Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno ( ar, محمد إدريس ديبي إتنو; born 1 January 1984), also known as Mahamat Kaka, 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
army general serving as the transitional
president of Chad. He is the son of the late
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 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 ...
. He gained power as the president of the
Transitional Military Council on 20 April 2021 when his father,
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 ...
died in action while commanding troops in the
Northern Chad offensive. He previously served as the second in-command of the military for the
Chadian Intervention in Northern Mali
Chadian intervention in northern Mali refers to military intervention by Chad during the Mali War. Since its first deployment, the Chadian military has suffered 100 casualties. Timeline 2013
On January 18, 2013, the Republic of Chad announce ...
(FATIM).
Early and personal life
Mahamat Déby is
polygamous
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...
and has three wives.
His first wife is an ethnic
Zaghawa Zaghawa may refer to:
* Zaghawa people
* Zaghawa language
Zaghawa is a Saharan language spoken by the Zaghawa people of east-central Chad (in the Sahel) and northwestern Sudan (Darfur). The people who speak this language call it Beria, from ''Be ...
woman.
[ In 2010, Déby married his second wife, a Central African woman and the daughter of ]Abakar Sabon
Abakar Sabon (also spelled Saboune or Sabone) was the leader of the Movement of Central African Liberators for Justice rebel group during the Central African Republic Bush War.
Biography
Born in Boda to a Chadian father and Central African mot ...
, a former Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
government minister, advisor to Michel Djotodia, and leader of the Movement of Central African Liberators for Justice
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
rebel group.[ It is believed that Déby and his second wife have five children.][
Mahamat Déby's third wife, Dahabaya Oumar Souni, is a journalist and ]media advisor
A media consultant is a marketing agent or public relations executive that is hired by businesses or political candidates to obtain positive press coverage. Media consultants usually draft press releases to highlight positive achievements of a ...
who is considered the First Lady of Chad.[ Souni worked closely with her late father-in-law, President Idriss Déby, and was promoted to director of ]public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
for the office of the presidency from December 2019 until his death.[ In May 2021, Dahabaya Oumar Souni was appointed as media advisor to the presidency of the Transitional Military Council and now works alongside her husband, President Mahamat Déby, as a member of his group of technical advisors.]
Military career
Mahamat Déby first enrolled at the Joint Grouping of military schools in Chad. He subsequently received training in France, at the military school of Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...
. Upon his return he was enrolled in second promotion of semi direct of the school of officer inter arme and later was appointed to the service branch for the Security of State Institutions (SERS), as a deputy commander of the groupement of infenterie. His first combat experience took place in April 2006 when rebels attacked the capital city of Chad and later participated in combat in eastern Chad along with General Abu Bakr al Said, then director of gendarmery, Mahamat was given the rank of major afterward. He led forces when he took part in the command of Chadian forces during the Battle of Am Dam, where his army defeated the rebels.
Following his victory, he was appointed in command of the armored squadrons and bodyguards of the SERS. In January 2013, he was appointed second in command of the Chadian special forces in Mali under general Oumar Bikimo. On 22 February, he led his army against rebels in the Adrar al-Ifoghas mountains in Northern Mali leading to the Battle of al-Ifoghas. They eliminated a rebel base said to be of "significant importance", inflicting heavy losses upon the rebels but also losing twenty-six men in the process, including Abdel Aziz Hassane Adam, a commander of special forces. Mahamat took full command of the FATIM and has since been leading operations against rebels in the North.
President of the Transitional Military Council
After Mahamat's father, Idriss Déby, died
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
at the hands of FACT
A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...
on 20 April 2021, the military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
announced that the elected government and National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
have been dissolved and that a Transitional Military Council led by Mahamat will lead the nation for 18 months. A new charter replaced the Constitution of Chad
The Constitution of the Republic of Chad (french: Constitution de la République du Tchad) is the supreme law of Chad.Current Constitution of Chad Chad's eighth constitution since independence from France, it was adopted on 4 May 2018.
The text es ...
, making Mahamat the interim President and head of the armed forces.
Some political actors within Chad have labeled the installing of the transitional military government a "coup", as the constitutional provisions regarding the filling of a presidential vacancy were not followed. Namely, according to the constitution, the President of the National Assembly, Haroun Kabadi
Haroun Kabadi ( ar, هارون كبادي '; born 29 April 1949) is a Chadian politician. He was Prime Minister of Chad from June 2002 to June 2003 and was the President of the National Assembly of Chad from June 2011 to April 2021.
Politics
Kab ...
, should have been named Acting President after 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 ...
's death, and an early election called within a period of no less than 45 and no more than 90 days from the time of the vacancy. However, one of Chad's main foreign policy allies, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, has defended the development as necessary, citing the "exceptional circumstances" caused by the rebellion. Furthermore, the FACT
A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...
rebels have issued an open threat to the new government, stating that "Chad is not a monarchy" and vowing to continue fighting until they reach N'Djamena and depose Mahamat Déby from power.
After initially refusing to negotiate with insurgent groups, Déby softened his stance in August 2021, proposing a national dialogue. After his proposal was met with approval by rebel groups, talks between government and rebel representatives started two months later. The national dialogue between Déby's government and the opposition was supposed to prepare the country for elections scheduled for the second half of 2022.
See also
*Military of Chad
french: Armée nationale tchadienne
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deby Itno, Mahamat
Living people
Chadian Muslims
1984 births
Heads of state of Chad
Generals
Chadian military leaders
Sons of national leaders
People from Hadjer-Lamis Region
Chadian anti-communists