ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Former Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam has been relieved of his French citizenship, according to the French government gazette, potentially clearing the way for his bid for the presidency of world-leading cocoa producer Ivory Coast.
Elected leader of the opposition PDCI party in 2023, Thiam is expected to be a leading contender in the October election, though 83-year-old incumbent Alassane Ouattara has yet to saywhether he will run again.
Ivory Coast has emerged from over a decade of civil war in the early 2000s to reclaim its spot as a West African powerhouse with one of the continent's fastest growing economies.
Thiam announced his presidential bid last month. Ivory Coast law, however, states that candidates must be Ivorian citizens and cannot hold another nationality.
A decision published in France's official journal on Thursday stated that Thiam had "been released from his allegiance to France," following his request to surrender his French passport.
Thiam, 62, served as a minister in Ivory Coast until the ouster of former President Henri Konan Bedie in a 1999 military coup.
He then left the country, working for consultancy firm McKinsey and insurers Aviva and Prudential before his 2015 appointment as CEO of Credit Suisse, where he was ousted five years later.
Despite Thursday's announcement regarding his citizenship, challenges to Thiam's political ambitions remain.
A court in the commercial capital Abidjan on Thursday began hearing a case brought by a former PDCI official contesting his party leadership.
Court documents seen by Reuters argued his election as party president was void because he held French nationality at the time. The case was adjourned until April.
The notion of Ivorian identity was at the heart of the civil war, and some fear lingering questions over Thiam's nationality in the run-up to the vote risk pushing those tensions back to the surface.
Thiam did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
PDCI spokesperson Bredoumy Soumaila Kouassi, told Reuters the party's internal rules do not explicitly require Ivorian nationality for leadership positions, and Thiam had never lost his Ivorian citizenship.
Ivorian political analyst Arthur Banga said Thiam may have to wait for the Constitutional Council to validate his candidacy in August before he will know if he will be allowed to run.
Banga said Thiam's acquisition of French nationality may be interpreted as having automatically voided his Ivorian citizenship.
Thiam also faces a challenge within the party after former trade minister Jean-Louis Billon announced in October that he would also seek the party's nomination.
(Reporting by Ange Aboa; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Joe Bavier)
