History of Djibouti

Obock Territory, 1862–1896 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Obock Territory and Dependencies was an administrative colony belonging to the Second French colonial empire, between 1862 and 1896, located in the current republic of Djibouti. On 11 March 1862, representatives of the sultan of Tadjourah concluded an agreement with Édouard Thouvenel, Foreign Minister of Napoleon III, by which they ceded to France the ports, harbor, and anchorage of Obock. France purchased this right for the sum of 10,000 thalers (55,000 gold francs), which were paid in May 1862. The territories were administratively merged into the French Somaliland on May 20, 1896.

Seat of power: Obock

French Somaliland, 1896–1967 Draft, not yet reviewed

French Somaliland was a French colony in the Horn of Africa. French Somaliland was formally established in 1896 when the ruler and elders of the Issa clan signed treaties with the French. The construction of the Imperial Ethiopian Railway west into Ethiopia turned the port of Djibouti into a boomtown of 15,000 at a time when Harar was the only city in Ethiopia with a greater population. The area became a French overseas territory in 1946, and in 1967 it was renamed the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas.

Seat of power: Djibouti

French Territory of the Afars and the Issas, 1967–1977 Draft, not yet reviewed

The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas was the name given to present-day Djibouti between 1967 and 1977, while it was still an overseas territory of France. In 1966, France rejected the United Nations recommendation that it should grant French Somaliland independence. On 19 March 1967, a second plebiscite was held to determine the fate of the territory. A third independence referendum was held in the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas on 8 May 1977, and a landslide 98.8% of the electorate supported disengagement from France.

Seat of power: Djibouti

Djibouti, 1977 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The new state joined the United Nations in its first year. In the early 1990s, tensions over government representation led to armed conflict between Djibouti's ruling People's Rally for Progress (PRP) party and the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD) opposition group. The impasse ended in a power-sharing agreement in 2000.

Seat of power: Djibouti

Rulers

• Hassan Gouled Aptidon, President of Djibouti, 1977–1999
• Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of Djibouti, 1999 to today