Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny

Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny (born 1930) was the First Lady of Ivory Coast from 1962 to 1993. Her husband was Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the first President of Côte d'Ivoire.

Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny
Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny and her husband Félix Houphouët-Boigny in 1962, at a White House reception with the Kennedys
First Lady of Ivory Coast
In role 1962 – December 7, 1993
President	Félix Houphouët-Boigny
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Henriette Konan Bédié
Personal details
Born	Marie-Thérèse Brou 1930 (age 89–90) near Abidjan, Ivory Coast, French West Africa
Political party	Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire
Spouse(s)	Félix Houphouët-Boigny (1962–1993; his death)

She was born Marie-Thérèse Brou in 1930 in a suburb of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, French West Africa.[1] She was one of her parents' six children. When Brou was 16 years old, she and nineteen other Ivorian girls were chosen to attend private school in France.[1] While living in France, she met and married her husband, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, when she was 21 years old.[1] Houphouët-Boigny was more than 25 years older than her.

Houphouët-Boigny caught the eye of the media during 1962 visit to the Kennedy White House, and was dubbed "Africa's Jackie" by a starstruck media.[1][2]

In 1987, First Lady Houphouët-Boigny, she founded the N'Daya International Foundation, dedicated to improving the health, welfare, and education of children in Africa. As the Foundation's president, she led numerous projects in support of children.[3] In 1990, she helped create and produce Kimboo, a cartoon series aired on BET, to offer cartoon heroes to African children.[3]

Marie-Thérèse was the first lady of the Ivory Coast for 33 years, until her husband's death in 1993.

Félix and Marie-Thérèse did not have any biological children, but adopted three children together.[4]