Returned to the IMF in October 1984 after having spent 11 years (72-83) at the Bceao (director of studies, special adviser, vice-governor), Alassane Ouattara was called upon again in October 1988 by the Heads of State of the sub-regional institution, with Félix Houphouët-Boigny in the lead to straighten out the finances of a bank with a shortage of liquidity with the French Treasury where it deposited its foreign exchange reserves, due to the financial drift of the heads of state members of WAEMU.

Officially appointed governor in November 1988 after the death of his Ivorian compatriot, Abdoulaye Fadiga, Ouattara became on November 7, 1990, the very first prime minister of independent Côte d'Ivoire.

Called to the bedside of the Bceao plunged into a comatose situation, Alassane Ouattara who knows the house well will first face the arrogance of certain heads of state who until then had control over their respective central banks.

“While the Bceao was on the verge of chaos, the heads of state of the union, meeting in Cotonou in August 1988, decided to double the ceiling allocated to Benin in order to allow its government to pay civil servants. This decision was not to the liking of the new governor who, upon his installation in November 1988, notified the Heads of State. To the point of having trouble with some of them. At one point, he will even go so far as to threaten to resign if his hands are not left free,” writes Moriba Magassouba in chapter III of his book “Alassane Ouattara, the passion for duty” published in October 2020.

“Governor Ouattara to the aid of the 'old man' the title of the said chapter shows how the seasoned economist of the IMF, who is returning to an institution (Bceao) after having spent eleven years there, has contributed to straightening it out with brio and rigour. A rigor that will make him the dolphin of the "old". Thus it is through rigor at work and professional conscience that Alassane Ouattara enters politics and becomes the No. 2 of the party-state, the only political formation of the time, the PDCI-RDA.

How Ouattara saved the BCEAO

Faced with the financial drift and mismanagement of the WAEMU heads of state, Alassane Ouattara will propose two options: economic adjustment by drastically reducing state spending or by devaluing the Fcfa.

Finally the second option was adopted.

Ouattara at the bedside of the "old man" in Abidjan confronted with a social revolt

“While crossing the heavy gate of the presidency, this Saturday, February 17, 1990, around 1 p.m., Alassane Ouattara was struck by the impression of the emptiness that hung over the scene (…) The decision of the Head of State to enforce the plan Moïse Koumoué Koffi, Minister of the Economy and Finance at the time, which provided for the reduction of wages compensated by the lowering of food prices had set fire to the powder (…) Côte d'Ivoire on the edge of the chaos, the situation is practically insurrectionary. The protest has taken to the streets. Marches of workers, students and the unemployed multiply. Houphouët is decried. The demonstrators do not hesitate to call him a thief or even Ali Baba and the 40 thieves. A leaflet from the Syndicat national de la recherche et de l'enseignement supérieur (SYNARES), founded by Laurent Gbagbo lists several billionaires and demands the return of the multiparty system,” writes the author in substance.

Having become a mediator between Abidjan and the institutions of Breton Wood, Alassane Ouattara, while keeping his post as governor of the Bceao, was contacted at the end of March 1990 by Charles Konan Banny, then director general of the Bceao.

Houphouët intends at this time to appoint Ouattara Prime Minister. An offer he refused.

In his reflection, Alassane Ouattara proposed in return the creation of an interministerial committee which he set up on April 16, 1990.

This committee is responsible for bringing the country out of the serious economic, financial and social crisis.

“It is a question of suspending the implementation of the measures announced under Koumoué Koffi, of strengthening the structural adjustment program by giving it a better basis for economic growth” continues the author.

Behind the scenes, Alassane Ouattara is presented by Houphouët as the best African economist.

After six months of activity at the head of the committee (April-October 1990) Ouattara was called upon to take stock at the ninth congress of the PDCI in Yamoussoukro from October 1 to 5, 1990.

It is the entry of Alassane Ouattara in politics. In the absence of the old man, it is the economist who has become a politician by force of circumstance who will chair certain sessions of the congress.

Having obtained a multi-party system at the end of March-beginning of April 1990, the opposition led by Laurent Gbagbo presented itself in the presidential elections of October 27, 1990.

After the modification of the Constitution the day after these elections which saw the victory of the then 85-year-old “old man” against Laurent Gbagbo (27% of the vote), a post of Prime Minister was created. Alassane Ouattara was officially appointed on November 7, 1990, the very first Prime Minister and the only one of the first president of independent Côte d'Ivoire, Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Unlike previous governments of 40 members, Ouattara formed on November 30, 1990 a commando of 20 ministers. With, among other objectives, the consolidation of the Ivorian administration.