Patrick Herminie

Patrick Herminie was born on 22 September 1963 at Baie St. Anne Praslin Hospital, on Seychelles' second-largest island. He was the fourth of five children in a family where his mother, Christa Herminie (née Jules), was a housewife, and his father, Louis Herminie, worked as a policeman. As a young boy, Herminie attended Seychelles College, an all-boys' school established in 1947. At the time, Seychelles College, along with Regina Mundi Convent for girls, was regarded as a cornerstone of modern education in Seychelles. Both schools were closed in the early 1980s when the government introduced free and compulsory education, requiring children to attend schools within their respective districts. After completing his O Levels and A Levels at Seychelles College, Herminie pursued a Doctorate in General Medicine at Charles University in Prague, Czechoslovakia, graduating in 1990. Upon returning to Seychelles in 1991, he met Veronique Sinon, whom he later married. The couple has two children: Venessa Herminie, currently a medical doctor, and Martin Herminie, a civil engineer. In February 2024, the Victoria public prosecutor's office dropped all accusations against him. ==Political career==

Herminie's political career began in 1992 when he was appointed as a member of the commission drafting the Constitution of the Third Republic. In 1993, he was elected as a Member of the National Assembly for the English River Constituency and was re-elected in 1998 and 2002. In 2017, President Danny Faure announced the composition of the Board of the new Agency for the Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation (APDAR). The Board was headed by Herminie as chairperson, a position he held until 2020. ==2025 presidential campaign==

Herminie ran for president of Seychelles in the 2025 Seychellois general election, defeating incumbent president Wavel Ramkalawan following a run-off vote. ==Presidency (2025–present)==

On 26 October 2025, Dr. Patrick Herminie was sworn in as the 6th President of the Republic of Seychelles, replacing Wavel Ramkalawan. The ceremony, held at Stade Linité in Victoria, was attended by senior government officials and foreign dignitaries, including the Vice President of the Republic of India, Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan; the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam; the Vice Chairperson of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Mr. Gao Yunlong; the Prime Minister of Tanzania, Hon. Kassim Majaliwa Majaliwa; and the President of the Council of Ministers of the Indian Ocean Commission and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Comoros, Mr. Mohamed Mbae. Also present were Herminie’s predecessor Wavel Ramkalawan, other former presidential candidates, and representatives of civil society. During his inauguration speech, Herminie reiterated his campaign motto “for many, not the few” framing it as a guiding principle for his administration. He said his government would prioritize addressing inequality, strengthening public health and education systems, and ensuring that national development benefits all Seychellois, not just the privileged few.“We may be a small nation, but we are a nation with a big heart. And in that heart, love for Seychelles unites us,” Herminie declared. “Just as Dr. Martin Luther King stood decades ago, tonight I too stand atop a mountain, and I have a dream, a Seychellois Creole dream, for a nation where unity is our strength, dignity our habit, and justice our daily existence. A nation united in our Creole culture.”Herminie’s newly formed cabinet, which includes several first-time ministers and a record number of women, is expected to be the first gender-parity government in the country’s history. ==References==