Idriss Déby
Idriss Déby Itno (Arabic: إدريس ديبي Idrīs Daybī Itnū; 18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the 6th president of Chad from 1991 until his death in 2021 during the Northern Chad offensive.[4] His term of office of more than 30 years makes him Chad's longest-serving president.
Idriss Déby
- Jean Alingué Bawoyeu
- Joseph Yodoyman
- Fidèle Moungar
- Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye
- Koibla Djimasta
- Nassour Guelendouksia Ouaido
- Nagoum Yamassoum
- Haroun Kabadi
- Moussa Faki
- Pascal Yoadimnadji
- Adoum Younousmi
- Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye
- Youssouf Saleh Abbas
- Emmanuel Nadingar
- Djimrangar Dadnadji
- Kalzeubet Pahimi Deubet
- Albert Pahimi Padacké
Bada Abbas Maldoum (1990–1991)
18 June 1952
Fada, French Equatorial Africa (now Chad)
20 April 2021 (aged 68)
N'Djamena, Chad
Died by injuries (gunshot wounds)
Timane Erdimi (nephew)
1976–2021
Déby was a member of the Bidayat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. A high-ranking commander of President Hissène Habré's military during the 1980s, Déby played important roles in the Toyota War which led to Chad's victory during the Libyan-Chadian conflict. He was later purged by Habré after being suspected of plotting a coup, and was forced into exile in Libya. He took power by leading a coup d'état against Habré in December 1990. Despite introducing a multi-party system in 1992 after several decades of one-party rule under his predecessors, throughout his presidency, his Patriotic Salvation Movement was the dominant party. Déby won presidential elections in 1996 and 2001, and after term limits were eliminated he won again in 2006, 2011, 2016, and 2021.
During the Second Congo War, Déby briefly ordered military intervention on the side of the Congolese government but soon withdrew when his forces were accused of looting and human rights abuses. In the early 2000s, oil was discovered in Chad, and Déby made petroleum production the driving force of the country's economy. He survived various rebellions and coup attempts against his own rule, including a rebellion led by his former defense minister Youssouf Togoïmi from 1998 to 2002 as well as a civil war from 2005–2010 provoked by the refugee crisis of the War in Darfur in neighboring Sudan.
Several international media sources have described Déby as authoritarian. During his three decades in office, Chad experienced democratic backsliding,[5][6][7] as well as widespread corruption, including cronyism, embezzlement, and a deeply entrenched patronage system.[8][9] In 2016, the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) was established with the goal of overthrowing Déby's government.[10][11] In April 2021, FACT initiated the Northern Chad offensive; Déby was injured on 19 April while commanding troops on the frontline fighting the militants and died the following day.
Early life[edit]
Déby was born on 18 June 1952,[12] in the village of Berdoba, approximately 190 kilometers from Fada in northern Chad.[13] His father was a herdsman of the Bidayat clan of the Zaghawa community. After attending the Qur'anic School in Tiné, Déby studied at the École Française in Fada and at the Franco-Arab school (Lycée Franco-Arabe) in Abéché.[13] He also attended the Lycée Jacques Moudeina in Bongor and held a bachelor's degree in science.[14]
After finishing school, he entered the Officers' School in N'Djamena.[13] From there he was sent to France for training, returning to Chad in 1976 with a professional pilot certificate. He remained loyal to the army and President Félix Malloum even after Chad's central authority crumbled in 1979.[13] He returned from France in February 1979 and found Chad had become a battleground for many armed groups.[13] Déby tied his fortunes to those of Hissène Habré, one of the chief Chadian warlords. A year after Habré became president in 1982, Déby was made commander-in-chief of the army.
He distinguished himself in 1984 by destroying pro-Libyan forces in eastern Chad. In 1985, Habré sent him to Paris to follow a course at the École de Guerre and upon his return in 1986,[13] he was made chief military advisor to the president. In 1987, he confronted Libyan forces on the field, with the help of France[13] in the so-called "Toyota War", adopting tactics that inflicted heavy losses on enemy forces. During the war, he also led a raid on Maaten al-Sarra Air Base in Kufrah, in Libyan territory.[13] A rift emerged on 1 April 1989 between Habré and Déby over the increasing power of the Presidential Guard.
According to Human Rights Watch,[15] Habré was found responsible for "widespread political killings, systematic torture, and thousands of arbitrary arrests", as well as ethnic purges when it was perceived that group leaders could pose a threat to his rule, including many of Déby's Zaghawa ethnic group who supported the government.[13] Increasingly paranoid, Habré accused Déby, minister of the interior Mahamat Itno, and then commander-in-chief of the Chadian army Hassan Djamous of preparing a coup d'état. Déby fled first to Darfur, then to Libya, where he was welcomed by Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli.[13] Itno and Djamous were arrested and killed.[16] Since all three were ethnic Zaghawa, Habré started a targeted campaign against the group which saw hundreds seized, tortured, and imprisoned. Dozens died in detention or were summarily executed.[16] In 2016, Habré was convicted of war crimes by a specially created international tribunal in Senegal.[17] Déby gave the Libyans detailed information about CIA operations in Chad. Gaddafi offered Déby military aid to seize power in Chad in exchange for Libyan prisoners of war.[13]
Déby relocated to Sudan in 1989 and formed the Patriotic Salvation Movement, an insurgent group,[18][19] supported by Libya and Sudan,[20] which started operations against Habré, and on 2 December 1990 Déby's troops marched unopposed into N'Djamena in a successful coup, ousting Habré.[21]
Personal life[edit]
Déby added "Itno" to his surname in January 2006. He was a graduate of Muammar Gaddafi's World Revolutionary Center.[100]
Déby was polygamous and had four wives by 2018 – Zina Wazouna Ahmed Idriss, Hadja Halimé, Hinda Déby Itno (m. 2005), and Amani Musa Hila (m. 2012).[2] BBC News has also mentioned a fifth wife named Ali Bouye.[101] Déby had at least a dozen children.
In September 2005, Déby married Hinda (born 1977), who was reputed for her beauty.[2] This marriage attracted much attention in Chad, and due to tribal affiliations it was seen by many as a strategic means for Déby to bolster his support while under pressure from rebels.[102] Though she was not Déby's oldest or newest wife, Hinda Déby was considered the "First Lady of Chad" due to her influential positions in government and politics.[2] Hinda was a member of the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency, serving as Special Secretary.[103] The daughter of a top Chadian diplomat, Hinda Déby Itno has dual Chadian and French citizenship.[101] She and Déby had five children, all born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, who also hold French nationality.[101]
On 21 January 2012, Déby married his most recent wife, Amani Musa Hila, a Sudanese national, member of Idriss Déby's Zaghawa tribe, and daughter of Janjaweed militia leader Musa Hilal in Darfur.[2][104] The marriage was seen as a way to strengthen bilateral ties between Chad and Sudan following a 2010 agreement to normalize diplomatic relations.[2]
On 2 July 2007, Déby's son, Brahim, was found dead aged 27 in the parking garage of his apartment near Paris.[105] A murder inquiry was launched by the French police. Blogger Makaila Nguebla attributes the defection of many Chadian government leaders to their indignation over Brahim's conduct: "He is at the root of all the frustration. He used to slap government ministers, senior Chadian officials were humiliated by Déby's son."[106] In July 2011, four men were convicted of "robbery leading to death without intention to kill" in the case and sentenced to prison sentences of between five and thirteen years.[107]
Déby was a practicing Muslim.[108]
