- Seyni Kountché
Infobox Officeholder
honorific-prefix =General
name =Seyni Kountché
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office =Military Head of State ofNiger
term_start =1974
term_end =1987
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monarch =| president =
primeminister =Mamane Oumarou (1983-7)
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predecessor =Hamani Diori
successor =Ali Saibou
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birth_date =1 July 1931
birth_place =Fandou
death_date =10 November 1987
death_place =Paris , France
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nationality =Nigerien
party =Military of Niger
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allegiance =France ,Niger
branch =Niger Army
serviceyears =1940s-57 (French Colonial Forces)
1957-87 (Niger)
rank =Chief of Staff
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military_data5 =Seyni Kountché (
1 July 1931 –10 November 1987 ) was aNiger ien military officer who led a 1974coup d'état that deposed the government of Niger's first president,Hamani Diori . He ruled the country as military head of state from 1974 to 1987.Stade Général Seyni Kountché , Niger's national stadium in Niamey, is named after him.Military career
Born in 1931 in the town of
Damana Fandou , the child ofDjerma aristocracy who traced their origins to theZarmakoy Tondikandie. Kountché began his military career in the late 1940s serving in the French colonial army. In 1957, he was promoted to the rank ofsergeant . The French territory of Niger became independent as the Republic of Niger on3 August 1960 . One year after his country gained its independence, Kountché transferred to the Niger Army. From 1965 to 1966, he studied at the officer's training school inParis and became deputy chief of staff of the armed forces soon after. He was promoted to armed forces chief of staff in 1973.Niger in 1974
During this same period, the newly independent country of Niger faced many problems. Politically, the nation was ruled as a one party state led by president Hamani Diori. Opposition to the regime was suppressed, sometimes violently. A severe
drought lasted from 1968 to 1974, leading to food shortages and growing dissatisfaction with the government. The economy remained weak despite attempts to exploit the large reserves ofuranium in the country. Widespread civil disorder followed allegations that some government ministers were misappropriating stocks of food aid.1974 Coup
On 15 April 1974, Seyni Kountché led a military coup that ended Diori's rule. Kountché's first official acts were to suspend the
Constitution , dissolve theNational Assembly , ban all political parties, and releasepolitical prisoner s. ASupreme Military Council (CMS) was established on 17 April 1974 with Kountché as president. Its stated mandate was to distribute food aid fairly and to restore morality to public life. A consultativeNational Council for Development (CND) replaced theNational Assembly . Although political parties were outlawed, opposition activists who were exiled during Diori's regime were allowed to return to Niger.Military governance
The military government's major preoccupation was planning an economic recovery. Generally amicable relations were maintained with France, and new links were formed with
Arab states. Domestically, the country stabilized although personal and policy differences developed within the CMS. Plots to remove Kountché were thwarted in 1975 and again in 1976.Return to constitutional governence
Kountché began in 1981 to increase civilian representation in the CMS, and in 1982 preparations were undertaken for a constitutional
form of government . A civilianprime minister ,Mamane Oumarou , was appointed on24 January 1983 . One year later, in January 1984, he established a commission to draft a pre-constitutional document, termed a 'national charter'. It was later approved in national referendum. The charter provided for the establishment of non-elective, consultative institutions at both national and local levels.Economic tensions and repression
Economic adjustment efforts during this period were impeded by the recurrence of drought in 1984 and 1985 along with the closure of the land border with
Nigeria from 1984 to 1986. Niger's dependence on external financial assistance was increased. Relations with theUnited States (by now the country's principal source of food aid) assumed considerable importance. Meanwhile, a period of renewed tension between Niger andLibya had fuelled Libyan accusations of thepersecution of the light-skinned, nomadicTuareg population by the Kountché regime. In May 1985, following an armed incident near the Niger-Libya border, all non-Nigerien Tuaregs were expelled from the country.Death
Seyni Kountché's health deteriorated in late 1986 and it continued to worsen during 1987. He died at a Paris hospital of a
brain tumor on 10 November 1987.Ali Saïbou succeeded him and on14 November 1987, he was appointed president of the Supreme Military Council (CMS).References
*This article contains a translation from the French language Wikipedia entry .
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