Close ties to France since
independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export,
and foreign investment made Cote d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of
the tropical African states, but did not protect it from political
turmoil. In December 1999, a military coup - the first ever in Cote
d'Ivoire's history - overthrew the government. Junta leader Robert Guei
blatantly rigged elections held in late 2000 and declared himself the
winner. Popular protest forced him to step aside and brought runner-up
Laurent Gbagbo into power. Ivorian dissidents and disaffected members
of the military launched a failed coup attempt in September 2002. Rebel
forces claimed the northern half of the country, and in January 2003
were granted ministerial positions in a unity government under the
auspices of the Linas-Marcoussis Peace Accord. President Gbagbo and
rebel forces resumed implementation of the peace accord in December
2003 after a three-month stalemate, but issues that sparked the civil
war, such as land reform and grounds for citizenship, remained
unresolved. In March 2007 President Gbagbo and former New Force rebel
leader Guillaume Soro signed the Ouagadougou Peace accord. As a result
of the agreement, Soro joined Gbagbo's government as Prime
Minister and the two promised to work together to reunite the country
by dismantling the zone of confidence separating North from South,
integrated rebel forces into the national armed forces, and holding
elections.
French is the official language; 60 native dialects are also spoken.