Lionel Zinsou

Lionel Zinsou (born 23 October 1953) is a French–Beninese economist and investment banker who was Prime Minister of Benin from 2015 to 2016. Since June 2017, he has been the president of Terra Nova, a centre-left French think tank.

== Early life and education ==

Zinsou's father was born in Benin, then known as Dahomey. Zinsou himself, who was born in Paris, is a nephew of Émile Derlin Zinsou, who was President of Dahomey from 1968 to 1969.

Zinsou is a graduate of the École Normale Supérieure and the London School of Economics.

== Career ==

Zinsou developed a close association with the French socialist politician Laurent Fabius and worked under Fabius in the mid-1980s while the latter was in government.

Zinsou was a partner at bankers Rothschilds before joining the investment fund PAI Partners in 2008. He was also Special Adviser to the President of Benin, Yayi Boni, from 2006 to 2011.

In 2013, his Zinsou Foundation opened in Ouidah, Benin, the first museum of contemporary art in sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa.

On 18 June 2015, President Yayi Boni appointed Zinsou as Prime Minister of Benin, along with a 27-member government, and assigned him responsibility for economic development...