Germaine Habiba Ahidjo (11 February 1932 – 20 April 2021) was a Cameroonian politician and nurse. She was the wife of the first president of

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 192430 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first List of Presidents of Cameroon, President of Cameroon, holding the office from 1960 until 1982. Ahidjo played a major role in Cameroon's inde ...

. She was thus the

First Lady of Cameroon First Lady of the Republic of Cameroon refers to the wife of the president of Cameroon. Chantal Biya, the second wife of President Paul Biya, became First Lady upon her marriage to Biya on April 23, 1994. First ladies of Cameroon Notes Refe ...

from 1960 until 1982. She died on the morning of 20 April 2021, at the age of 89 at

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

where she had been suffering from protracted illness.

Biography

Germaine Habiba Ahidjo was born in

Mokolo Mokolo is the departmental capital and largest city of the Mayo-Tsanaga department, in the Far North Province of Cameroon. It is the fourth largest city in the Far North Province, after Maroua, Yagoua, and Kousséri. It is located in the Mandara ...

in 1932 to Hawa and Yaya Boubawa. In 1942, she obtained her certificate of studies in

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

. She later joined the Girls College of Douala, today New-Bell High School. In 1947, she was awarded a scholarship to France, where she graduated as a state nurse in 1952 and specialized in

tropical diseases Tropical diseases are diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropical and subtropical regions. The diseases are less prevalent in temperate climates, due in part to the occurrence of a cold season, which controls the insect population by forci ...

. She became friend with

in 1955 and they were married on 17 August
1956
They had three daughters: Babette, Aissatou and Aminatou. She also had a son, Daniel Toufick, born before her marriage with Ahidjo. Mohamadou Badjika Ahidjo, now a deputy and a visiting ambassador, is the son of Ahidjo with his first wife, Ada Garoua. After the resignation of her husband in 1982 and her death sentence in absentia as a result of her supposed involvement in the failed coup of 1984, they settled in

, where she still lived. Her husband died on 30 November 1989. She campaigned for his official rehabilitation, including the repatriation of his ashes to Cameroon. She died on 19 April 2021, at age 89 in Dakar, Sénégal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahidjo, Germaine 1932 births 2021 deaths First Ladies of Cameroon Cameroonian exiles Cameroonian expatriates in France Cameroonian expatriates in Senegal People from Far North Region (Cameroon)