Chad Oration: Dictatorships

Even though Chad gained its independence in 1960, its unstable and corrupted government has always been controlled by dictators.

Tombalbaye

Francois Tombalbaye was named Prime Minister upon Chad's independence in 1960. He gained power by consolidating support from a divided north and south. He had been a member of the Sara peoples and was a union leader and representative from the Moyen-Chari Prefecture. He claimed the Chadian Progressive Party (Parti Progressiste Tchadian) as his own. [1]

As president, Tombalbaye abolished the two party system in favor of autocratic rule. He is remembered for insensitive mismanagement and the rife he caused between different ethnicities in the country. His main opposition had been the Muslim party, who began a civil war in 1965. Tombalbaye was captured and killed in 1975. [2]

Malloum & Oueddei

After his death, Felix Malloum became president for a short time (1975-1978). [3] In 1979, rebel factions finally conquered the capital, which caused a government collapse. Goukouni Oueddei was then set up as president after a coup in 1979, but another coup deposed him in 1982. [4]

Habre

Hissene Habre gained power as a new president in 1982. Relying on corruption and violence, Habre favored his own ethnic group - the Daza. [5] He is currently been charged for serious crimes, such as the killing and torturing of tens of thousands of people His secret police was responsible for many of these. Habre was also responsible for ethnic cleansing against the Sara, Hadjerai, and Zaghawa. [6] He was deposed by Deby, his general, in 1990 and placed under house arrest in Senegal. He was charged with war crimes in 2013. [7]

Deby

Idriss Deby, the current dictator, abolished the single party policy when he took power in 1990. He [8] He is seen as responsible for the oil line corruption (see prior article). [9]
also adopted a new constitution through which he became the president in 1996. He won the next election five years later, then removed the law which stated that each president could only have two terms. His rule is marked with ethnic violence. Rebel forces have tried to take the capital twice, once in 2006 and again in 2008, but have failed both times. In 2013, a coup was foiled against President Deby.

[1] "French Chad", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Chad.

[2] "Chad: History", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad#History.
[3] "Felix Malloum", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9lix_Malloum.