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René Journiac
René Journiac (Saint-Martin-Vésubie, 11 May 1921 – Cameroon, 6 February 1980) was a French magistrate and high functionary. He served as a prominent counsellor on African affairs and as leader of the government's "" during the presidency of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. Journiac first rose to power under Georges Pompidou as a right-hand man of Jacques Foccart and was seen as perpetuating the latter's approach of maintaining French influence in its former colonies through a web of personal relationships with African strongmen. This led the French historian Pascal Geneste to quip that "what Foccart was to de Gaulle, Journiac is to Pompidou". After the election of Giscard in 1974, Journiac largely took over Foccart's functions in the Secretariat for African and Malagasy Affairs; the latter was renamed to the African Department. The main instigator of strong relations with Mobutu's Zaire, he signed a defense pact with the Zairese regime in 1974 which gave way to substantial Frenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valéry Giscard D'Estaing
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, ; ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Ministry of the Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Finance under prime ministers Jacques Chaban-Delmas and Pierre Messmer, Giscard d'Estaing won the 1974 French presidential election, presidential election of 1974 with 50.8% of the vote against François Mitterrand of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party. His tenure was marked by a more liberal attitude on social issues—such as divorce, contraception and abortion—and by attempts to modernise the country and the office of the presidency, notably overseeing such far-reaching infrastructure projects as the TGV and the turn towards reliance on nuclear power as France's main energy source. Giscard d'Estaing launched the Grande Arche, Musée d'Orsay, Arab World Institute and Cité des Sciences et de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zaire
Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-largest country in the world from 1965 to 1991. With a population of over 23 million, Zaire was the most populous Francophone country in Africa. Zaire was strategically important to the West during the Cold War, particularly the U.S., as a counterbalance to Soviet influence in Africa. The U.S. and its allies supported the Mobutu regime (1965–1997) with military and economic aid to prevent the spread of communism. The country was a one-party totalitarian military dictatorship, run by Mobutu Sese Seko and his Popular Movement of the Revolution. Zaire was established following Mobutu's seizure of power in a military coup in 1965, after five years of political upheaval following independence from Belgium known as the Congo Crisis. Zaire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean-Bédel Bokassa
Jean-Bédel Bokassa (; 22 February 1921 – 3 November 1996) was a Central African politician and military officer who served as the second president of the Central African Republic (CAR), after seizing power in the Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état on 1 January 1966. He later established the Central African Empire (CAE) with himself as emperor, reigning as Bokassa I until his overthrow in a 1979 coup. Of this period, Bokassa served about eleven years as president and three years as self-proclaimed Emperor of Central Africa, though the country was still a ''de facto'' military dictatorship. His "imperial" regime lasted from 4 December 1976 to 21 September 1979. Following his overthrow, the CAR was restored under his predecessor, David Dacko. Bokassa's self-proclaimed imperial title did not achieve international diplomatic recognition. In his trial in absentia, Bokassa was tried and sentenced to death. He returned to the CAR in 1986 and was put on trial for treason and murd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afrique Contemporaine
''Afrique contemporaine'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by De Boeck Brussels, Belgium Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit .... External links * French-language journals African studies journals Quarterly journals Academic journals established in 2003 {{Africa-journal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chad
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central African Republic to Central African Republic–Chad border, the south, Cameroon to Cameroon–Chad border, the southwest, Nigeria to Chad–Nigeria border, the southwest (at Lake Chad), and Niger to Chad–Niger border, the west. Chad has a population of 19 million, of which 1.6 million live in the Capital city, capital and largest city of N'Djamena. With a total area of around , Chad is the fifth-largest country in Africa and the List of countries and dependencies by area, twentieth largest nation by area. Chad has several regions: the Sahara desert in the north, an arid zone in the centre known as the Sahel, and a more fertile Sudanian Savanna zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the second-largest wetl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opération Tacaud
Opération Tacaud was a French military operation in Chad, that took place between 20 February 1978 and May 1980. Its aim was to support the Chadian army in protecting N'Djamena from the FROLINAT. History Opération Tacaud was triggered by the capture of Faya-Largeau by the FROLINAT on 17 February 1978, opening the road to N'Djamena, capital of Chad. France decided to send in troops to support the Chadian army, as had been previously done with Opération Bison a few years before. Order of battle Intervention was carried out by entirely professional units of the French Army, belonging to the 9th Marine Infantry Brigade. The 3rd RIMa was sent in its entirety, along with * a battery of the 11th RAMa, * a squadron of the RIMC * a squadron of the 1st REC * two companies of the 2nd REP * one motorised company of the 1st RE The Navy offered one Breguet Atlantic plane for intelligence gathering, as well as naval commandos who were deployed at N'Djamena International Ai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnassingbé Eyadéma
Gnassingbé Eyadéma (; born Étienne Eyadéma Gnassingbé, 26 December 1935 – 5 February 2005) was a Togolese military officer and politician who served as the third president of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, after which he was immediately succeeded by his son, Faure Gnassingbé. Eyadéma participated in two successful military Coup d'état, coups, in January 1963 and January 1967, and became president on 14 April 1967. As president, he created a political party, the Rally of the Togolese People (), and headed an Anti-Communism, anti-communist One-party state, single-party régime until the early 1990s, when reforms leading to multiparty elections began. Although his rule was seriously challenged by the events of the early 1990s, he ultimately consolidated power again and won multiparty presidential elections in 1993, 1998 and 2003; the opposition boycotted the 1993 election and denounced the 1998 and 2003 election results as fraudulent. At the time of his death, Eyad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hassan II Of Morocco
Hassan II (; 9 July 1929 – 23 July 1999) was King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999. A member of the Alawi dynasty, he was the eldest son of King Mohammed V of Morocco, Mohammed V, and his second wife Princess Lalla Abla bint Tahar, Abla bint Tahar. He was named crown prince in 1957 and was the first commander-in-chief of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces, Royal Armed Forces. He was enthroned as king in 1961 following his father's death. His reign was marked by the start of the Western Sahara conflict and the Sand War, as well as two failed coup attempts against him 1971 Moroccan coup attempt, in 1971 and 1972 Moroccan coup attempt, in 1972. Hassan's conservative approach reportedly strengthened his rule over Morocco and the Western Sahara. He was accused of Authoritarianism, authoritarian practices, as well as human rights and civil rights abuses, particularly during the Years of Lead (Morocco), Years of Lead. A Equity and Reconciliation Commission, truth c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omar Bongo
Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo; 30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese politician who was the second president of Gabon from 1967 until Death and state funeral of Omar Bongo, his death in 2009. A member of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), Bongo was promoted to key positions as a young official under Gabon's first President Léon M'ba in the 1960s, before being elected the second Vice President of Gabon, vice president in his own right in 1966. In 1967, after M'ba's death, he became the country's president. Bongo headed the single-party regime of the PDG until 1990, when, faced with public pressure, he was forced to introduce multi-party politics into Gabon. His political survival despite intense opposition to his rule in the early 1990s seemed to stem once again from consolidating power by bringing most of the major Opposition (politics), opposition leaders at the time to his side. The 1993 Gabonese presidential election, 1993 presidential election was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benin
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its population lives on the southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Porto-Novo, and the seat of government is in Cotonou, the most populous city and economic capital. Benin covers an area of , and its population in was estimated to be approximately million. It is a tropical country with an economy heavily dependent on agriculture and is an exporter of palm oil and cotton. From the 17th to the 19th century, political entities in the area included the Kingdom of Dahomey, the city-state of Porto-Novo#History, Porto Novo, and other states to the north. This region was referred to as the Slave Coast of West Africa from the early 17th century due ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1977 Benin Coup Attempt
The 1977 Benin coup d'état attempt, ''Opération Crevette'' or Operation Shrimp was a failed attempt by a team of French-led mercenaries to overthrow the government of the People's Republic of Benin which was led by Mathieu Kérékou whose communist party, the People's Revolutionary Party of Benin (PRPB), was the only allowed political party in the country. The coup took place on 17 January 1977 and included a failed invasion of the port city of Cotonou by mercenaries contracted by a group of exiled Beninese political rivals. Bob Denard was the leader of the mercenary group and although Jacques Foccart denied knowledge of the attempted coup after its failure, he did recognize that it had been backed-up by Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo), Félix Houphouët-Boigny (Ivory Coast), Omar Bongo (Gabon) and Hassan II (Morocco), all allies of France. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Denard
Robert Denard (born Gilbert Bourgeaud; 7 April 1929 – 13 October 2007) was a French mercenary. He served as the ''de facto'' military leader of the Comoros twice with him first serving from 13 May 1978 to 15 December 1989 and again briefly from the 28 September to 5 October in 1995. Sometimes known under the aliases Gilbert Bourgeaud and Saïd Mustapha Mhadjou, he was known for having performed various jobs in support of '' Françafrique''—France's sphere of influence in its former colonies in Africa—for Jacques Foccart, co-ordinator of President Charles de Gaulle's African policy. Having served with the French Navy in the Algerian War, the ardently anti-communist Denard took part in the Katanga secession effort in the 1960s and subsequently operated in many African countries including Congo, Angola, Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe), and Gabon. Between 1975 and 1995, he participated in four coup attempts in the Comoro Islands. It is widely believed that his adventures had th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
