Idriss Déby
Encyclopedia : I : ID : IDR : Idriss Déby
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| Time in Office | 2 December 1990 – Present | |
| Predecessor | Hissène Habré | |
| Date of Birth | 1952 | |
| Place of Birth | Fada, Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti region | |
Son of a herder, after finishing school he entered the Officers' School in N'Djamena. From there he was sent to France for training, returning to Chad in 1976 with a professional pilot certificate. Up to 1979 he remained loyal to the army and to the President Félix Malloum; but when that year central authority crumbled, Déby tied his fortunes to those of Hissène Habré, one of the chief Chadian warlords. A year after Habré became President in 1982, in exchange for his loyalty Déby was made commander-in-chief of the army, distinguished himself in 1984 by destroying pro-Libyan forces in Eastern Chad. In 1985 Habré removed him from his post and sent him to Paris to follow a course at the Ecole de Guerre; on his return he was made chief military advisor to the Presidency. In 1987 he confronted Libyan forces on the field, adopting tactics that inflicted heavy losses to enemy forces. A rift emerged in 1989 among Habré and Déby over the increasing power of the Presidential Guard; Habré accused Déby of preparing a coup, and the latter fled first to Libya and then to Sudan where he formed the Patriotic Salvation Movement, an insurgent group supported by Libya and Sudan, starting operations against Habré in October 1989. He unleashed the decisive attack on 10 November 1990, and on 2 December Déby's troops marched unopposed into the capital, N'Djaména.
After three months of provisional government, on 28 February 1991, a charter was approved for Chad with Déby as president. Déby was elected president under a new constitution in 1996 and re-elected in 2001, but international observers noted irregularities in the election process. In June 2005, a successful referendum was held to eliminate a two-term constitutional limit, which enabled Déby to run again in 2006.["Strong yes vote in referendum allows President Deby to seek a new term"], IRIN, June 22, 2005. He was a candidate in the 2006 presidential election, held May 3, which was greeted with an opposition boycott. According to official results Déby won the election with 64.67% of the vote; this was revised downward from the initially announced result of 77.6%.["Deby win confirmed, but revised down to 64.67 pct"], IRIN, May 29, 2006.
Déby has been facing internal unrest and tension with neighboring Sudan as of early 2006; a coup plot involving the shooting down of Déby's plane was reported foiled in March,["Coup attempt foiled, government says"], IRIN, March 15, 2006. and there has been significant fighting with rebels in the east of the country. In mid-April, there was fighting with rebels at N'Djaména, although the fighting soon subsided with government forces still in control of the capital.["Chad confronts rebels in capital"], BBC.co.uk, April 13, 2006. Deby subsequently broke ties with Sudan, accusing it of backing the rebels,Andrew England, ["Chad severs ties with Sudan"], Financial Times, April 15, 2006. and said that the May election would still take place.[Rebels 'will not delay' Chad poll"], BBC.co.uk, April 18, 2006.
Relations with Iran
On July 2, Deby met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[link]See also
References
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