Idriss Déby

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Lore & Background

Idriss Déby was born on 18 June 1952 in the village of Berdoba, approximately 190 kilometers from Fada in northern Chad, to a herdsman father of the Bidayat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. He attended Qur'anic School in Tiné, studied at the École Française in Fada and at the Franco-Arab school (Lycée Franco-Arabe) in Abéché, and held a bachelor's degree in science. After entering the Officers' School in N'Djamena, he was sent to France for training, returning to Chad in 1976 with a professional pilot certificate. He remained loyal to the army and President Félix Malloum even after Chad's central authority crumbled in 1979. He tied his fortunes to Hissène Habré, one of the chief Chadian warlords. A year after Habré became president in 1982, Déby was made commander-in-chief of the army. He distinguished himself in 1984 by destroying pro-Libyan forces in eastern Chad. In 1985, Habré sent him to Paris to attend a course at the École de Guerre, and upon his return in 1986 he was made chief military advisor to the president. In 1987, he confronted Libyan forces in the Toyota War, adopting tactics that inflicted heavy losses on Libyan forces and leading a raid on Maaten al-Sarra Air Base in Kufrah, in Libyan territory. A rift emerged on 1 April 1989 between Habré and Déby over the increasing power of the Presidential Guard. Habré accused Déby, minister of the interior Mahamat Itno, and commander-in-chief Hassan Djamous of plotting a coup. Déby fled first to Darfur, then to Libya, where he was welcomed by Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli. Itno and Djamous were arrested and killed. Déby relocated to Sudan in 1989 and formed the Patriotic Salvation Movement, an insurgent group supported by Libya and Sudan, which started operations against Habré. On 1 December 1990 Déby's troops marched unopposed into N'Djamena in a successful coup, ousting Habré.

Reader's Guide

Idriss Déby's significance lies in his three-decade rule that shaped modern Chad. After three months of provisional government, on 28 February 1991 a charter was approved with Déby as president. Seeking to quell dissent, in 1993 Chad legalized political parties and held a National Conference. A new constitution was approved by referendum in March 1996, followed by a presidential election in June; Déby fell short of a majority but was elected in the second round with 69% of the vote. He was re-elected in May 2001 with 63.17% of the vote in the first round. In June 2005, a referendum eliminated the two-term constitutional limit, enabling Déby to run again; more than 77% of voters approved. He won the 2006 election with 64.67% of the vote amid an opposition boycott. He survived multiple rebellions, including one led by former defense minister Youssouf Togoïmi from 1998 to 2002, and a civil war from 2005 to 2010 provoked by the refugee crisis of the War in Darfur. During the Second Congo War, he briefly ordered military intervention on the side of the Congolese government but soon withdrew when his forces were accused of looting and human rights abuses. In the early 2000s, oil was discovered in Chad, and Déby made petroleum production the driving force of the country's economy. The Chad-Cameroon pipeline, completed in 2003, was praised by the World Bank. Déby died on 20 April 2021 from injuries sustained the previous day while commanding troops on the frontline against the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), which had initiated the Northern Chad offensive.

Did You Know?

• Déby held a professional pilot certificate after training in France, returning to Chad with it in 1976.
• He led a raid on Maaten al-Sarra Air Base in Kufrah, inside Libyan territory, during the 1987 Toyota War.
• After fleeing Chad in 1989, Déby gave the Libyans detailed information about CIA operations in Chad.
• In 2016, Hissène Habré, whom Déby overthrew, was convicted of war crimes by a specially created international tribunal in Senegal.
• Déby was injured on 19 April 2021 while commanding troops on the frontline and died the following day.