Gaston Zossou

Gaston Zossou (born October 1, 1954, in Porto-Novo, Benin) is a former minister in the government of President Mathieu Kérékou, a teacher, author, entrepreneur, and Beninese politician.

Early life and education
Gaston Zossou was born on October 1, 1954, in Porto-Novo.

Career
Gaston Zossou began his professional life as an English teacher. He ventured into agricultural entrepreneurship by producing pineapples. He became well known to the Beninese people when he joined the government of General Mathieu Kérékou as the Minister of Communication and Promotion of New Technologies and then served as the Minister of Culture, Communication, and Government Spokesperson between 1999 and 2005. He was appointed Director General of the National Lottery of Benin on May 31, 2016, and took office on Thursday, June 3, 2016. In 2000, Gaston Zossou published In the Name of Africa with L’Harmattan, a political essay in which he diagnoses the problems plaguing the African continent and suggests ways to overcome them.

He is also the president of the football club Loto Popo FC.

Publications
Gaston Zossou is the author of several literary works, including essays and novels:


 * Essays
 * In the Name of Africa, L’Harmattan, 2000
 * The Duty to Speak, Tamarin, 2014


 * Novels at Riveneuve Editions
 * The War of Things in the Shadows
 * Those People Are Wild Beasts, 2008
 * Pure Metal Crab, 2009
 * A Bone in the Throat of the Gods, 2012
 * The Children of Sand, 2015
 * The Woman with the Portfolio, 2017