The National Union for Independence and Revolution (french: Union Nationale pour l'indépendance et la révolution, UNIR) was the ruling party 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 ...
between 1984 and 1990. It was founded in June 1984 by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
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 unt ...
as a successor of his
Armed Forces of the North
The Armed Forces of the North (''Forces Armées du Nord'' or FAN) was a Chadian rebel army active during the Chadian Civil War. Composed of FROLINAT units that remained loyal to Hissène Habré following his break from Goukouni Oueddei and the ...
, the insurgent group through which Habré had conquered power in 1982. The party was banned six years later by
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 ...
when he assumed power by overthrowing Habré in the
1990 coup d'état.
Background
In 1965 Chad had was plunged in
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, in a rebellion representing a rekindling of traditional animosities between the Muslim northern and central regions and the predominantly non-Muslim people of the south who had dominated the government and civil service since independence. A turning point in the conflict was represented by the
conquest in 1979 of the 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 ...
, by northern insurgents; although the struggle continued with increasing severity, its shape now changed, developing in a conflict between the two main northern leaders,
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 unt ...
, leader of the
Armed Forces of the North
The Armed Forces of the North (''Forces Armées du Nord'' or FAN) was a Chadian rebel army active during the Chadian Civil War. Composed of FROLINAT units that remained loyal to Hissène Habré following his break from Goukouni Oueddei and the ...
(FAN), and
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 Civi ...
, leader of the
People's Armed Forces
The People's Armed Forces (''Forces Armées Populaires'' or FAP) was a Chadian insurgent group composed of followers of Goukouni Oueddei after the schism with Hissène Habré in 1976. With an ethnic base in the Teda clan of the Toubou from the Ti ...
(FAP).
After the fall of N'Djamena, the rival factions
signed in Lagos an accord which created the
Transitional Government of National Union
The Transitional Government of National Unity (''Gouvernement d'Union Nationale de Transition'' or GUNT) was the coalition government of armed groups that nominally ruled Chad from 1979 to 1982, during the most chaotic phase of the long-running ci ...
(GUNT), with Goukouni as President and Habré as Defence Minister. The accord broke down in 1980 with the
Second Battle of N'Djamena, when Habré rebelled and was expelled from the GUNT. While defeated in 1980 due to
Libyan intervention, he was able two years later, on June 7 1982, to secure control of the capital and expel the GUNT.
On assuming power, Habré issued on September 29 a
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
which put at the centre the FAN's executive body, the Command Council, which became the country's ultimate fount of power and was entitled to appoint and also call to account the President.
Foundation of the UNIR
Habré's political support came primarily from northerners, the army that brought him to power, and civilians who supported his opposition to
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
n interference in Chadian affairs. To broaden his support, in 1984 he undertook a program to extend the reach of government into rural areas, first by seeking the advice of the nation's
prefect
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.
A prefect's ...
s. Southern prefects advised that in addition to lingering animosity based on the early association of FAN with
FROLINAT
FROLINAT (french: Front de libération nationale du Tchad; en, National Liberation Front of Chad) was an insurgent rebel group active in Chad between 1966 and 1993.
Origins
The organization was a result of the political union between the left ...
, which had worked to oust the southern-based government of
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 ...
, a major concern in that region was the conduct of the
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
. The army had become, in effect, an obstacle to security.
[T. Collelo, ''Chad'']
"National Union for Independence and Revolution"
/ref>
Following this Habré, during the celebrations for the second anniversary of his rise to power, held a speech on June 7 in which he announced that the FAN, after the dissolution of the old FAN militia in the new Chadian National Armed Forces, was to also be considered dissolved, and should thus evolve itself into something new. He also added that an extraordinary congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
of the FAN was to be called in short time. The first congress of the FROLINAT-FAN was opened on June 20, opened by a speech of the President in which he attacked Libyan presence in northern Chad as an attempt to "wipe out our traditional and ancestral values". Two days later, on June 22, the congress announced the formal dissolution of the FAN, that was replaced on June 24 by the National Union for Independence and Revolution, a movement whose aims were declared to be the establishment of democratic political life, freedom of expression and opposition to "religious fanaticism".["Diplomatic efforts to end civil conflict - Continuing military activity", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 30, July, 1984 Chad, p. 33006.][Robert Buijtenhuijs (1987); ''Le Frolinat et les guerres civiles du Tchad (1977-1984)'', Karthala. . p. 301.][Bernard Lanne (November 1984)]
"Le Sud, l'État e la Révolution"
''Politique Africaine'', pp. 42-43
The congress was closed on June 27 by Habré, who in his closing speech announced the merge in the new movement of three political parties already allied with the government, representing the Minister of Health Abba Siddick's Frolinat Originel, Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye
Nouradine Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye ( ar, نور الدين دلوا كوماكوي; born December 31, 1949[National Rally for Development and Progress
The National Rally for Development and Progress (french: Rassemblement national pour le développement et le progrès, also known as VIVA) is a political party in Chad, led by Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye. It was founded in early 1992, with Koumakoye ...]
and Minister of State Djidingar Dono Ngardoum
Djidingar Dono Ngardoum (1928 – February 19, 2000) was Prime Minister of Chad from May 19, 1982 to June 19, 1982. He was minister of finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government f ...
's Assembly for Unity and Chadian Democracy. The latter two represented southern élite parties, and their assimilation was pivotal to guarantee the formation of a state party through which the whole political élite of the country would be represented in the government and the National Consultative Council
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
.Sam Nolutshungu
Samuel Clement Nolutshungu (15 April 1945 – 12 August 1997) was one of the foremost South African scholars, and an internationally acclaimed expert on South African politics.
Born in King William's Town in 1945, he studied first in the Lo ...
(1995); ''Limits of Anarchy: Intervention and State Formation in Chad''. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. , p. 196[R. Buijtenhuijs, p. 302]
The creation of the UNIR did not take place without opposition: the GUNT counter-government argued that he lacked the authority to dissolve the FROLINAT, as the FAN was merely a dissident group which had been excluded from the main group. The GUNT's chairman, Goukouni, added that with the creation of the UNIR Habré "has cleared yet another obstacle in his betrayal of the Chadian revolution". Strong opposition also manifested itself among many of the delegates with hot debates, concerning in particular the abandonment of the old FAN name, as many militants had been long accustomed to it. According to Robert Buijtenhuijs, the delay of the congress had been due mostly to Habré's fear to be put in minority by the FAN's old guard, and he had to impose himself forcefully to coaxe in obedience his former comrades.[
]
Organization
On June 26, the day before the end of the congress, the delegates elected by acclamation
An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts.
Voting Voice vot ...
President Hissène Habré chairman of the movement and proceeded to form, on Habré's proposals, a Central Committee
Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...
composed of 80 members. Of the 43 members that had composed the Command Council of the FAN, only 18 were inserted in the new central committee. As part of an attempt to leave the political pro-northern "ghetto" in which Habré was confined and establish a fairer the equilibrium between north and sorth, 25 of the 80 selected members were southerners.[
The day after the closing of the congress, on June 28, the Central Committee convened for the first time and proceeded to nominate the members of the Executive Bureau, a 15-strong body chaired by the President and meant to serve as the primary liaison between the party and the government. Those selected were chosen, as for the Central Committee, on proposal of the President. Among them, 9 were military officers; as for their regional extraction, 6 were southerners (including the executive secretary Gouara Lassou), with the remaining northerners. Among the ]prefectures of Chad
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
, the most represented were the BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
, Habré's native region, with 4 members and 3 from the Moyen-Chari.[
]
Electoral history
Presidential elections
National Assembly elections
Note
The country was a one party state as a result of the 1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
referendum but all candidates stood for the election as independents.
References
{{Chadian political parties
1984 establishments in Chad
1990 disestablishments in Chad
Banned political parties
Defunct political parties in Chad
Nationalist parties in Africa
Parties of one-party systems
Political parties disestablished in 1990
Political parties established in 1984