François Tombalbaye

A native of the south of the country and a member of the Sara ethnic group, Tombalbaye began his career as a teacher during French colonial rule and joined the Chadian Progressive Party (PPT) in 1946. After serving in the colonial legislature in the 1950s, he succeeded Gabriel Lisette as the PPT's leader in 1959 and was appointed the country's first president upon gaining independence in 1960. In 1962, he declared the PPT the sole legal party and presided over a corrupt dictatorship characterized by extreme favoritism to his southern-based patronage network. In addition to his dictatorial rule, he also attempted an Africanization program that worsened the divide between the Muslim north and the Christian and animist south. In 1965, tax riots erupted into a civil war between his government and northern FROLINAT rebels. During the war, his regime was supported by France, while FROLINAT was supported by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.


In 1973, he founded a new party, the National Movement for the Cultural and Social Revolution (MNRCS), changed his name to N'Garta Tombalbaye and attempted to further Africanize the country through a program of authenticité. As the civil war continued and his support in the south dwindled, particularly over his imposition of yondo, a form of ritual scarring on members of the civil service and military, he was overthrown and assassinated by members of the Chadian military during the 1975 Chadian coup d'état and replaced by Félix Malloum.