Talk:Félix Houphouët-Boigny

A bit too hagiographic

This article is essentially all praise, which is particularly surprising since it quotes Meredith's book, which I just finished reading, and which is not exactly soft on Houphouët-Boigny.

Worth mentioning is the criticism directed at Houphouët-Boigny for the amount of money spent on the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro which might have been spent on development. --Saforrest 19:38, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

One paragraph mentions his 1990 election win, but then says the country would next "declare insolvency in 1987". Also, it describes the Ivory Coast as the most stable country in Africa, something I find a little incredulous.

This article neglects to mention his suppression of dissent, and it doesn't even make a reference to Kourouma's "Les Soleils des Independances", which was essentially an affront on Houphouet-Boigny's government.

Ufwe-Bwanyi

While not a specialist I'm a bit familiar with English vs. French writing of African names. The t is not "dumb" in French (not sure about the right word). I suggest Ufwet-Bwanyi that seems right to me. Ericd 19:40, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

the final "t" may or may not be pronounced. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.93.241.122 (talk) 01:58, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Done for now

I'll be back later tonight to continue proofreading. I don't want to edit conflict with anyone right now. I notice that two others are editing now as well. Enigma ^message 00:37, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Continue. We don't care. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 00:39, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Haha. OK, I'll keep going. I am now absolved of blame if someone edit conflicts! Enigma ^message 00:42, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

• I ran out of time for this, unfortunately. Next week I'll be back and I'll do a complete job. Enigma ^message 23:39, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Sentences that could use a rewrite

I'm making a list. These are sentences I wasn't sure how to fix.

• [1] As the Cold War set in, the alliance with the Communists became increasingly damaging for the RDA, especially from 1947, when the PCF went into opposition.
  • Changed to "As the Cold War set in, the alliance with the Communists became increasingly damaging for the RDA, especially when the PCF began opposing them in 1947." --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 10:20, 25 July 2008 (UTC)
• [2] Keeping the image of a Communist, although defending himself from it, he was the only RDA deputy elected in Côte d’Ivoire in 1951. Enigma ^message 01:22, 25 July 2008 (UTC)
  • Changed to "Houphouët-Boigny's strategy of keeping the image of a Communist, despite defending himself from it critics, won him a seat in the National Assembly in 1951, the only one of the RDA elected in Côte d’Ivoire." --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 10:30, 25 July 2008 (UTC)
• The phrase "where conditions were particularly unsanitary" seems a bit ugly to me, maybe a reword would be better.--Aldux (talk) 13:41, 25 July 2008 (UTC)
  • Rewritten. Nousernamesleft (talk) 03:26, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

There's a lot more. I'll list them as I see them.

• "Since independence, Houphouët-Boigny has considered the Soviet Union and China malevolent influences throughout the Third World." Enigma ^message 06:38, 30 July 2008 (UTC)
  • Changed to "Since independence, Houphouët-Boigny considered the Soviet Union and China malevolent influences in developing countries and Côte d'Ivoire did not establish diplomatic relations with Moscow until 1967." --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 12:10, 30 July 2008 (UTC)
    • Sorry for not clarifying. What I meant was that "Since independence..." isn't a good way to start a sentence because it isn't clear what the subject is. Enigma ^message 16:12, 30 July 2008 (UTC)
      • "Since Côte d'Ivoire's independence...", perhaps? --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 20:41, 30 July 2008 (UTC)
        • Hehe, easy solution. Yeah, that would make sense. It needs to specify what it's talking about. Enigma ^message 20:47, 30 July 2008 (UTC)
• The political relations paragraph isn't the greatest. It comes apart when a sentence begins "Arriving in the political scene in Côte d'Ivoire around 1970..." Enigma ^message 06:53, 30 July 2008 (UTC)
  • Changed to "... all arrived on the Côte d'Ivoire political scene around 1970." --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 12:11, 30 July 2008 (UTC)
• Félix_Houphouët-Boigny#A_Frenchman_in_Africa - I don't like that paragraph. Fundamental rewrite likely required.
  • What do you think the problem is with that section? Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 19:22, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Des accords sont signés et resserrent la solidarité des Ėtats francophones,...

Someone, (an IP address, 189.104.82.159), asked me a question about translating a section of this article.
I replied on my talk page. Not sure if this helps but I wasn't sure where to post the reply for this. FFMG (talk) 08:41, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

I believe this translatio is complete. Where in the article is that paragraph? --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 11:28, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

The quote I was given is:

Ambitieux, le leader ivoirien conçoit de plus grands desseins pour l'espace francophone d’Afrique ; il prétend le regrouper au sein d’une grande organisation dont le but serait de se soutenir mutuellement[90]. Le projet se concrétise le 7 septembre 1961, lors de la signature de la charte donnant naissance à l’Union africaine et malgache (UAM)[91], regroupant douze pays francophones dont le Sénégal de Senghor[91]. Des accords sont signés et resserrent la solidarité des Ėtats francophones, notamment dans les domaines économique, militaire, et des postes et télécommunications[91]. Mais en mai 1963, la création de l’Organisation de l’unité africaine (OUA) vient perturber ses plans : les tenants du panafricanisme exigent la dissolution de tous les regroupements régionaux dont l’UAM[92] ; le président ivoirien cède à contrecœur, et transforme, en mars 1964, l’UAM en Organisation africaine et malgache de coopération économique et culturelle[93].

Not sure where it came from, (in the French article), I was only translating the section the IP asked me a question about. FFMG (talk) 11:38, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

I believe it is this:

The ambitious Ivorian leader had even greater schemes for French-speaking Africa: he intended to rally the different nations behind a large organization whose objective was the mutual assistance of its member states.[104] The project became a reality on 7 September 1961 with the signing of a charter giving birth to the l’Union africaine et malgache (UAM; English: African and Malagasy Union), comprising of twelve French-speaking countries including Léopold Sédar Senghor's Senegal.[105] Agreements were signed in various sectors, such as economic, military and telecommunications, which strengthened solidarity among Francophone states.[105] However, the creation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in May 1963 affected his plans: the supporters of Pan-Africanism demanded the dissolution of all regional groupings, such as the UAM; the Ivorian president reluctantly ceded, and transformed the UAM into the Organisation africaine et malgache de coopération économique et culturelle (English: African and Malagasy Organization of economic and cultural cooperation).[106] --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 11:43, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

The part I bolded above is what the French sentence containing the word resserent was translated to. From FFGM's talk page, "In other words, accords are signed and bring together the solidarity of francophone sates or something to that effect.". I believe we've got the translation right. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 12:57, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

I also think it is right, strengthened is a good translation to resserent, basically the relations were good before but because of the accords they are even better now, (tighter is a more literal translation but it cannot really be used in this case). FFMG (talk) 14:55, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

FA-Team copyediting

Please list the sections you are copyediting and note when they are completed. Thanks! Awadewit (talk) 14:01, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm almost done with the article. I've been doing it section by section for the past week. I don't suppose it would make sense to list all the ones I've done thus far. By Wednesday night American Eastern Daylight Time, I should be done with everything. There's still a lot of copyediting to do, however. It's possible I missed a few things, and a number of sentences could be made clearer. Enigma ^message 06:39, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

Ugh, still not finished. This article is a much bigger job than I originally thought, and it looks like it may be ongoing. Even after I hopefully finish every section, there will be more cleanup to do. A lot of this article could use a rewrite. Enigma ^message 07:10, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

I've done the lead and the first level-two header so far. Enigma and the others (if anyone else has copyedited the article yet) have done a good job - I only found a few things to tweak. Nousernamesleft (talk) 19:49, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

I've gone up through the "Death and legacy" section. Unfortunately, I think the entire article needs to be restructured, which will necessitate more rounds of copyediting. The sections after "Death" really need to be included earlier in the article. Awadewit (talk) 16:26, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

I'll start restructuring the article soon. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 16:34, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

I've had a pass at the Early life, French political career and Rise to power sections. All things considered, this is a very fine article, although it does assume much from the general reader, needs to give more context in places, erratic paragraph length, has neutrality issues with colonialism. On a minor point, full dates are used quite often in the article, which may be an unnecessary level of detail. As Awadewit notes, the African political career section really needs to be integrated into the article before the Death section. I hope to be able to look at the rest of the article soon. Great work so far! Skomorokh 13:44, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Note: This article is written in BE. Please stick with that! Thanks! Awadewit (talk) 13:20, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Source check

Has anyone gone through all of the sources used for this article and checked to make sure that they are reliable according to the standards on en.wikipedia? Awadewit (talk) 16:48, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

I made an inline note to myself as to where I left off in my source checking/reference formatting. I'll get back to that now. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 17:14, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Ok, so as you are formatting the notes, you are checking the references? Excellent. Awadewit (talk) 17:16, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Image check

It looks like someone is doing a thorough image check - is that correct? Awadewit (talk) 17:10, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Yes. Unfortunately, we've lost half of our images now. I'll go digging for more free ones. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 17:18, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Well, good to know that sooner rather than later! Awadewit (talk) 17:19, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Why did we lose the initial one? --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 18:11, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

See Commons:Deletion requests/Image:Felix Houphouet Boigny.jpg. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 18:57, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

FAC checklist

Here is a rough outline of an FAC checklist. Please improve it!

1. GAC
2. Copyedit
3. Peer review
4. Copyedit
5. Image check
6. Fact check
7. MOS check
8. Proofread
9. Check all citations (formatting, lost citations, etc.)
10. Check all links

Nominate for FAC! Awadewit (talk) 17:15, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Félix Houphouët-Boigny/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

I will review this article. It looks likely, on the face of it, that it will easily pass GA, but in order to help the editors I will give it a full review report, though the promotion will be against GA criteria. Because of the article's length, and pressure on my time, the review will be in sections, spread over several days. Brianboulton (talk) 18:15, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Some comments on the lead and early life sections

• Lead: the description of Foccart as a spin-doctor reads oddly. A spin-doctor distorts policies to present them in a favourable light to the benefit of his political masters. Is this what Foccart did for de Gaulle and Pompidou? Also, I don't think the term had been invented at that time.
  • Basically, that's what he did. He worked behind the scenes so barely anybody had heard about him until he published his memoirs, Foccart Speaks. But spin-doctor might not be NPOV, so I have replaced it with "chief adviser". --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 11:27, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
• Childhood and education
  • As well as the link, we need to know the connection between Houphouët and the Baoulé. Was this his tribal group?
    • Yes-- I have clarified that in the first sentence. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 11:46, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • "He was the son of a Houphouet". What does this mean?
    • A guy whose last name was Houphouet (we do not know his fist name, see Personal life section) was his father. I rewrote it as "his father was named Houphouët". --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 11:50, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Re dates of education; are all of these dates authenticated? Did he earn a teaching degree at 16? If so, what is the relationship between this qualification and a standard university degree? Also, what are we to make of these dates if, as you suggest, he may have been seven years older?
    • Of course they're authenticated; that's the purpose of refs. It is very likely that he did not earn a teaching degree at 16, since he might have been 7 years older. The École William Ponty was not a university per se, so it could not give out university degrees. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 12:09, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
      • I think Brian's asking whether the references confirmed when he received his degree/diploma (do they have a document confirming the year when H-B graduated). Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 13:39, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
        • You say it is very likely that he did not earn his teaching degree at 16 because he might have been 7 years older. By the same reasoning, therefore, it is "very likely" that he started secondary school at 17. Yes? I don't doubt that you have used the dates provided by your references, but references are not of themselves authentications, and there seems to be something not fitting somewhere. My question remains - what are we to make of these dates if he was indeed seven years older? Brianboulton (talk) 22:48, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
• Medical career
  • The following sentence is in need of much attention/punctuation: "Deciding to act, he led a movement of farmers hostile to the major white farmers and to the economic policies of the colonizers which favoured them in 1932" I don't really know where to begin on this one, but as a minimum, "by 1932" should be near the beginning of the sentence, not at the end, "colonizers" should be "colonial government", and "them" has to be specified. The whole sentence needs a complete reconstruction.
    • Changed to "In 1932, he decided to act, leading a movement of farmers against the influential white landowners and for the economic policies of the colonial government, who favoured the farmers." --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 12:16, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • The phrase "chef de carton" needs to e explained on first mention.
    • explained. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 12:16, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
• Chef de carton
  • The legal action taken against him, and the consequences of that action, needs to be explained.
    • The case was dropped. Explained. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 12:56, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • It is not clear how Houphouet's actions in creating a "multi-ethnic, all-African roll" assured a decisive victory for his African bloc. Also, how did he have the power to create an electoral roll that was officially accepted?
    • Clarified in text. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 13:18, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
      • Clarified? Apparently he defied the French rules, created his own election machinery, hacked off everyone except his own supporters, and got away with it! How did he do it? Brianboulton (talk) 23:05, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Having entered local politics with the city council elections in October 1945, you say: "In October 1945 Houphouet moved onto the national political scene". Local and national politics simultaneously?
    • No, that was a factual inaccuracy. The city council elections were in August 1945. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 13:18, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • assemblee constituante must be explained. Also, I assume that Cote d'Ivoire and Upper Volta had two members each?
    • Explained. No, they had two members combined, also explained. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 14:02, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
      • Rather than "two representatives in Parliament combined" I'd say "combined representation by wo seats in Parliament"Brianboulton (talk) 23:05, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

More will follow. Brianboulton (talk) 21:13, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

• Member of parliament
  • "Palais Bourbon" needs explaining in the text, rather than relying on a link to a substandard article
    • Explained. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 14:13, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • He "filed a report on the public health system". Was this the public health system in Cote d'Ivoire, or generally?
    • The public health system in Cote d'Ivoire. Clarified. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 14:24, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • You need to be consistent in the spelling of "coloniser" - it's given a "z" earlier.
    • Where? --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 14:26, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
      • Well, you've craftily edited out "colonizers" in the Medical career section, but you've still got "decolonization" in third line of lead, and "colonization" later in the article. Brianboulton (talk) 23:05, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • "the original coloniser would become subordinate to its former colonies". I understand what this means - France would cease to be master in its own house - but the point could be made much more clearly.
    • I added a wiktionary link to "subordinite", for those that don't know what it means. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 14:33, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
      • The meaning of "subordinate" isn't the problem, it's the clumsiness of the phrasing. Brianboulton (talk) 23:09, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • A date should be given for the foundation of the Fourth Republic
    • You mean the adoption of the constitution? Date added. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 15:39, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • "A secretary for the commission..." Should this be "As secretary..."?
    • "S" added. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 15:42, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • What is Conseil fédérale?
    • the Federal councli on Africans. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 15:54, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • The phrase "on numerous occasions" is misplaced in the final sentence.
    • Restructured. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 16:12, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

More later. Brianboulton (talk) 21:36, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

• Foundation of RDA
  • First para should be split at the "Too small..." sentence. Alternatively, reduce the earlier part of the para, which is somewhat over-detailed, to a short sentence or two.
    • Paragraphs split. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 23:59, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
  • "...especially when the PCF began opposing the Communists in 1947". I thought the PCF were the communists, so who were they opposing? Also, why the "especially"?
    • Removed "especially...1947". Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 23:59, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
  • "...thus avoided the fate of his political allies". Did they die? Otherwise the tern seems rather heavy.
    • Removed "...thus avoided the fate of his political allies". Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 23:59, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

• Rehabilitation
  • "National Assembly": Is this the same as what has earlier been called "assemblee constitutionale" and "Palais Bourbon"? If so, you need to be consistent in usage of terms, if not the differences need explaining.
    • "Assemblee constitutionale" has never been mentioned in the text. "Palais Bourbon" was mentioned as a location, not a metaphor. I already am consistent in usage of the term. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 20:37, 18 August 2008 (UTC)
  • "unsuccessfulness" isn't really a word; followed immediately by "renewing their success", it sounds particularly awkward. I'd say "frustration", or "disappointment", would be better.
    • Changed to "Houphouët-Boigny and the RDA were briefly unsuccessful before their success was renewed in 1956." --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 13:28, 19 August 2008 (UTC)
  • "these roles": I think only one has been mentioned, so "this role"
    • Done. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 13:31, 19 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Deal with clarification tags on "shared organisation" and "energetic independence"
    • Clarified? Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 13:02, 20 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Explain French Union
    • It was a French political entity. Link added. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 13:02, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

• Pro-autonomy
  • What does this heading mean?
    • It means he was in favor of granting sovereignty to Côte d'Ivoire. I have renamed this section since it now contains a wide array of non-autonomy related topics. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 15:08, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • "won many seats" - how many? 3 citations ought to provide this information
  • "a real political confronttion ensued..." Suggest delete "real", or find a better term
    • Removed. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 15:08, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • In the penultimate para, last sentence, "composed of Senegal and Mali" is redundant. Sugest "until" is replaced by "before"
    • Removed redundancy, replaced "until" with "before". Do you think "which" is a better word choice than "before"? Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 15:08, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Formulation such as "It was at that time that" should be avoided. You could say: "H-B had won his first victory..."
    • Done. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 17:48, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Some US$ or GB£ equivalent of the 21+ billion CFA francs would be useful.
    • 21,723,000,000 CFA francs was equivalent to approximately US$8,799,902,777 in 1959, according to historical exchange rates. In 2007, this has the equivalent "purchase power" of roughly US$62,571,654,375, according to the Institute for the Measurement of Worth. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 15:08, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
  • After all the detail that has gone before, the proclamation of independence is introduced very suddenly, and is described in an off-hand manner, which makes me wonder about the structure of this section. There is no sense, before the final sentences, that the story is progressing towards independence, and Houphouet's motives come across as almost trivial. I think recosideration needs to be given as to how the question of independence is introduced.
    • Reorganized. Sent independence info to next section. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 13:02, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

I will continue with the review later. Brianboulton (talk) 11:00, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

• President/Early years
  • 2nd sentence contains "although" and "but" - one is redundant (the "but" should go)
    • Fixed. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 15:23, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
  • 3rd para, Arabs and Israel, sits oddly among paragraphs all devoted to internal politics. I think that this para would look better at the end of the section, where the quote would resonate more.
    • Moved to end of section. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 15:23, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
  • "What is certain is that..." is a journalistic phrase, which I think should be dropped from the sentence.
    • Done. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 15:23, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Some weird phrasings: "the generals stirred" and "intervened personally to sedate them". I'd change the first to "grew restive" and the second to "pacify".
    • Done. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 15:23, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
  • He reduced the armed forces to "a minimum", but what does that mean? It could mean almost anything, and needs at least approximate quantification
    • 3,500 according to source. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 15:23, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, must rest now. Brianboulton (talk) 23:33, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

• Leadership in Africa
  • "...De Gaulle, who refused proposals for an integrated Europe..." What is this referring to?
  • The adoption of a bullet-pony format is unwelcome, and in my view would be better rendered as prose
    • Fixed. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 23:59, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
  • You have "Ivory Coast" in first bullet-point, "Cote d'Ivoire" in second
    • Fixed. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 23:59, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
  • The words "pressure from are unnecessary (implied by protests)
    • Removed. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 23:59, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
  • "The Ivorian president committed to providing financia support to allies" could be simplified to "The Ivorian president provided financial support to allies..."
    • Done. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 23:59, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
  • I'm not sure that "allegiance" is the right term here - it implies subordination. Wouls it be better to say "backing for" instead of "allegiance to"?
    • Yes, that works. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 23:59, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
  • "comprising", not "comprising of"
    • Fixed. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 23:59, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
  • "departure of all but eight" is a strange way of putting it, when there were only 16 to begin with. As many stayed as went. I'd rephrase this.
    • Reworded to "resulting in the departure of half of the countries". Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 23:59, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
  • The term "trade unions" in the final para has a specific meaning to British readers who will be confused by its use here. Could you say "trade partnerships" or some such?
    • Done. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 23:59, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
  • The final sentence is awkwardly put together - needs rephrasing in the middle part. Suggest: "...assurances from Nigria that ECOWAS would function in the same manner as the earlier Francophone organiations..."
    • Done. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 23:59, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

• Destabilization
  • Suggest the section begins "By claiming independence from..." rather than "By granting independence to..."
    • Reworded. Nousernamesleft (talk) 23:52, 15 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Can you explain/reword the sentence: "His operations were immediately placed in quarantine in Conakry"?
    • Mistranslation. He distanced himself from government officials in Conakry. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 13:04, 18 August 2008 (UTC)
  • SDECE has not been previously introduced or explained
    • I gave it a bit of context, but perhaps it's not enough. Nousernamesleft (talk) 23:52, 15 August 2008 (UTC)
  • The Man region of where?
    • The town of Man in Côte d'Ivoire. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 13:04, 18 August 2008 (UTC)
  • He "incited his counsel" - his legal adviser? I assume this should be "council" - which council?
    • I think that's a fairly obvious mistranslation, so I corrected it. Nousernamesleft (talk) 23:52, 15 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Second para: "Since" is wrong beginning. Suggest: "Following Guinea's independence..."
    • Reworded entire sentence to make it flow better. Nousernamesleft (talk) 23:52, 15 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Penult. para: clarify who "he" is at start of second sentence
    • I think it's quite clear from what it says about this "he", so I clarified. Nousernamesleft (talk) 23:52, 15 August 2008 (UTC)
  • "Expulsed" is a made-up word. "Expelled".
    • Done, exactly as you said. Nousernamesleft (talk) 23:52, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

Note to editors: I have so far spent many hours on this review, and am only at the half-way mark. My intention, as stated at the beginning, was to give as much help as possible to the editors by providing a close review of the text, rather than general comments. The number of issues I have had to raise, together with fixing typos and some copyediting, also the considerable length of the article, have greatly extended my time commitment. My readthrough of the second half indicates that an equally large number of issues are likely to arise, and I simply don't have the time to continue in the same way.

What I propose is this. I shall put the article on a seven-day hold. That should give the editors time to deal with the remaining issues from my detailed review, and also to find someone to check over the prose in the second half of the article. I am impressed by the amount of work that has gone into this article, and I find the subject-matter interesting, but the prose standard, overall, is quite poor and frankly, hard work to get through. Some of this may be due to it's being translated, but there are numerous careless mistakes and uncorrected typos throughout the text. I also believe that the editors have been over-ambitious in the amount of detail they have included, and that a judicious pruning would be a good idea. At the end of the seven-day period, I will read the article again, and conclude the GA review at that point. Brianboulton (talk) 15:15, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

Alright, we'll get to work. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 22:31, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. Enigma ^message 19:05, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

Resumed review

I am resuming my review, not on a line-by-line basis, but commenting on each remaining section in turn. I'll post as I go, and try to finish before the end of today. Here are my first comments:-

• The sections entitled Alignment with France and Mutual support are essentially about the same thing, and should be combined into a single, much shorter section. There is way too much detail here; a few simple sentences stating HB’s policy alignment with France in various African post-colonial crises, and over relations with South Africa, will be sufficient. The general policy principles, not the details, are important. The second section contains the unexplained term “burkinababes”, and an obvious mistranslation “which irked of French involvement”.
  • Removed "Mutual support" section heading. H-B's policy alignment with France is one of the most important facets of his political career. I can trim that section a bit, but I don't feel comfortable removing that much detail. This was all important aspects of H-B's rule. Added link to "burkinabés"—it's the demonym for the people of Burkina Faso. Reworded the coup sentences. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 13:59, 22 August 2008 (UTC)
• Opposition to Soviet Union and China
  • Last sentence needed paring down – I have fixed. Also PRC needed definition, also fixed.
    • Thanks. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 13:59, 22 August 2008 (UTC)
• Economic policies in 1960s and 1970s
  • Try to avoid repetition of "most notably" in first para. Too many detailed facts and figures in 2nd and 3rd paragraphs. The broad issue of economic progress has been fully established in para 1, and it would be better to go from there straight to para 4: "This economic progress profoundly altered..." etc The first sentence of the final para also needs some attention, "Mainly in the economy" is not appropriate in a section entirely about economic progress. The "rare example" statement is opinion, unless specifically cited. I assume that the terms "Ivorian miracle", "Sage of Africa" and "The Old One" are all found in citation [11].
    • Reworded second "most notably". Removed most of the second and all of the third paragraphs. Removed "mainly in the economy". Removed "rare example" text. All quoted terms are found in ref 11. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 04:15, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Review continues. Brianboulton (talk) 10:13, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

• Economy on brink of collapse
  • The first para would have more impact if it was preceded by "However," and shifted to become the final paragraph of the previous section.
    • Very good idea, thanks. Nousernamesleft (talk) 17:20, 23 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Again, the clarity of the article is affected by over-detailing. The following sentence is particularly difficult to unravel: "Beginning from 1979, in order to contain a sudden drop in exported goods prices, the government attempted to resist the tariffs on raw materials established by the international markets by trying to impose artificially higher prices." I’d stick to the basic facts: the economy declined as a result of a fall in world coffee and cocoa prices, HB’s efforts in London to negotiate a price agreement failed, the petrochemical industry suffered during the world recession of the late 1980s, and the overseas debt reached monumental proportions. All this can be said in simple general terms, in an article which is basically about a president rather than his country.
    • Changed to "From 1979, in order to contain a sudden drop in the prices of exported goods, Houphouët-Boigny raised the prices to resist international tariffs on raw materials." The recession is a major point in HB's life. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 18:38, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

• Social tensons
  • "…induced a harsh degradation…" Verbose: try "brought a sharp fall"
    • I'm not sure if "fall" conveys the idea very well, so I kept "degredation". Nousernamesleft (talk) 17:20, 23 August 2008 (UTC)
  • How did a reduction of French volunteer workers from 3,000 to 2,000 liberate “thousands” of jobs?
    • Reworded. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 18:52, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

• Opposition
  • Some of the material not directly related to HB, e.g. the final sentence of the second para, could be removed.
    • Done. Nousernamesleft (talk) 17:20, 23 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Chronology of last para needs clarifying. "A year later…" - than when?
    • I'm not sure what's wrong here. It seems clear from the context that it was a year after "had been harassed by Houphouët-Boigny's government for his trade union activities" - perhaps you want a specific year for that? Nousernamesleft (talk) 17:20, 23 August 2008 (UTC)
      • Specific year added. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 19:48, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Review to be continued and completed shortly. Brianboulton (talk) 11:08, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

• Scandals etc
  • I’m not sure that "embezzlement" is the right term in line 1 – the linked article is unhelpful. Why not simply "a case of overcharging", perhaps emphasises as "a case of massive overcharging".?
    • Changed to "a case of massive overcharging". Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 20:12, 24 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Couldn’t understand the following: "Through their nearly complete control of the program, politicians filed administrative leases for their housing, and then rented it to other public officials to collect on payments from LOGEMAD;" – another example, I think, of unnecessary over-explanation
    • Simplified to: "Politicians abused the administrative leasing program to profit from it." Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 20:12, 24 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Why choose the word "pharaonic" to describe the Basilica? It’s an obscure word, and the link doesn’t say which of the meanings is intended. You should choose a more recognisable adjective. Also, the details regarding this construction could be edited down.
    • Changed to "luxurious". Details trimmed. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 20:12, 24 August 2008 (UTC)
• Succession and death
  • "Alassane Ouattara...was rejected…" etc. By whom?
    • By H-B. Clarified. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 02:10, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
  • The President of the National Assembly has changed during the course of the paragraph. Can you clarify how/when Phillipe Yace ceased to hold this office?
    • It specifically said that he severed ties. I added "in 1980". --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 01:20, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

• Funeral – no particular comment, excellently written

• Aftermath: several problems here, of uncited statements (e.g. "had neither his predecessor’s vision nor his charisma"), and awkward phrasings (e.g. "conceived in 1995 of the concept of…" Since this section isn’t really about HB, I wonder if it needs to be here at all, especially after the impressive funeral section. I’d consider dropping it.
  • Dropped. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 01:20, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

• Peace prize
  • The sentence beginning "The prize is named after…" is too long and needs to be split into two, possibly three.
    • Split. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 01:23, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Needless repetition of full prize name at start of para 2. Could begin simply: "The prize was first awarded..." The exhaustive list of subsequent winners is unnecessary – a couple of examples would suffice.
    • The whole paragraph now reads: "The prize was first awarded in 1991 to Nelson Mandela, president of the African National Congress, and Frederik Willem de Klerk, President of the Republic of South Africa. It has been awarded each year since, with the exception of 2001 and 2004." --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 01:39, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

• Personal life: Much of this information, particularly in the first paragraph, belongs in the Early life section. I think it’s a great shame to end the article with this section of fairly trivial details, and wonder if such details as are thought necessary could be inserted earlier in the article, which could then end on the grand notes of the funeral and peace prize.
  • Merged. --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 01:20, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

Naturally, you will need time to respond to and/or implement these suggestions. I would very much like to see this article promoted if attention can be given to these points. In particular, in my view the readability of the article will be much improved by some fairly bold editing of overdetailed sections. Brianboulton (talk) 12:10, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

Added later: I have repositioned four left-side images which appeared to be violating WP:MoS by appearing directly under subheadings. Two are still on the left, dropped down slightly, two I have shifted over to the right. If you're unhappy with my positionings and have better ideas within MoS, please go ahead. Brianboulton (talk) 21:30, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for handling that, Brian. I always forget about WP:MOSIMAGES! Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 22:28, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

• • Can you let me know when you are done so that I can conclude the review? Brianboulton (talk) 15:33, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
    • I think we've responded to all your comments now. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 17:33, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
      • There's an inuse tag on the Early Life section at present. I'll wait for that. Brianboulton (talk) 19:38, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
        • Alright. Risker has started copyediting the article. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 20:02, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
          • Odd time to start copyediting, 15 days into a GA review! I'm thinking, 24 hours maximum, the review must close - it's gone on long enough. It won't matter if the copyedit isn't complete, the article won't fail GA on that. I'll do the final report this time tomorrow. Brianboulton (talk) 21:16, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

Final GA Review comments

General: I feel this is an important article, which has been massively researched and painstakingly compiled. Its main problem, at least at the start of the review, was that it was far from easy to read, due in my view to a mixture of somewhat indifferent prose and considerable overdetailing. The prose has been made clearer, and will resumably improve further when the current copyediting exercise is finished. Also, some 700-odd words have been excised during the review, as detail has been pared down. This has made the article distinctly more readable. I think there is still scope for further reduction, and recommend that this is seriously considered before the article is taken to FAC.

GA criteria

• Well-written: Pass (marginal). There is a variability in the prose standard, some sections being very well written, others less so. A thorough copyedit should improve matters.
• Factually accurate: Pass: I have considered WP:NONENG here. If I could understand more clearly what this regulation is about, I might have something to say about verifiability, but since I can't, I can only say that your sources look reliable to me.
• Broad coverage: Pass, most definitely.
• Neutral: Pass
• Stable: Pass
• Images: Pass. The location map could be larger. Some images appear to lack descriptions and author information, so watch for the FAC image police.

Overall: Pass. I have spent a good deal more time on this than normally do on GA reviews, because I have seen this as preparation for featured status. I hope my participation and comments have helped; there is more work to do. Good luck if you do decide to take it forward. Brianboulton (talk) 20:13, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

• Thank you Brian for your very thorough GA review. We will continue to work on this article (copyediting/trimming/adding English sources) before taking this to WP:FAC. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 22:41, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Copy edit notes

I've been asked to do some copy editing of this article, and will leave notes here, as a running commentary.

• I've gone back to the website reference sources to try and better understand the familial relationships. At one point FHB's father is said to have died when he was a small child, and at another point in 1939. As I have to carry out another task for a brief time I have saved without having made all the updates. Risker (talk) 22:48, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
  • As I read it, the father died shortly after the birth of Felix's brother Augustin, and it was Augustin, having acquired an "e", who died in 1939. Brianboulton (talk) 10:08, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Question: "The struggle for a successor ended when Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara, who since 1990 had generally administrated the country during the president's frequent hospitalizations in France, was rejected by Houphouët-Boigny in favour of Henri Konan Bédié, the President of the National Assembly." This seems to be written badly; Ouattara was not mentioned before then, so talking of rejecting him may confuse the reader, but I can't think of a better way to phrase this. His rejection of Ouattara should most certainly be included, but this format doesn't flow well. Does anyone have an idea? Nousernamesleft (talk) 16:27, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

Changed to: "The president's health was becoming increasingly fragile,[135] with Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara generally administrating the country since 1990, while the president was hospitalized in France.[6] Due to this, ambitions were stirred in regard to his successor. This struggle ended when Ouattara was rejected by Houphouët-Boigny in favour of Henri Konan Bédié, the President of the National Assembly." --I'm an Editorofthewiki^{[citation needed]} 20:26, 8 September 2008 (UTC)

Final copyedit (?)

I'm hoping that not much more copyediting is needed on this article, but as I go, I will list questions that I have. Awadewit (talk) 14:08, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

• In 1932, he decided to act, leading a movement of farmers against the influential white landowners and for the economic policies of the colonial government, who favoured the farmers. - This is confusing and needs to be rewritten.

• Houphouët-Boigny undertook international diplomacy in the early years of his presidency. He advocated dialogue between Arabs and Israelis in July 1962. Speaking to his Israeli hosts on a visit to Jerusalem, he expressed what was to become one of his most famous quotes: "We do not think there is any problem in the world, no matter how difficult or intractable, that cannot be settled through negotiation." - This lacks specificity and does not seem necessary. Awadewit (talk) 16:12, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

• The organisation included among its members 16 countries, whose aim was to break revolutionary ambitions in Africa. - "break" is a bit too vague

• Also in collaboration with Foccart, Houphouët-Boigny took part in the attempted coup of 16 January 1977 led by famed French mercenary Bob Denard against the revolutionary regime of Mathieu Kérékou in Dahomey. - This implies that the 1966 Ghana military coup was somehow supported by Foccart as well - is that true? There is no mention of Foccart in that paragraph, so the transition is confusing.

• The decline was perceived as a fleeting situation, since its impact on planters was buffered by the Caistab, the agricultural marketing board,[3] which ensured them a livable income. - What does "livable income" mean exactly?

• Strong social agitations shook the country, creating insecurity - "strong" doesn't seem like the right adjective here

• There are hidden comments in the "Opposition" section, in the Wodie paragraph that need to be addressed.

• In 1977, a case of massive overcharging by three sugar refineries shook the government. No trial took place, but the government took steps to preclude a repeat occurrence. On 23 June 1977, an anti-corruption law was adopted, and by 20 July, nine ministers had been dismissed for violating the law. In the parliamentary elections of 1980, Houphouët-Boigny allowed voters to choose among a multitude of candidates for the first time, to eliminate a number of corrupt figures in the regime. Despite these efforts, however, corruption was not completely eliminated. It became even more visible during the 1980s economic crisis. In 1983, the ruling class was embroiled in a financial scandal involving the LOGEMAD, a state agency in charge of paying owners for the rent of homes occupied by public officials. Politicians abused the administrative leasing program to profit from it. - I have removed these two paragraphs because they are not directly connected to FHB - are these events that should be told in relation to him or are these really more important in the history of the country?

Image check

All of the images check out fine, except for this one:

• Image:Ourladyofpeaceafricaexterior.jpg - This doesn't have an author, so we can't use it (it is not clear who owns the copyright and who can release it). Awadewit (talk) 14:25, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

• Actually I just looked into this and there cannot be a picture of this building in this article - the building is copyrighted and there is no freedom of panorama in Cote d'Ivoire for buildings. Calliopejen1 (talk) 15:21, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

• I learn something new every day. Awadewit (talk) 16:16, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Fact check the sources

Considering the discussion that occurred at this FAC regarding translated articles, we should fact check this article to make sure that each source supports the claims made by the article. I will start this process this weekend and report here. Awadewit (talk) 14:22, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Unfortunately, I no longer have JSTOR access, but if someone who does is reading this, would they please email this to me? Nousernamesleft (talk) 19:17, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Sending now. Awadewit (talk) 19:25, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Me too. ~one of many editorofthewikis ^{(talk/contribs/editor review)}~ 19:49, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Online English sources - all online English sources have been checked

• Four Ivory Coast's Founder, Lavish Funeral - checked

• An African's Gift to the Vatican - checked

• FHB, Ivory Coast's Leader Since Freedom in 1960, is Dead - checked

• Mother of Nation Dies - source lacks birth and death dates - are these elsewhere?

• Ivory Coast: Brazzaville Conference - checked; this citation is not correctly cited in the note, however - this is a chapter in a book and the chapter has a separate author from the book

• Encyclopedia of Word Biography - checked (it would of course be best if we didn't use any encyclopedias at all)

• Reform and the French Community - checked; this citation is not correctly cited in the note, however - it is a book chapter

• Relations and the Council of Entente - checked; this citation is not correctly in the note - it is a book chapter

• Independence and the Institutionalization of the One-Party System - checked; not cited correctly in the note - it is a book chapter

• Consolidation of power - checked; not cited correctly in the note - book chapter

• Reigning Beauties - checked; surely we can find a better source than gossipy article for FHB's second marriage?

• Death of Thomas Sankara - checked; unsure it supports the statement "The coup may have had French involvement, since the Sankara regime had fallen into disfavour in France." - what part of the article supports this statement?

• Civil rights - checked; not cited correctly in note - book chapter

• Relations with the Soviet Union and China - checked; the section sourced to this needs to be rewritten as its language is far too close to the original material - it could be considered plagiarism; not cited correctly in note - book chapter

• Foreign relations - checked; not cited correctly in note - book chapter

• Economic and political issues - checked; not cited correctly in note - book chapter

• Winning Coalitions - checked; needs to say "subscription required" in the note

• Biggest, longest, tallest - checked

• Cote d'Ivoire at Encarta - checked; I didn't see anything supporting this statement "The unveiling of such splendour, during the collapse of the national economy, did not revitalise support from those within Côte d'Ivoire as Houphouët-Boigny had hoped; instead, it fueled discontent among the population." - I have therefore removed the statement from the article.

• Tributes - checked

• Resolution - checked; probably not the best source for this information

• Presentation - checked

• Prizewinners - checked

Online French sources

Printed English sources

Printed French sources