France officially annexed Madagascar on January 1, 1896. That August, the French officially declared Madagascar to be their colony and exiled Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony to Algiers (in French Algeria) where he died the following year. The queen and much of her administration remained but were afforded no real political power. Shortly after Rainilaiarivony's exile, Ranavalona was approached by a French official who informed her that a new prime minister would need to be selected. The queen hastily concluded that General Jacques Duchesne, the French general who had successfully led the military campaign against the Merina monarchy, would be a probable choice. Assuming that Malagasy political tradition would be preserved, Ranavalona believed she would be forced to marry whichever man was chosen for the job and worriedly asked if Duchesne was to be her next husband. Surprised, the French official reassured her that France had no intention of imposing a husband on the queen and would never again require her to marry a prime minister. The queen's minister of foreign affairs, Rainitsimbazafy, was nominated to the post of prime minister by mutual consent.