Hamid Algabid (born 1941) is a Nigerien politician and the President of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP-Jama'a) party. A lawyer, banker, and technocrat, Algabid was an important figure in the regime of

Seyni Kountché Seyni Kountché (1 July 1931 – 10 November 1987) was a Nigerien military officer who led a 1974 coup d'état that deposed the government of Niger's first president, Hamani Diori. He ruled the country as military head of state from 17 April ...

, serving as Prime Minister of Niger from 1983 to 1988. He was Secretary-General of the

Organisation of the Islamic Conference An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

(OIC) from 1989 to 1996, and since 1997 he has been President of the RDP-Jama'a. He was also President of the High Council of Territorial Collectivities (HCCT) until 2010.

Early life and education

A member of the

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...

ethnic group, Algabid was born in the small settlement of Belbedji, near

Tanout Tanout is a town in southern Niger. It is in Zinder Region, Tanout Department, north of the city of Zinder. It is the administrative capital of Tanout Department. History Since 1987, the Eden Foundation, an NGO aiming at providing trees for "d ...

in 1941.Cherif Ouazani
"Six candidats pour un fauteuil"
, ''Jeune Afrique'', 7 November 2004 . He studied law at the University of Abidjan and later at the IIAP in Paris, where he received his law degree. He was made a head of department under the Ministry of External Finance from 1971 to 1973, and he was promoted to the position of Secretary-General of Finance in 1973.

Under the military government

Following the April 1974 coup d'état led by General

, Algabid remained in his post as Secretary-General of Finance until 1979. During that time he also was appointed as country administrator of the

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political union, political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an ...

(ECOWAS) Central Bank (1975–76) and then country administrator of the

Islamic Development Bank The Islamic Development Bank ( ar, البنك الإسلامي للتنمية, abbreviated as IsDB) is a multilateral development finance institution that is focused on Islamic finance for infrastructure development and located in Jeddah, Saudi ...

(1976–79). On 10 September 1979, he was appointed to the government as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. He served in that post until he was promoted to the position of Minister of Trade on 8 February 1981; subsequently his portfolio was expanded when he was appointed as Minister of Trade and Transport on 14 June 1982. Algabid was then named Deputy Minister for Finance on 24 January 1983 before being appointed as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

on 14 November 1983. He served as Prime Minister until 15 July 1988.

Second and Third Republics

From 1989 to 1996, Algabid was Secretary-General of the

(OIC). In December 1996, he was nominated as a candidate to become

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

, a post which was won by

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...

Under Maïnassara

During the rule of Nigerien 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 ...

, Algabid returned to politics in Niger. On 20 August 1997, he was named President of the RDP-Jama'a, which was established as Maïnassara's ruling party, at the party's national congress. Later, Algabid also became head of the Convergence for the Republic (CPR), a pro-Maïnassara coalition composed of 15 parties, which was formed in August 1998.

Fifth Republic

Maïnassara was assassinated in April 1999, and a military regime scheduled a new presidential election for late in the year. Algabid ran as the RDP-Jama'a candidate in this election; although

Amadou Cissé Amadou Boubacar Cissé (born 1948
, ''Afrique Express'', December 21, 1996 .) is a

"Rapport de la Mission d’Observation des Élections Présidentielles et Législatives des 17 octobre et 24 novembre 1999"
Democratie.francophonie.org . In the first round of the election, held on 17 October, Algabid placed fourth out of seven candidates, winning 10.83% of the vote.
African Elections Database. On 6 November, Algabid announced his support for

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 ...

, the candidate of 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 ...

, in the second round; Issoufou was defeated by

Tandja Mamadou Mamadou Tandja (1938 – 24 November 2020) was a Nigerien politician who was President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement for the Development Society (MNSD) from 1991 to 1999 and unsuccessfully ran as the MNSD ...

of the

National Movement for the Development of Society The National Movement for the Development of Society (french: Mouvement National pour la Société du Développement, MNSD-Nassara) is a political party in Niger. Founded under the military government of the 1974–1990 period, it was the ruling ...

(MNSD). Algabid was also elected to the National Assembly in the 1999 parliamentary election, and during the parliamentary term that followed he served as Fourth Vice-President of the National Assembly as well as the Vice-President of the RDP Parliamentary Group. Algabid was re-elected as President of the RDP for another three-year term at a party congress on January 23, 2001. On this occasion, he said that the RDP's "immediate objective" was "to secure the opening of an international commission of inquiry into the assassination of president Mainassara"."Niger: Rally for Democracy and Progress re-elects chairman", Agence France-Presse, January 23, 2001. Algabid served as the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

's special envoy for Darfur in 2004.Francis Kpatindé
"Et rebelote"
''Jeune Afrique'', 26 September 2004 . On 11 September 2004, he was designated as the RDP candidate in the 2004 presidential election; however, he was largely absent from Niger at the time due to his role as a mediator in Sudan. In the election, held on 16 November, Algabid finished last out of six candidates with 4.89% of the vote. On 21 November, the RDP announced its support for Tandja in the second round. Algabid was re-elected to the National Assembly in the 2004 parliamentary election. He was subsequently appointed as President of the High Council of Territorial Collectivities (HCCT), a body responsible for local government in Niger. In December 2006, he was awarded a medal by the

Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO, formerly ISESCO) is a specialized organization that operates under the aegis of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and is concerned with fields of education ...

(ISESCO). During the 2009 constitutional crisis caused by Tandja's decision to seek a referendum on a new constitution that would enable him to remain in power, the RDP-Jama'a announced on 12 May 2009 that it would support the new constitution, which would establish a presidential system; according to Algabid, a presidential system was "best suited to promote development". However, the RDP's support was conditional: it demanded the removal of the 1999 constitution's amnesty for those involved in Maïnassara's assassination, and it demanded an investigation into the 1999 coup. On June 28, 2009, the RDP changed its position, announcing its unconditional support for the referendum despite the continued inclusion of the constitutional amnesty. The RDP was given two posts in the government, and the mandate of the HCCT, chaired by Algabid, was extended by six months. Some members of the party disapproved of the decision to support the referendum, however, and two former ministers, Abdoulrahamane Seydou and Moussa Oumarou, resigned from the RDP as a result. The RDP participated in the October 2009 parliamentary election, but the opposition, angered by Tandja's efforts to remain in power, boycotted it. ECOWAS, which wanted the election delayed in hopes of resolving the political crisis, suspended Niger from its ranks immediately after the election was held. Algabid was included in the 22-member Nigerien delegation that traveled to

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

for talks with ECOWAS beginning on 9 November 2009. Tandja was ousted in a February 2010 military coup; all state institutions were promptly dissolved, thereby removing Algabid from his post as President of the HCCT. Later, after

was elected as President, Algabid was appointed as an Ambassador-at-Large on 19 October 2011."Au conseil des ministres: examen et adoption de projets de textes et mesures nominatives"
''Le Sahel'', 20 October 2011 .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Algabid, Hamid 1941 births Living people Nigerien Muslims Members of the National Assembly (Niger) Prime Ministers of Niger Rally for Democracy and Progress (Niger) politicians People from Zinder Region Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny alumni Tuareg people Organisation of Islamic Cooperation officials