Moïse-Siamé Khumotsilé
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Moïse-Siamé Khumotsilé | |
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| President of Garambura | |
| In office February 16, 1969 – May 15, 1989 (Acting until April 17, 1971) | |
| Prime Minister | Jospin Nkubé (1977–84) Butholeswé Bophela (1984–88) Assavasdou Mombeshura (1988–89) |
| Succeeded by | Jospin Nkubé |
| Premier of Garambura | |
| In office April 17, 1971 – July 14, 1977 | |
| Succeeded by | Jospin Nkubé |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 17, 1928 Sainte-Germaine, Baséland |
| Died | May 14, 2001 (aged 73) Amankose, Garambura |
| Political party | ALP–MRB |
| Spouse(s) | Thana Gaffari (m. 1954) |
| Education | University of Verlois (M2) |
| Awards | Panorama Great Man (1969) |
Moïse-Siamé Khumotsilé (March 17, 1928 – May 14, 2001; aged 73) was a Garamburan politician and independence leader who served as the first president of Garambura from 1969 to 1989, following the Garamburan War of Independence. Having been educated in Gaullica and being a chief of the Chikizi people, Khumotsilé played a crucial role in organising and leading Garambura's independence movement in the 1960s.
Khumotsilé and contemporary ideologue Papa Kadu were the predominant civil leaders of Garambura's declaration of independence in 1969, serving as the inaugural president and foreign minister respectively. A Bahian nationalist and political moderate, Khumotsilé's anti-communist foreign policy won him and Garambura the support of the North against the predominantly socialist governments of Rahelia and Bahia, which intensified amidst the Ibabochian War, Nativity War and Kulo Insurgency. His pro-business stance saw many state industries privatised and Garambura emerge as Bahia's fastest-growing economy at the expense of pervasive income inequality. He also introduced affirmative action policies as well as a Gaullican-funded land redistribution program that continued to displace the country's white minority elite and cemented the ALP–MRB as Garambura's dominant party. Bilateral relations with Gaullica were strongly maintained and contributed greatly to Garambura's economic development.
Khumotsilé was elected and re-elected in the 1971 and 1977 elections, both of which were widely regarded as neither free nor fair. In the late 1970s he began to promote policies of "naturalisation", aiming to remove Euclean cultural influence in the country. As the influence of socialism in Bahia lessened, Khumotsilé was increasingly viewed as an authoritarian and despot abroad, and was heavily pressured into democratic reforms by the North. Widespread anti-democratic tactics remained in place as Khumotsilé won re-election again in the 1983 elections amidst the start of economic stagnation. Protests in Mambiza in 1985 were violently suppressed as opposition grew to Khumotsilé's presidency, though support from Euclea and particularly Gaullica remained. Growing domestic political agitation both within and outside the party saw Khumotsilé step down just before the 1989 elections, which were won by his successor Jospin Nkubé.
As Garambura's inaugural president, Khumotsilé's legacy is mixed. He is often lauded for the country's rapid ascension to one of the region's strongest economies, but is criticised for his policies that enabled widespread corruption, embezzlement, monopolisation and income inequality. He was known for his eccentric and often times immature personality, with his insulting and humiliating attitudes to many of his Bahian political contemporaries hindering the development of bilateral relations, in particular Rwizikuran king Izibongo Ngonidzashe. He has a much more favoured legacy in Euclea, where he is seen as a crucial arm of Northern foreign policy in the turbulent 1970s amidst the Red Surge.