Pierre Galopin was a French military officer who came to international attention when he was captured by a group of

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 rebels, led by

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 ...

, on 4 August 1974 in the

Tibesti The Tibesti Mountains are a mountain range in the central Sahara, primarily located in the extreme north of Chad, with a small portion located in southern Libya. The highest peak in the range, Emi Koussi, lies to the south at a height of and is ...

mountains, in the middle of the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

desert. He was tried by a "revolutionary tribunal", sentenced to death on 26 December 1974 and, on 4 April 1975, executed by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

. Commandant Galopin had been sent to the north of Chad to negotiate the release of

Françoise Claustre Françoise Claustre (8 February 1937 – 3 September 2006), was a French archaeologist. Life and career Claustre was taken hostage by a group of Chadian rebels, led by Hissène Habré, on 20 April 1974, at Bardaï, in the Tibesti Mountain ...

, and his fellow hostages, by the French and Chadian governments. However, it has been alleged that he had a second mission, which was to encourage dissent among the rebels, and it was for this, together with his involvement in the interrogation of captured rebels using torture, that he had been condemned. The extent of Hissène Habré's involvement in his death is also disputed. It has also been claimed that Galopin was a member of the

Françafrique In international relations, () is France's sphere of influence (or in French, meaning 'backyard') over former French and Belgian colonies in sub-Saharan Africa. The term was derived from the expression , which was used by the first president ...

network, led by

Jacques Foccart Jacques Foccart (31 August 1913 – 19 March 1997) was a French businessman and politician, best known as a chief adviser to President of France, French presidents on African affairs. He was also a co-founder of the Gaullist Party, Gaullist Servi ...

. When he went on his final mission, Galopin was deputy to

Camille Gourvenec Camille Gourvenec (died 1978) was an officer of the French external intelligence service SDECE, possibly with the rank of colonel, who, from 1966, was seconded as security adviser to President François Tombalbaye of Chad, and was therefore eff ...

, both as deputy commander of the

Nomad and National Guard The National and Nomadic Guard of Chad () is one of five defence and security forces in Chad. (The others are the Army, the Gendarmerie, the Police and the Judicial Police.) Article 200 of the Constitution of 1996 states that the duties of the ...

, and as deputy security adviser to the President of Chad,

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 ...

. Galopin had spent most of his professional career in the Sahara Desert, first distinguishing himself with operations in

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

, and was in Chad during much of the period from independence in 1960 until his death. His remains were returned to France after

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 ...

came to power.

External links

St Cyr message board (in French)

"The death of Commandant Galopin, an update" by R. Buijenhuijs (in French

References

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

, 29 December 1984, article by Christian Millet

Galopin Galopin (1872–1899) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from June 1874 until October 1875 he ran nine times and won eight races. He was one of the best British two-year-olds of 1874, winning his fir ...

1975 deaths Executed military personnel French people executed abroad {{France-mil-bio-stub