Cyprien Ntaryamira was a Burundian politician who served as President of Burundi from 5 February 1994 until his death two months later. A Hutu born in Burundi, Ntaryamira studied there before fleeing to Rwanda to avoid ethnic violence and complete his education. Active in a Burundian student movement, he cofounded the socialist Burundi Workers' Party and earned an agricultural degree. In 1983, he returned to Burundi and worked agricultural jobs, though he was briefly detained as a political prisoner. In 1986 he cofounded the Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU), and in 1993 FRODEBU won Burundi's general elections. He subsequently became the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry on 10 July, but in October Tutsi soldiers killed the president and other top officials in an attempted coup.
Ntaryamira in 1993
Ntaryamira (centre) at a FRODEBU rally in 1993. Melchior Ndadaye stands to the right.
Ntaryamira was succeeded as President of Burundi by Sylvestre Ntibantunganya (pictured).
1993 Burundian coup attempt
On 21 October 1993, a coup was attempted in Burundi by a Tutsi–dominated army faction. The coup attempt resulted in assassination of Hutu President Melchior Ndadaye and the deaths of other officials in the constitutional line of presidential succession. François Ngeze was presented as the new President of Burundi by the army, but the coup failed under domestic and international pressure, leaving Prime Minister Sylvie Kinigi in charge of the government.
Burial of President Melchior Ndadaye, who was killed during the coup attempt
Some observers suspected that former president Pierre Buyoya was involved in the coup.
Cyprien Ntaryamira (center) was among the leading FRODEBU members who survived the coup.
Burundians fleeing from the violence in the aftermath of the coup attempt