Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languagesPrime Minister of Niger from 28 September 1994Nancy Ellen Lawler Niger: Year in Review 1994 Britannica.com. to 8 February 1995. He later served in the government under President
Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara
General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara (May 9, 1949 – April 9, 1999) was a military officer and diplomat in Niger who ruled the country from his seizure of power in 1996 until his assassination during the military coup of April 1999.
Baré Maïn ...
as Minister of Transport from 1996 to 1997 and then as
Minister of the Interior
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
, in charge of police and internal security, from 1997 to 1999.
Minister of Trade, Transport, and Tourism
A member of the
Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama
The Democratic and Social Convention - Rahama (french: Convention démocratique et sociale-Rahama, CDS-Rahama) is a political party in Niger.
History
It was founded in January 1991. In the February 1993 parliamentary elections the party won 22 ...
(CDS),Jibrin Ibrahim and Abdoulaye Niandou Souley "The rise to power of an opposition party: the MNSD in Niger Republic" Unisa Press, Politeia, Vol. 15, No. 3, 1996. Abdoulaye was named Minister of Trade, Transport, and Tourism on 23 April 1993, , official Nigerien presidency web site . part of the government of the Alliance of the Forces of Change (AFC), a coalition of parties that included the CDS, under Prime Minister
Mahamadou Issoufou
Mahamadou Issoufou (born 1 January 1952) is a Nigerien politician who served as the President of Niger from 7 April 2011 to 2 April 2021. Issoufou was the prime minister of Niger from 1993 to 1994, president of the National Assembly from 1995 t ...
. This followed the victory of
Mahamane Ousmane
Mahamane Ousmane (born 20 January 1950), press release no. 179, is a Nigerien politician. He was the first democratically elected and fourth President of Niger, serving from 16 April 1993, U.S. Department of State. until he was deposed in a mili ...
, the CDS leader, in the second round of the presidential election in March. Abdoulaye was considered close to Ousmane, serving as his campaign manager and as the treasurer of the CDS.
As Minister of Trade, Transport, and Tourism, Abdoulaye participated in negotiations with
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
n hijackers who had diverted a plane from Nigeria to
Niamey
Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital di ...
in October 1993. Most of the passengers were released following negotiations, and the remainder were freed during a commando raid after Abdoulaye and fellow negotiators engaged in onboard negotiations and were able to assess the plane's interior.
Prime minister
Ousmane appointed Abdoulaye as Prime Minister following the resignation of Issoufou in September 1994 amid charges by Issoufou that Ousmane had taken overly broad presidential powers. Issoufou's party, the
Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism
The Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (french: Parti Nigerien pour la Democratie et le Socialisme, PNDS-Tarayya) is a political party in Niger. It is a broadly left-leaning party, part of the Socialist International, and since 2011 it h ...
, also quit the AFC coalition, leaving it without a parliamentary majority. Abdoulaye's government was named on 5 October, but, lacking a parliamentary majority, on 16 October it was defeated in a
no-confidence vote
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
,"Oct 1994 - Political crisis", ''Keesing's Record of World Events'', Volume 40, October, 1994 Niger, Page 40219. with 46 deputies (out of 82 present) against it, and resigned. Abdoulaye was promptly reappointed as Prime Minister by Ousmane on 17 October, but as a result of the no-confidence vote, Ousmane had to call a new parliamentary election, which was held in January 1995.
Under Maïnassara
Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara
General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara (May 9, 1949 – April 9, 1999) was a military officer and diplomat in Niger who ruled the country from his seizure of power in 1996 until his assassination during the military coup of April 1999.
Baré Maïn ...
seized power in a military coup in January 1996, ousting Ousmane. On August 23, 1996, Abdoulaye was named Minister of Transport in a government headed by Prime Minister
Boukary Adji
Boukary Adji (1939 ", ''Afrique Express'' .– 4 July 2018) was a
and appointed by President Maïnassara."Gouvernmenets du Président Ibrahim Mainassara Barré" , official Nigerien presidency web site . In joining the government under Maïnassara, Abdoulaye split from the CDS. After over a year as Minister of Transport, he was moved to the post of
Minister of the Interior
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
in the government of Prime Minister
Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki
Ibrahim Assane Mayaki (born September 24, 1951) is a Nigerien politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Niger from November 27, 1997, to January 3, 2000.
Fourth Republic
Under President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, who seized power in a Janu ...
on 1 December 1997.Opposition leaders arrested in Niger BBC 20 April 1998.
As Interior Minister, Abdoulaye was the public face of the security forces. He was widely criticized when, on 20 August 1998, he had Bory Seyni, the editor of ''Le Democrate'' independent paper, arrested, following the paper's accusation that the Interior Minister had benefited from the sale of government wheat supplies. According to Seyni and observers in the government offices, the journalist was brought handcuffed to Abdoulaye, where the minister beat him severely with a leather crop. According to Seyni, it was only the physical intervention of several Ministry employees which stopped the beating.Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 1999 - Niger 1 January 1999. Online. UNHCR Refworld. accessed 31 March 2009. At the same time, Abdoulaye ordered increasingly severe measures against opposition parties, culminating in the arrest of four senior party leaders in April 1998, including former Prime Minister
Hama Amadou
Hama Amadou (born 1949) is a Nigerien politician who was Prime Minister of Niger from 1995 to 1996 and again from 2000 to 2007. He was also Secretary-General of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD-Nassara) from 1991 to 200 ...
, following a series of protests in
Zinder
Zinder (locally, ''Damagaram''), formerly also spelled Sinder, is the third largest city in Niger, with a population of 170,574 (2001 census);
. He had also previously garnered international attention by accusing the governments of 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 ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
of plotting with opposition parties.
After Maïnassara
When Maïnassara was assassinated by the army on 9 April 1999, Souley Abdoulaye lost his position in the government and found himself in the political wilderness. All of Maïnassara's ministers, Abdoulaye included, were banned from leaving Niamey and were to be investigated for crimes under the previous regime. Abdoulaye was briefly arrested in May 1999, but released without charge. A member of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP-Jama'a), which had been established as the ruling party under Maïnassara, Abdoulaye was arrested again in August 1999 and questioned by the government about purported vote rigging in the February 1999 local elections in the town of
Tahoua
Tahoua is a city in Niger and the administrative centre of the Department of Tahoua and the larger Tahoua Region.Tah ...