Félix Malloum or Félix Malloum Ngakoutou Bey-Ndi ( ar, فليكس معلوم '; 10 September 1932 – 12 June 2009) was a Chadian military officer and politician who served as the second President of Chad from 1975 to 1978. A native of southern Chad, Malloum became a high-ranking officer in the Chadian military under the country's first president,

François Tombalbaye François Tombalbaye ( ar, فرنسوا تومبالباي '; 15 June 1918 – 13 April 1975), also known as N'Garta Tombalbaye, was a Chadian politician who served as the first President of Chad from the country's independence in 1960 until ...

. In the context of the first Chadian Civil War, he was arrested and imprisoned by Tombalbaye in 1972 after being suspected of plotting a coup. Following Tombalbaye's overthrow and assassination during the

1975 Chadian coup d'état The 1975 Chadian coup d'état was in considerable part generated by the growing distrust of the president of Chad, François Tombalbaye, for the army. This distrust came in part from the Chadian Armed Forces (FAT) incapacity to deal with the re ...

, he became the country's new president, inheriting the civil war against northern rebels. In 1978, he integrated the forces of rebel leader

Hissène Habré Hissène Habré (Arabic: ''Ḥusaīn Ḥabrī'', Chadian Arabic: ; ; 13 August 1942 – 24 August 2021), also spelled Hissen Habré, was a Chadian politician and convicted war criminal who served as the 5th president of Chad from 1982 u ...

, who was appointed prime minister, into his military to fight against rival rebel leader

Goukouni Oueddei Goukouni Oueddei ( ar, كوكوني عويدي '; born 1944 in Zouar) is a Chadian politician who served as President of Chad from 1979 to 1982. A northerner, Goukouni commanded FROLINAT rebels with Libyan support during the first Chadian Civ ...

. Their alliance was short-lived, and Habré soon turned against Malloum in 1979. Under the terms of the

Lagos Accord {{Short description, 1979 Chadian Civil War peace treaty The Lagos Accord was a peace agreement signed on August 21, 1979, by representatives of eleven warring factions of the Chadian Civil War, after a conference in Lagos, Nigeria. The accord es ...

, Malloum resigned, while a new

transitional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

was created using a power-sharing agreement between Habré and Goukouni. After spending 23 years in exile in Nigeria, he returned to Chad in 2002, and died in a hospital in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

seven years later.

Biography

He attended the French military academy and saw action in Indochina and Algeria. He later served as an officer in the

Chadian Military french: Armée nationale tchadienne , image = , alt = , caption = , image2 = , alt2 = , caption2 = , motto ...

and a member of the ruling Chadian Progressive Party (PPT). In 1966 he married Khalié Brahim Djadarab, having a son with her. In 1971, he became the Chief of General Staff with the rank of colonel and named Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces in 1972. In July 1973, he was arrested and imprisoned by President

on charges of conspiring against the government, but was released after a successful coup-d'etat on 13 April 1975. He served as both President and Prime Minister of Chad until 29 August 1978, when

was appointed

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

to integrate armed northern rebels into the government. However, he was unsuccessful and resigned from the presidency on 23 March 1979, after signing the Kano Peace Agreement which allowed the rebels to form a provisional government. He was related to the politician Kalthouma Nguembang, who was tortured by Tombalbaye's regime. Malloum retired from politics and settled in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He returned to the Chadian capital

N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''. The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are the c ...

on 31 May 2002, after 23 years in exile. Upon his return he was entitled to the various benefits allowed to former presidents; these benefits included a monthly stipend of 3,000,000

CFA francs The CFA franc (french: franc CFA, , Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, originally Franc of the French Colonies in Africa, or colloquially ; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight Wes ...

, a residence, and coverage of his health expenses, along with two vehicles and a driver. Malloum died from

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and poss ...

aged 76 on 12 June 2009 at the American Hospital in Paris, France.

References

External links

Country Study, Chad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malloum, Felix Heads of state of Chad Chadian prisoners and detainees Chadian Progressive Party politicians 1932 births 2009 deaths Chadian exiles Chadian–Libyan conflict François Tombalbaye Prisoners and detainees of Chad People from Moyen-Chari Region Chadian expatriates in Nigeria