Seychelles president steps down after 27 years

France Albert René, one of the world’s longest-serving leaders, stepped down today after nearly three decades as president of the Seychelles.

The 68-year-old, who seized power in a 1977 coup, handed over his post to Vice President James Michel at a ceremony at State House.

Michel, 59, is a long-time ally of René and has been a leading member of his ruling Seychelles People’s Progressive Front since the 1970s.

René’s leadership has been marked by his socialist economic policies. The archipelago was once seen as the Cuba of the Indian Ocean after René’s socialist-inspired coup a year after independence from Britain.

State control of the economy had been the norm, but the government introduced some reforms in the 1990s after a slump in economic growth.

After seizing power, René turned the Seychelles into a single-party state, but in 1992 he agreed to restore multiparty politics.

The archipelago of 90,000 people lies off the eastern African coast, north of Madagascar and has some 115 islands which are best known for their beauty, beaches and snorkelling.

It is almost completely dependent on imports for survival, while the main income earners are tourism and fishing.