Wall decoration made from old pieces of car steel from Madagascar.

In 1960 the country gained its independence from France as the Malagasy Republic. Philibert Tsiranana became first president. Military personnel took power in the early 1970s, with the aim of establishing a socialist system in Madagascar. The great leader of the Malagasy Revolution was the "Red Admiral" Didier Ratsiraka who founded the Democratic Republic of Madagascar in 1975. However, the socialist goals were not achieved. The economy then fell into a slump. Current President Andry Rajoelina In 1982, the International Monetary Fund imposed on the government a structural financial / economic reform program in exchange for financial support. Democracy was restored in 1991. Albert Zafy came to power in the 1993 elections. In 1997 Didier Ratsiraka returned as the head of state of Madagascar - this time as democratically elected president. However, its initial popularity declined at the beginning of the new millennium because the economic situation remained poor. After Marc Ravalomanana won the elections, civil war broke out between his supporters and those of Ratsiraka. Ratsiraka accused Ravalomanana of election fraud. In the summer of 2002, the civil war came to an end and Ravalomanana was finally able to start his term of office. In early 2009, Ravalomanana's presidency was challenged by Andry Rajoelina, the 34-year-old mayor of Antananarivo. This happened amid large-scale oppositional protests and civil unrest in the city. Rajoelina rebelled because of the president's autocratic and corrupt government style. On January 31, he even declared to have power over the country. The following week, he was "fired" by the government, and a confidant of the president was put in his place. After this decision, President Ravalomanana turned power over to Admiral Hippolyte Ramaroson to form a military government. Ramaroson, however, still rallied behind Rajoelina and immediately handed over power to him. A day later, the Supreme Court of Madagascar recognized the legality of the transfer of power.