as Ravalomanana (who had himself been ousted and forced into exile) and former president of the Malagasy Republic Albert Zafy, in crisis talks mediated by former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano and held in Maputo. Ratsiraka's amnesty issue, related to the court sentence that prevented him from returning to Madagascar, was resolved at the talks. Ratsiraka's nephew Roland Ratsiraka is also a politician. He became the mayor of Toamasina and ran unsuccessfully in the 2006 presidential election, placing third. Return from exile and death Ratsiraka returned from exile on 24 November 2011, a move that was welcomed by the Rajoelina government as well as by former presidents (and former opponents) Ravalomanana and Zafy. Ratsiraka called for resolution of the political crisis through direct talks between all four political leaders, talks that should also involve other parties and civil society groups according to him. Ratsiraka wrote a book with Cécile Lavrard-Meyer, a lecturer at Sciences Po in Paris, which was published by Éditions Karthala in July 2015. On 22 March 2021, Ratsiraka and his wife, Celine, were both admitted to the Soavinandriana Military Hospital (CENHOSOA) in Antananarivo, for treatment of a "small flu", according to their relatives. Ratsiraka had received a PCR diagnostic test for COVID-19, but the results were negative for coronavirus, according to relatives cited by Jeune Afrique. Several days later, Ratsiraka died from cardiac arrest at CENHOSOA hospital in the early morning of 28 March 2021, at the age of 84. Ratsiraka was buried in the Ambohitsaina Mausoleum (Mausolée d'Ambohitsaina) in Antananarivo on 29 March 2021. President Andry Rajoelina also declared 29 March as a national day of mourning. See also Elysé Ratsiraka References 1936 births 2021 deaths Presidents of Madagascar Foreign Ministers of Madagascar Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar politicians 20th-century Malagasy people 21st-century Malagasy people Betsimisaraka people Exiled politicians Leaders who took power by coup École Navale alumni Malagasy exiles Malagasy expatriates in France Malagasy military personnel Malagasy Roman Catholics Malagasy socialists Military attachés People from Atsinanana