Don Jean Colombani

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Don Jean Colombani (born February 16, 1903 in Isolaccio-di-Fiumorbo , † 1977 ) was a French colonial official and diplomat .

Life

Don Jean Colombani came from Corsica and only had a basic education. He went to what was then the French colony of Senegal , in whose colonial administration he worked his way up. He became district commander of Dakar and Cap Vert and finally on October 31, 1955, as successor to Maxime Jourdain, Governor of Senegal. In this office he was replaced on February 10, 1957 by Pierre Lami .

In 1958, referendums were held on the Constitution of the Fifth French Republic . The individual French overseas territories would gain immediate independence from France if they were not accepted. In the overseas territory of Niger , the governor Louis Rollet could not show any decisive successes against the supporters of independence around Djibo Bakary and his party Sawaba . For this reason Jacques Foccart , Charles de Gaulle's Africa advisor , arranged for Rollet to be replaced as Governor of Niger by Don Jean Colombani on August 25, 1958. About a month before the decisive vote, Colombani had little time in which he proceeded rigidly. He found an ally in the opposition Nigerien Progress Party under Hamani Diori and Boubou Hama . The constitutional referendum in Niger on September 28, 1958 - with the help of an election fraud initiated by the governor - was in favor of France. The Sawaba Party was completely disempowered and the Nigerien Progress Party took over the government.

France intended that Niger would become independent while maintaining its close ties to the former colonial power. In preparation for independence, Colombani no longer held the title of governor from 1959, but that of high commissioner. Half an hour before Hamani Diori read out the Declaration of Independence on August 3, 1960, Colombani presented him with his credentials as French Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Niger. At the same time, Diori recognized him as doyen of the diplomatic corps in Niger. From August 30, 1961, Colombani held the title of ambassador. When he retired, he was replaced by Paul Fouchet on October 3, 1962 .

Colombani stayed in Niger and became a member of the Board of Directors of Société Nigérienne de Commercialization de l'Arachide (SONARA). This company, founded in 1962, had a monopoly on the export of peanuts , which from 1965 to 1970 accounted for between 65 and 72% of Niger's total exports. Colombani continued to be an important intermediary between France and Niger informally, and had considerable influence on the Nigerien government under President Hamani Diori.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Klaas van Walraven: The Yearning for Relief. A History of the Sawaba Movement in Niger . Brill, Leiden 2013, ISBN 978-90-04-24574-7 , pp. 173 .
  2. ↑ Mame Aly Konte: Cameroun, Congo, Gabon, Mali, RDC ...: ci-gît la Corsafrique! In: SenePlus. December 9, 2013, accessed October 15, 2016 (French).
  3. ↑ Countries Se – Sun. In: Rulers.org. Retrieved October 15, 2016 .
  4. ↑ a b Papa Alioune Ndao: La francophonie des Pères fondateurs . Karthala, Paris 2008, ISBN 978-2-8111-0036-0 , pp. 77-78 .
  5. ↑ a b Rémi Carayol: Cameroun, Congo, Gabon, Mali, RDC ...: ci-gît la Corsafrique! In: Jeune Afrique . May 12, 2015, accessed October 15, 2016 (French).
  6. ↑ Abdourahmane Idrissa, Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Niger . 4th edition. Scarecrow, Plymouth 2012, ISBN 978-0-8108-6094-0 , pp. 233 and 368 .
  7. ↑ Abdourahmane Idrissa, Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Niger . 4th edition. Scarecrow, Plymouth 2012, ISBN 978-0-8108-6094-0 , pp. 249 .
  8. ^ Aliou Mahamane: La naissance de l'armée nationale au Niger, 1961–1974 . In: Idrissa Kimba (ed.): Armée et politique au Niger . Codesria, Dakar 2008, ISBN 2-86978-216-0 , p. 52 .
  9. ↑ List chronologique des ambassadeurs, envoyés extraordinaires, ministres plénipoteniaires et chargés d'affaires de France à l'étranger depuis 1945. (PDF) In: France Diplomatie. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development , p. 84 , accessed October 15, 2016 (French).
  10. ↑ Abdourahmane Idrissa, Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Niger . 4th edition. Scarecrow, Plymouth 2012, ISBN 978-0-8108-6094-0 , pp. 250-251 .
  11. ^ Gregory Mann: From Empires to NGOs in the West African Sahel. The Road to Nongovernmentality . Cambridge University Press, New York 2015, ISBN 978-1-107-01654-5 , pp. 178 .
personal data
SURNAME Colombani, Don Jean
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French colonial official and diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH February 16, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Isolaccio-di-Fiumorbo
DATE OF DEATH 1977