Tandja Mamadou

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Tandja Mamadou, 2007

Tandja Mamadou (* 1938 in Maïné-Soroa ) is a Nigerien politician of the National Development Movement Party (MNSD-Nassara). He was president of the country from 1999 until his fall in 2010.

Life

Tandja Mamadou attended primary school in Maïné-Soroa, his birthplace. From 1955 to 1959 he went to the military school in Katibougou in Mali . In 1959 he began his career as a non-commissioned officer in the Nigerian armed forces , where he served for over three decades and gradually achieved higher officer degrees. From 1959 to 1963 he continued his military training at the NCO School in Antananarivo . In 1965 he attended the officers' school in Bouaké . In the 1960s he was, among other things, commander of the Tondibiah military camp in the capital Niamey and commander of the motorized unit in Dirkou .

As a member of the Supreme Military Council in 1974, Tandja played a key role in the overthrow of Nigerien President Hamani Diori . After holding the post of prefect of the Maradi department from 1976 , he served in the new government under Seyni Kountché from 1979 to 1981 as Niger's interior minister . He then worked until 1988 as prefect of the Tahoua department . From 1988 to 1990 he was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Nigeria and then again until 1991 as Minister of the Interior. That year Tandja retired from the armed forces, where he last held the rank of lieutenant colonel , and became president of the National Development Corporation Movement. He held this post until 1999.

In the presidential elections in 1993 he tried for the first time for the office of Nigerien president, but had to admit defeat to Mahamane Ousmane .

In the presidential election in 1996 he ran again, but was defeated with only 15.65 percent of the vote to the incumbent Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara . After his assassination and the temporary takeover of power by a military junta, elections were held again in October and November 1999. In the first round of the 1999 presidential election , Tandja received 32 percent of the vote. In the runoff election he was able to prevail against the former Prime Minister Mahamadou Issoufou with 60 percent of the vote .

Tandja took office on December 22, 1999 and appointed Hama Amadou its prime minister. This was the first democratic transfer of power in the country's history. During his tenure, Tandja focused on the country's economic development and reducing national debt. He drastically cut government spending. In 2001, the students at Niamey Abdou Moumouni University violently protested against the cut in their educational grants. In 2002, some soldiers rebelled against being underpaid. Loyal military units put down this rebellion. In this context, Tandja came under political attack for banning coverage of the rebellion. From February 2002 he was acting president of the Niger Basin Authority . In December 2002 he became acting president of the West African Economic and Monetary Union and in March 2003 acting president of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States .

In the presidential elections in November and December 2004 , Tandja Mamadou applied for a second term as Nigerien President and won. Hama Amadou was reappointed Prime Minister.

Since the Nigerien constitution only allowed two terms of office for the president, Tandja pushed through a referendum on a new constitution in August 2009 . He had previously dissolved Parliament and the Constitutional Court , as both institutions had spoken out against the referendum. On October 20, 2009, President Tandja held parliamentary elections in Niger, which were boycotted by the opposition parties. Because of the controversial elections, the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS) suspended Niger's membership.

On February 18, 2010, Tandja was overthrown by the military. He was initially held at a military base in Niamey. He was subsequently placed under house arrest in Niamey and transferred to a civil prison in Kollo in early 2011 . He was accused of aiding and abetting embezzlement , nepotism and - because of the intended constitutional referendum - breaking the oath. An appeals court cleared him of all allegations. Tandja was released from prison in May 2011. In October 2012, the Council of the Republic began its work, to which Tandja belongs as a former president according to the constitution.

Honors

Web links

Commons : Mamadou Tandja  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung : General Tandja still needs some time , August 4, 2009.
  2. ^ Deutsche Welle : Controversial parliamentary elections in Niger , October 21, 2009.
  3. ↑ Focus : Military coup in Niger , West Africa , February 19, 2010.
  4. ↑ Jeune Afrique: Niger: la nouvelle vie de Mamadou Tandja , May 26, 2011.
  5. ^ Niger: Installation du Conseil de la République . Afriquinfos website, published October 25, 2012, accessed October 29, 2012.
personal data
SURNAME Tandja Mamadou
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Nigerien politician
DATE OF BIRTH 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Maïné-Soroa