Lydie Beassemda (born c. 1967) is a

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 ...

ian politician. Since 2 May 2021, she has been Minister of Higher Education and Research under Chad's Transitional Military Council. A campaigner for

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

since 2005, she turned to politics in 2016 as a leading member of the Party for Democracy and Full Independence (PDI) founded by her father and headed the party following her father's death in 2018. Following government reforms, in May 2018 Beassemda was appointed Minister of Production, Irrigation and Agricultural Equipment. In March 2021, she became the first woman to stand as a presidential candidate in Chad when she participated in the 2021 elections but received only 3.16% of the votes. A military council took power on 20 April 2021 following the death of President

Idriss Déby Idriss Déby Itno ' (18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the president of Chad from 1990 until his death in 2021. Déby was a member of the Bidayat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. A high-ranki ...

who had been elected president.

Early life and education

Born in the late 1960s in

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 ...

, Lydie Beassemda was the third of seven children in the family of Beassemda Djebaret Julien (1950–2016) who was also active in Chadian politics. After passing the

baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

in 1989, she studied biology, graduating from the

University of N'Djamena The University of N'Djamena ( ar, جامعة انجامينا, french: Université de N'Djamena, UNDT) is the leading institution of higher education in Chad. It was created in 1971 as the University of Chad, and was renamed "University of N'Dja ...

(1994) and earning a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Nigeria's

Abdou Moumouni University Abdou Moumouni University (French: Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, UAM) was formerly the University of Niamey from 1974 to 1994. On the right bank of the Niger River in Niamey, its students and faculty have historically been involved in prote ...

(1996). She later continued her studies in Canada, receiving two DESS diplomas (degrees for in-depth studies) in food production and in development planning from the

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québe ...

in 2009.

Career

In October 1998, Beassemda was employed as a technician at Chad's Nutrition and Food Technology Centre. From 2001 to 2005, she was involved in the collaborative research project between Chad and Cameroon on oil exploitation (Gramp/TC). She then became increasingly interested in women's rights. In 2004, she founded Mudesoft in support of women's professional development, she became a coordinator at the Swissaid Foundation (2005–2010), a liaison officer for the Women's Associations' Information and Liaison Group Celiaf from 2007 and a founding member of Caid (Caisse d’appui aux initiatives de développement) in 2009. She also participated in the Oxfam Intermon women's rights programme (2009–2010). Beassemia was a candidate in the third district of N'Djamena for the legislative elections in 2011 and the municipal elections in 2012. In 2014, she was appointed national secretary of the PDI party founded by her father. In 2016, she coordinated her father's election campaign and headed the party after his death in August 2018. Following the Chadian government reforms, in May 2018 she was appointed Minister of Production, Irrigation and Agricultural Equipment. In March 2021, she became the first woman to stand as a candidate in Chadian presidential elections but received only 3.16% of the votes. Since 2 May 2021, Lydie Beassemda has been the Chadian Minister of Higher Education and Research under the Transitional Military Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beassemda, Lydie

External links

Lydie Beassemda, première femme candidate à la présidentielle au Tchad
short AFP video presenting Chad's first female presidential candidate (in French) 1960s births Living people Chadian women activists Chadian women's rights activists Government ministers of Chad Women government ministers of Chad University of N'Djamena alumni Abdou Moumouni University alumni University of Ouagadougou alumni Université du Québec à Montréal alumni 21st-century Chadian women politicians 21st-century Chadian politicians