka administration accepted the conditions of transparency, anti-corruption measures and free market policies imposed by the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and various bilateral donors in exchange for their bailout of the nation's broken economy.

The contested 2001 presidential elections in which then-mayor of Antananarivo, Marc Ravalomanana, eventually emerged victorious, caused a seven-month standoff in 2002 between supporters of Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka.

As Madagascar's economy quickly unraveled, standards of living declined dramatically and growing social unrest was increasingly met with violent repression on the part of the Ratsiraka government.

Under the new constitution, the Malagasy public elected President Albert Zafy, President Didier Ratsiraka, and most recently President Marc Ravalomanana.

The first multi-party elections came in 1993, with Albert Zafy defeating Ratsiraka.

The ensuing elections saw a turnout of less than 50 % and unexpectedly resulted in the re-election of Didier Ratsiraka.

Opposition to Ratsiraka began to grow again.

A provisional military directorate then ruled until a new government was formed in June 1975, under Didier Ratsiraka.

National elections in 1982 and 1989 returned Ratsiraka for a second and third 7-year presidential term.

With an easing of restrictions on political expression, beginning in the late 1980s, the Ratsiraka regime came under increasing pressure to make fundamental changes.

In response to a deteriorating economy, Ratsiraka relaxed socialist economic policies and instituted some liberal, private-sector reforms.

In response to largely peaceful mass demonstrations and crippling general strikes, Ratsiraka replaced his prime minister in August 1991 but suffered an irreparable setback soon thereafter when his troops fired on peaceful demonstrators marching on Iavoloha, the suburban presidential palace, killing more than 30.

In an increasingly weakened position, Ratsiraka acceded to negotiations on the formation of a transitional government.

The resulting " Panorama Convention " of October 31, 1991, stripped Ratsiraka of nearly all of his powers, created interim institutions, and set an 18-month timetable for completing a transition to a new form of constitutional government.