Jules Pierre Toura Gaba (December 18, 1920 – September 29, 1998) was 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 and diplomat. Following the independence of Chad, he served as its first Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1960 to 1961.

Life and career

He was born on December 18, 1920, at Maibyan, near Moissala, in the

prefecture 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 ...

of Moyen-Chari in southern Chad. He served as a diplomat at

Brazzaville Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLI ...

and worked for a long time as a teacher in places like

Ati Ati or ATI may refer to: * Ati people, a Negrito ethnic group in the Philippines **Ati language (Philippines), the language spoken by this people group ** Ati-Atihan festival, an annual celebration held in the Philippines *Ati language (China), a ...

Abéché Abéché ( ar, أبشه, ''Absha'') is the fourth largest city in Chad and is the capital of Ouaddaï Region. It has within it the remnants of the ancient capital, including palaces, mosques, and the tombs of former sultans. History The city of ...

Bongor Bongor ( ar, بونقور) is a city in Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Est. It is located on the eastern bank of the Logone River. During the rainy season (May–September), the Logone is navigable between Bongor and N'Djamena, Chad' ...

and

Fort-Archambault Semi-active radar homing (SARH) is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is only a passive det ...

(now called Sarh). When Chad was still a

French colony The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that existe ...

, a Representative Council for which some of the African inhabitants could vote was instituted. Toura entered politics and became a member of this council from 1946 to 1956. A year later, he founded the

Chadian Progressive Party The Chadian Progressive Party (french: Parti Progressiste Tchadien, PPT), known as the National Movement for the Cultural and Social Revolution (french: Mouvement National pour la Révolution Culturelle et Sociale, MNRCS) for the last two years of ...

(PPT) with

Gabriel Lisette Gabriel Francisco Lisette (2 April 1919 – 3 March 2001) was a Chadian politician who played a key role in the decolonization of Chad. Biography Of African descent, he was born at Portobelo in Panama on 2 April 1919. He became a French colon ...

, in which Toura became secretary-general and Lisette president. The 1956 reforms greatly boosted the suffrage, strengthening the PPT, which triumphed in the first democratic elections. Toura was among the PPT representatives elected and became Minister of Agriculture in the first black government led by Lisette in 1958. But in February, Lisette lost his position and a month later Toura lost his office in the party to

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 ...

, who, later in the same month, became the new

head of the government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gr ...

. This position was strengthened by the following elections in May, which were triumphantly won by the PPT. A new government was formed, headed by Tombalbaye and with Toura as Minister of Public Works. With the independence of Chad on August 11, 1960, Tombalbaye became

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 ...

and Toura was made

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

. As such he headed the Chadian delegation that on September 29, 1960, was present at the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

that admitted Chad into the UN. In 1961, Toura became Minister of National Education. Nevertheless, Tombalbaye had become increasingly suspicious and authoritarian. As a result, Toura fell in disgrace and was arrested in 1962. He remained in jail for several years, after which the President decided he could use him as a diplomat and sent him as Ambassador to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

in 1966. In 1973, Toura resigned and went into exile in France. In

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

he wrote ''Non à Tombalbaye! - Fragments autobiographiques'', a critique of

the Tombalbaye Regime President François Tombalbaye faced a task of considerable magnitude when Chad became a sovereign state in 1960. His challenge was to build a nation out of a vast and diverse territory that had poor communications, few known resources, a tiny ma ...

(1974). By August, the work started circulating secretly in Chad among opponents of the President. After the coup of 1975 that removed Tombalbaye, Toura returned to the diplomatic service and was made Ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1976. He served until 1979, when he resigned after the dissolution of any central authority in Chad. He found asylum in the United States and remained there until 1991, when he returned to Chad. He died on September 29, 1998, at

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 ...

References

External links

biographic note
a
Rulers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toura Gaba, Pierre 1920 births 1998 deaths Chadian Progressive Party politicians Foreign ministers of Chad Chadian diplomats People from Moyen-Chari Region Chadian expatriates in the Republic of the Congo Chadian expatriates in the United States