vicepresident predecessor successor birth_place president party office birth_date term_start spouse image article_title term_end name
joseph belmont danny faure france-albert rené position established joseph belmont mahé , seychelles france-albert rené people 's party president of seychelles vice president of seychelles 16 august 1944 16 april 2004 august 1996 natalie michel james michel 2014.png james michel
 16 april 2004 james michel
james michel

colonel james alix michel -lrb- born august 16 , 1944 -rrb- is a seychellois politician who has been president of seychelles since april 16 , 2004 .
he previously served as vice-president under his predecessor , france-albert rené , from 1996 to 2004 .
he began as a teacher , but became involved in the archipelago 's booming tourism industry and joined rené 's political party before independence in 1976 .
