Ahmed Koulamallah (11 February 1912 – 5 September 1995) was a prominent politician in Colonial Chad. He was the estranged son of the

sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

of Baguirmi and the charismatic leader of the Tijaniyyah

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic brotherhood in

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

. He entered in politics founding in 1950 the Independent Socialist Party of Chad (''Parti socialiste indepéndent du Tchad'' or PSIT), connected to the

French Section of the Workers' International The French Section of the Workers' International (french: Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière, SFIO) was a political party in France that was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the modern-day Socialist Party. The SFIO was found ...

(SFIO), reconstructed as Chadian section of the African Socialist Movement (''Mouvement Socialiste Africain'' or MSA). Koulamallah campaigned in different times and places as a member of the Baguirmi nobility, a radical socialist leader, or a militant

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

fundamentalist. He picked most of his adherents from the Chari-Baguirmi and Kanem prefectures. In regards to the main political partes, the conservative

Chadian Democratic Union The Chadian Democratic Union (french: Union Démocratique Tchadienne, UDT) was a political party in Chad. History The party was established in Fort Lamy in 1945. Following the General Council elections, members of the Chadian-French Progressiv ...

(UDT) and Chadian Social Action (AST) and the progressive

Chadian Progressive Party The Chadian Progressive Party (french: Parti Progressiste Tchadien, PPT), known as the National Movement for the Cultural and Social Revolution (french: Mouvement National pour la Révolution Culturelle et Sociale, MNRCS) for the last two years of ...

(PPT), Koulamallah played a generally disruptive role in the middle. Defeated in the 1957 elections for the Territorial Assembly, he remained in the opposition until he allied himself in 1959 with

Gontchomé Sahoulba Gontchomé Sahoulba (16 October 1909 – 1963) was a Chadian politician who played a prominent role during the decolonization in Chad. Born in 1909, he was a Moundang chief of Mayo-Kébbi Prefecture, Mayo-Kebbi, in what was then the French colonia ...

forming the Chadian Popular Movement (''Mouvement Populaire Tchadien'' or MPT), which following a motion of no confidence presented on 11 February 1959, was instrumental in causing the downfall of

Gabriel Lisette Gabriel Francisco Lisette (2 April 1919 – 3 March 2001) was a Chadian politician who played a key role in the decolonization of Chad. Biography Of African descent, he was born at Portobelo in Panama on 2 April 1919. He became a French colon ...

and the PPT government. Sahoulba succeeded Lisette as President of the Provisional Government, forming a government of which he was the only southern Chadian. This exclusion of the south generated high resentment, and brought Koulamallah to ally himself with Lisette against Sahoulba; as a result, a new motion of no confidence was approved with 35 votes against 30, and a new government was formed by Koulamallah on 13 March 1959. The first day he brought all the ministers, Muslims or non-Muslims, to the mosque to pray thanks; and established Arabic would be the working language of the government. Also for this his government survived only eleven days, as yet another motion of no confidence overthrowed the government with 42 votes out of 52. Following this he was again relegated to the opposition, while the PPT, now led by François Tombalbaye, who became the first president of independent Chad on 11 August 1960. In January 1962 all political parties were banned, except the PPT; and in September 1963 all the opposition leader were arrested. Koulamallah escaped with the help of his Baguirmian relatives, crossing the Chari River and passing in Cameroon. But only a few days later he was arrested by the Cameroonian authorities, and extradited to Chad where he was immediately jailed. He remained in prison till 1971, and again from 1972 till 1975, when Tombalbaye was overthrown by a coup. He died in 1995.

References

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External links

Itinéraire d'un enfant rebelle
a
Ialtchad.com

Wandja Alifa
a
Tchad Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koulamallah, Ahmed 1912 births 1995 deaths Independent Socialist Party of Chad politicians