Michel, James Alix

James Michel assumed the presidency of the Republic of Seychelles in 2004 and has won the support of the people in three subsequent general elections. He successfully steered his country through turbulent waters at the time of the global financial crisis, always keeping his sights on his bold vision of the new Seychelles.

While ensuring the domestic development of the nation, President Michel has been active on the international stage. He has rallied support to tackle piracy in the Indian Ocean, championed the cause of small island states, marshalled strong arguments to alert the rest of the world to the threats of climate change, and he has pioneered the concept of the Blue Economy.

In 2013, Michel received the Sustainable Development Leadership Award at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, and in 2016 he was invited to become a Patron of the World Sustainable Forum.

It has been an eventful period but Michel has found time to record, in a series of books, his own insights on this evolving history. First came A Man of the People (2010), then Distant Horizons (2011) and Island Nation in a Global Sea (2014), prior to the Rethinking the Oceans (2016).