The Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire, Hamed Bakayoko, died Wednesday at the age of 56 in a hospital in Germany
"as a result of cancer"
, announced the President of the Republic Alassane Ouattara in a statement.
"I pay tribute to Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko, my son and close collaborator, too soon torn from our affection"
, declared President Ouattara in this press release read on public television RTI.
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“It's sad, we have just learned of the death of 'Hambak',” the
nickname given to Hamed Bakayoko, a member of the late Prime Minister's entourage had previously told AFP.
Hamed Bakayoko, who was also Minister of Defense, had been evacuated to France by special plane for
"health reasons"
, before being transferred to a hospital in Germany last weekend.
On Monday, the secretary general of the Ivorian presidency, Patrick Achi, was appointed by decree interim prime minister to replace him.
Téné Birahima Ouattara, Minister of Presidential Affairs and younger brother of President Alassane Ouattara, has meanwhile been appointed interim Minister of Defense.
Hamed Bakayoko, who turned 56 on Monday, succeeded in July 2020 as Prime Minister to Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who died a few days after his return from hospitalization and a two-month convalescence in France for heart problems.