Hamid Algabid (born 1941) is a
NigerNiger , officially the Republic of Niger is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
ien politician and the President of the
Rally for Democracy and ProgressThe Rally for Democracy and Progress is a political party in Niger. It was established as the ruling party during the presidency of Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara.-Under second military regime and Fourth Republic:...
(RDP-Jama'a) party. A lawyer, banker, and technocrat, Algabid was an important figure in the regime of
Seyni KountchéSeyni Kountché 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 1974 to 1987...
, serving as Prime Minister of Niger from 1983 to 1988. He was Secretary-General of the
Organisation of the Islamic ConferenceThe Organisation of the Islamic Conference is an international organisation with a permanent delegation to the United Nations. It groups 57 member states, from the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Caucasus, Balkans, Southeast Asia and South Asia...
(OIC) from 1989 to 1996, and since 1997 he has been President of the RDP-Jama'a. He is also currently the President of the High Council of Territorial Collectivities (HCCT).
Early life
A member of the
TuaregThe Tuareg are a Berber nomadic pastoralist people. They are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa...
ethnic group born to a noble family, Algabid was born in the small settlement of Belbedji, near
TanoutTanout 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....
. 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'étatThe 1974 Nigerien coup d'état was a largely bloodless military insurrection which overthrew the first postcolonial government of the West African nation of Niger...
led by General
Seyni KountchéSeyni Kountché 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 1974 to 1987...
, Algabid remained in his post as Secretary-General of Finance until 1979. During that time he also was appointed as country administrator of ECOWAS Central Bank (1975–76) and then country administrator of the
Islamic Development BankIslamic Development Bank , is a multilateral development financing institution located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was founded by the first conference of Finance Ministers of the Organization of the Islamic Conference , convened 18 December 1973.The bank officially began its activities on 15...
(1976–79). On September 10, 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 February 9, 1981; subsequently his portfolio was expanded when he was appointed as Minister of Trade and Transport on June 14, 1982. Algabid was then named Deputy Minister for Finance on January 24, 1983 before being appointed as
Prime Minister-List of Heads of Government of Niger:-Affiliations:- See also :*Niger*List of colonial heads of Niger*Heads of State of Niger*Lists of Incumbents...
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
Organisation of the Islamic ConferenceThe Organisation of the Islamic Conference is an international organisation with a permanent delegation to the United Nations. It groups 57 member states, from the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Caucasus, Balkans, Southeast Asia and South Asia...
(OIC). In December 1996, he was nominated as a candidate to become Secretary-General of the United Nations, a post which was won by
Kofi AnnanKofi Atta Annan, Honorary GCMG is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1 January 1997 to 1 January 2007. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.-Early years and family:Kofi Annan was born in the...
.
Under Maïnassara
During the rule of Nigerien President
Ibrahim Baré MaïnassaraIbrahim Baré Maïnassara was a military officer in the West African country of Niger who seized power in a January 1996 coup d'état and ruled the country until his assassination during the military coup of April 1999....
, Algabid returned to politics in Niger. On August 20, 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 electionA presidential election was held in Niger in late 1999, with the first round on October 17 and a second round, coinciding with a parliamentary election, on November 24. This election followed a coup d'état on April 9 1999, in which Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, who had led an earlier coup in January...
for late in the year. Algabid ran as the RDP-Jama'a candidate in this election; although
Amadou CisséAmadou Boubacar Cissé is a Nigerien politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Niger on two occasions, from 8 to 21 February 1995 and again from 21 December 1996 to 27 November 1997.Cissé, a member of the Peulh ethnic group, was born in Niamey...
, the RDP's Vice-President, also attempted to run as the RDP candidate, the Court of State approved Algabid's candidacy and rejected Cissé's candidacy on 3 September. In the first round of the election, held on 17 October, Algabid placed fourth out of seven candidates, winning 10.83% of the vote. On 6 November, Algabid announced his support for
Mahamadou IssoufouMahamadou Issoufou is a Nigerien politician. He is the President of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism-Tarayya , a social democratic opposition party. He was Prime Minister from 1993 to 1994, President of the National Assembly from 1995 to 1996, and a Deputy in the National Assembly...
, the candidate of the
Nigerien Party for Democracy and SocialismThe Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism is a political party in Niger. It is a broadly left-wing party, part of the Socialist International, and it is the country's main opposition party. The party's President is Mahamadou Issoufou, its Vice-President is Mohamed Bazoum, and its...
, in the second round; Issoufou was defeated by
Tandja MamadouLieutenant Colonel Tandja Mamadou is a Nigerien politician who has been the President of Niger since 1999. He was President of the National Movement of the Development Society from 1991 to 1999 and unsuccessfully ran as the MNSD's presidential candidate in 1993 and 1996 before being elected to...
of the
National Movement for the Development of SocietyThe National Movement for the Development of Society - MNSD / MNSD-NASSARA is a political party in Niger. Founded under the military government of the 1974-1990 period, it is currently the ruling party of Niger, and the party of the president, Tandja Mamadou.-Under military rule:The MNSD was...
(MNSD).
Algabid was also elected to the National Assembly in the
1999 parliamentary electionThe Nigerien Parliamentary Election of 1999 was held on 24 November 1999, Coinciding with the second round of the Presidential Election of 1999. It chose the first parliament of the Nigerien Fifth Republic. The MNSD-Nassara won a plurality of votes, and with its parliamentary ally and second...
, 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".
Algabid served as the
African UnionThe African Union is an intergovernmental organization consisting of 52 African states. Established on July 9 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organization of African Unity...
's special envoy for
DarfurThe Darfur Conflict refers to violence taking place in Darfur, Sudan.The conflict started in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement in Darfur took up arms, accusing the government of oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs. There are various estimates...
in 2004. On September 11, 2004 he was designated as the RDP candidate in the
2004 presidential electionThe Republic of Niger held a presidential election on 16 November 2004. Voter turnout in this round of polling was 48.3%.Six candidates contested the election:*Hamid Algabid – Rally for Democracy and Progress-Jama'a...
; 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 electionA parliamentary election was held in Niger on 4 December 2004 alongside a simultaneous presidential election. 105 members were elected in 8 multi-member constituencies using the party-list proportional representation system...
. 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 OrganizationIslamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization was established by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in May 1979. ISESCO is one of the largest international Islamic organizations and specializes in the fields of education, science, and culture...
(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 May 12, 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.