Thomas Bonhomme
Thomas Bonhomme | |
|---|---|
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| President of Mayotte | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2021 | |
| Governor of Mayotte | |
| In office 28 September 2011 – 1 January 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Jean-Elie Gouin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 December 1944 Blythe, Mayotte |
| Political party | Bloc Mayotte (2003–present) |
| Children | 5 children |
Thomas Dechanel Bonhomme (born 10 December 1944) is a Mayottean politician who serves as the inaugural President of Mayotte, and previously had served as Governor of Mayotte when it was a province of Zamastan. He was a central figure in Bloc Mayotte and the independence movement for Mayotte, as well as the Bettencourt Protests. As a result of the independence movement and the Supreme Court's decision in Bettencourt v. Government, Bonhomme triggered a referendum which ultimately gave Mayotte its independence on January 1st, 2021, which coincided with his election as President.
As Governor of Mayotte, Bonhomme signed the "2014 Mayotte Secularism Bill", which banned public workers in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols, gaining national and international criticism. Bonhomme supported the law, saying "We are in a free and democratic society. You speak to me, I should see your face, and you should see mine. It's as simple as that." He also opposed federal mandates for immigration rates and cut the acceptance of Mayotte's refugee program to less than 10,000. Bonhomme is a self-identified nationalist and a controversial figure, having long endorsed separatist extremism, conspiracy theories of the 1972 assassination of Marvin Gaviria, and pro-Drambenburgian sentiment. He has said Mayotteans should "take action into their own hands to reclaim our historic pride," and in 2022 joined President Till Schultze of Chaesia and Chancellor Giorg Auster-Brautstadt of Drambenburg to restore pre-World War territories of Drambenburg.