Maka Kotto
MP for Saint-Lambert
In office 2004 – 2008
Preceded by	Yolande Thibeault
Succeeded by	Josée Beaudin
MNA for Bourget
Incumbent
Assumed office  2008
Preceded by	Diane Lemieux
Born	December 7, 1961 (1961-12-07) (age 48) Douala, Cameroon
Political party	Bloc Québécois, Parti Québécois
Spouse(s)	Caroline St-Hilaire
Residence	Montreal
Profession	author, stage director

Maka Kotto (born December 7, 1961 in Douala, Cameroon) is a provincial level politician from Quebec, Canada and a former member of the Canadian House of Commons. He is also a published author and has appeared in film. On May 12, 2008 he won a by-election to become the Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Bourget representing the Parti Québécois.

[edit] Early life and education

Kotto holds a bachelor's degree in economic sciences from the Lycée Henri-Martin in Saint-Quentin, France. He studied law, politics, dramatic art and cinema in Nanterre, Bordeaux in Paris.

Before becoming a politician Kotto was an author, comedian, actor, and stage director. He appeared in the 1989 movie Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer (How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired), based on the novel by Dany Laferrière. He also appeared in a second film in 2000, Lumumba, starring as Joseph Kasa Vubu.

Kotto was also an educator in dramatic art for nearly 15 years in France and Quebec.

[edit] Federal political career

Kotto was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a Bloc Québécois in the 2004 Canadian federal election. In that election he defeated incumbent Member of Parliament Yolande Thibeault who represented the Liberals and five other candidates. Upon winning the Saint-Lambert electoral district, Kotto became the first Afro-Canadian Member of Parliament for the Bloc. He was re-elected two years later winning a comfortable but reduced popular vote and a much larger plurality in the 2006 Canadian federal election. He defeated five other candidates to win his second term in office.

Kotto served as the Bloc's critic for Canadian heritage.

[edit] Provincial political career

On November 12, 2007, Kotto announced that he would be the candidate for the Parti Québécois in the provincial riding of Bourget in Montreal to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of former PQ House Leader Diane Lemieux. It was his second attempt at provincial politics; he was defeated in his previous candidacy in Viau by former Liberal MNA William Cusano.^[1]

Kotto resigned his seat in Canadian House of Commons on March 5, 2008 in order to run in the provincial by-election. His vacancy was officially recognized by the Speaker on March 13, 2008.^[2]

On May 12, 2008, he won the Bourget by-election as a Parti Québécois candidate with 40% of the vote.^[3]

[edit] Books

• Kotto, Maka. Femme : libre exaltation poétique. Outremont, Québec: Lanctôt, 2002. 93 p.; 21 cm. (Series: J'aime la poésie 12^e) ISBN 2-89485-213-4

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Maka Kotto at the Internet Movie Database
• House of Commons of Canada: Maka Kotto
• Parliament of Canada: Federal Political Experience: Maka Kotto
• Quebec National Assembly Bio (French)