
Maka Kotto
Biography
Maka Kotto (born December 7, 1961) is a Cameroonian-born Canadian politician. Educated in France, Kotto immigrated to Quebec, Canada, where he was an educator before entering politics. Kotto was a Parti Québécois member of the National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Bourget. From 2012 to 2014, he served as the Minister of Culture and Communications. A former member of the House of Commons of Canada for the Bloc Québécois, Kotto is also a published author and has appeared in films. Kotto was born in Douala, Cameroon, and graduated from high school at Lycée Henri-Martin in Saint-Quentin, France. He studied law, politics, dramatic art and cinema in Nanterre, Bordeaux and Paris. Kotto immigrated to Quebec in 2006. Before becoming a politician, Kotto was an author, actor, and stage director. He appeared in the 1989 movie How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired (Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer), 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. Kotto was elected to the House of Commons of Canada, representing the Bloc Québécois in the 2004 Canadian federal election. In that election, he defeated incumbent Liberal MP Yolande Thibeault and five other candidates. Upon winning the Saint-Lambert riding, Kotto became the first black 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. 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. Kotto resigned his seat in House of Commons of Canada 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. On May 12, 2008, he won the Bourget by-election as a Parti Québécois candidate with 40% of the vote. With the election of the Parti Québécois on September 4, 2012, Kotto became Minister of Culture and Communications. Kotto was re-elected in the 2014 Quebec election with a smaller margin, but the Parti Québécois government of Pauline Marois was defeated and Kotto became a member of the Official Opposition caucus. He was defeated in the 2018 election. Kotto is the husband of former Longueuil mayor and Bloc Québécois caucus colleague Caroline St-Hilaire, and is the father of four children. Source: Article "Maka Kotto" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Personal Info
Gender
Male
Birthday
1961-12-07
Place of Birth
Douala, Cameroon
Images

Cast
A Silent Love
20045.3 / 10
Zim and Co
20055.4 / 10
Looking for Alexander
20046.6 / 10
The Middle Passage
20003.0 / 10
How to Conquer America in One Night
20046.5 / 10
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
19956.5 / 10
On Your Head
20014.6 / 10
On the Verge of a Fever
20042.0 / 10
Blanc d'ébène
19910.0 / 10
Marche à l'ombre
19846.5 / 10
Concours de danse à Piriac
20060.0 / 10
Which Way Africa?
20240.0 / 10
Victor Schœlcher, l'abolition
19980.0 / 10
Journey to Ouaga
20013.9 / 10
Lumumba
20006.8 / 10
A Sunday in Kigali
20067.1 / 10
Love on the Quiet
19855.3 / 10
Make It Mine
19864.1 / 10
The Haven
19974.5 / 10
Monsieur Naphtali
19993.5 / 10
Beaumarchais the Scoundrel
19966.6 / 10
One 4 All
19994.1 / 10
Arrêt sur image
19870.0 / 10
Périgord noir
19894.7 / 10
Trapped by a Dream
19934.0 / 10
Lulu, roi de France
19958.0 / 10
La Goutte d'or
19900.0 / 10
Night Taxi
19937.8 / 10
Bitter Sugar
19986.2 / 10
Wanted: Strong Woman
20196.0 / 10
Black
19877.3 / 10