Niger
Niger, 1960 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. Niger left the French Community and acquired full independence on 3 August 1960, and Diori thus became the first president of the country. Since obtaining independence in 1960, Niger has experienced five coups d'état and four periods of military rule. Following the most recent coup in 2023, the country has been ruled by National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, a military junta, led by President Abdourahamane Tiani.
Seat of power: Niamey
Rulers
Diori Hamani
President of Niger, 1960–1974
He was the first President of the Republic of Niger. Although corruption was a common feature of his administration, he gained international respect for his role as a spokesman for African affairs and as a popular arbitrator in conflicts. His rule ended with a military coup in 1974.
Portrait of Diori Hamani: Kroon, Ron / Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, file
Hamid Algabid
Prime Minister of Niger, 1983–1988
He was an important figure in the regime of Seyni Kountché, serving as Prime Minister of Niger from 1983 to 1988.
Mamane Oumarou
Prime Minister of Niger, 1983–1983
Kountché appointed him as Prime Minister on 24 January 1983, but in November 1983 he instead made Oumarou the head of the National Council for Development, where he served until 1988.
Mamane Oumarou
Prime Minister of Niger, 1988–1989
Kountché's successor Ali Saïbou appointed Oumarou as Prime Minister again in May 1989, but eliminated the position in December 1989.
Aliou Mahamidou
Prime Minister of Niger, 1990–1991
He was a Nigerien businessman and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Niger from 2 March 1990 to 1 November 1991.
Amadou Cheiffou
Prime Minister of Niger, 1991–1993
He was Prime Minister of Niger from 26 October 1991 to 17 April 1993, heading a transitional government. He headed the transitional government that served from 1991 to 1993, during the transitional period leading to multiparty elections.
Mahamane Ousmane
President of Niger, 1993–1996
He was elected as the fourth President of Niger at 43 years old, the youngest elected president in Africa. He was the first democratically elected president of his country, serving from 16 April 1993 until he was deposed in a military coup d'état on 27 January 1996.
Portrait of Mahamane Ousmane: Niger77, Public domain, file
Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara
President of Niger, 1996–1999
He seized power on 27 January 1996, and ruled Niger until his assassination on 9 April 1999, during a second coup d'état. Under his rule, a new constitution was approved by referendum in May 1996, and a presidential election was held on 7 to 8 July 1996. He took about 52% of the vote, in an election widely viewed as fraudulent.
Mamadou Tandja
President of Niger, 1999–2010
He was President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was the first president of Niger who was not ethnically Hausa or Djerma. Following a constitutional crisis in 2009, caused by his efforts to remain in office beyond his term, he was ousted by the military in a coup d'état on 18 February 2010.
Portrait of Mamadou Tandja: Ibrahim Alfa Ahmed, Voice of America Hausa Service, Public domain, file
Daouda Malam Wanké
President of Niger, 1999–1999
On 9 April 1999, Wanké led a military coup in which President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, who himself had come to power in a military coup, was assassinated. Wanké's government fulfilled its promise, and turned over power to the newly elected president, Mamadou Tandja, in December 1999.
Salou Djibo
President of Niger, 2010–2011
He led the military coup of 18 February 2010 that ousted Tandja, after which he became the head of the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy. The Supreme Council returned power to a new civil government after the 2011 elections.
Portrait of Salou Djibo: Annassara, Public domain, file
Mahamadou Issoufou
President of Niger, 2011–2021
He served as the president of Niger from 7 April 2011 to 2 April 2021. He left power by respecting the constitution that limited him to two presidential terms, thus leading to the first ever democratic transition of power in the country. In March 2021 he received the Ibrahim Prize for good governance, democratic election and respect of term limits.
Portrait of Mahamadou Issoufou: Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, file
Mohamed Bazoum
President of Niger, 2021–2023
He served as president of Niger from 2021 to 2023. He was ousted in the 2023 Nigerien coup d'état by members of the presidential guard and the armed forces led by Omar Tiani. He is the first Arab to become president of Niger.
Portrait of Mohamed Bazoum: Photographer: Bogdan Hoyaux, CC BY 4.0, file
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Abdourahamane Tiani
Head of state, 2023 to today
He served as the chief of the Nigerien presidential guard from 2011 to 2023, when he overthrew president Mohamed Bazoum in a coup, becoming the leader of a junta. He was inaugurated as president of Niger two years later. His rule has nevertheless been regarded as authoritarian and dictatorial.
Portrait of Abdourahamane Tiani: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
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Culture
- The Hausa are the largest ethnic group, making up around 56% of the population.
- Hausa is the official and national language; English and French serve as the working languages as per the 2025 transitional charter under President Tiani.
- Its predominantly Muslim population of about 29 million lives mostly in clusters in the south and west of the country.
- Its economy is concentrated around subsistence agriculture, with some export agriculture in the less arid south, and the export of raw materials, including uranium ore.
Picture
Agadez, in the Sahara desert, is the capital of the Sultanate of Agadez, one of the traditional Tuareg-Berber federations, and its historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Image: Dan Lundberg, CC BY-SA 2.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.