Under Houphouët-Boigny's ideologically moderate leadership, Côte d'Ivoire (formerly Ivory Coast) prospered economically because of a combination of sound planning and the country's significant cocoa industry. Despite economic success, however, his government presided over a de facto one-party state for most of his reign. Houphouët-Boigny moved the country's capital to his hometown of Yamoussoukro and built the world's largest church there.
Upon Houphouët-Boigny's death, National Assembly president Henri Konan Bédié took power.