Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué
Encyclopedia
Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué (May 20, 1939 - May 9, 2011) was a Chad
ian politician and former army officer. Kamougué was a leading figure in the 1975 coup d'état and since then he has held several positions in the Chadian government and legislature. He was Vice-President from 1979 to 1982 and was President of the National Assembly of Chad
from 1997 to 2002. Kamougué was also President of the Union for Renewal and Democracy
(URD) political party, and he was appointed as Minister of National Defense in April 2008.
He was born in Bitam, Gabon
, and is a southerner from Logone Oriental
in Chad. As a junior officer he was one of the key military leaders (some sources name him as "the" leader) of the coup d'etat
which overthrew and killed Chadian President
Ngarta Tombalbaye
on April 13, 1975. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1975 to 1978 as well as a member of the Higher Military Council (Conseil supérieur militaire, CSM) under Head of State Félix Malloum
. Kamougué subsequently became Vice-President in the Transitional Government of National Unity (GUNT) when Goukouni Oueddei
became President on November 10, 1979, remaining in that position until the GUNT was overthrown by supporters of Hissène Habré
when they captured N'Djamena
on June 7, 1982.
After Habré seized N'Djamena, Kamougué, based in Moundou
, continued to control southern Chad at the head of a permanent committee, and he called for a federal solution to the conflict, which was rejected by Habré. On September 4, 1982, a broadcast from N'Djamena announced that rebels within Kamougué's forces had captured his headquarters and that he had fled to Cameroon
.
Kamougué returned from exile in early 1987. He then became Minister of Agriculture under Habré in August 1987.
Kamougué was appointed as Minister of Civil Service and Labor in April 1993, as part of the transitional government formed after the Sovereign National Conference. Following the January 1994 devaluation of the CFA franc
, a civil service strike began on April 26, 1994, seeking higher salaries to compensate for the devaluation of the currency, and Kamougué led negotiations with the strikers. In the midst of the strike, he was dismissed as Minister of Civil Service and Labor by President Idriss Déby
on May 17, 1994.
In the 1996 presidential election
, Kamougué stood as a candidate, taking second place in the first round on June 2 with 12.39% of the vote; in the second round, held on July 3, he was defeated by President Déby, taking 30.91% of the vote compared to Déby's 69.09%.
Following the 1997 parliamentary election
, Kamougué's party, the Union for Renewal and Democracy, reached an agreement with Déby's ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement
(MPS) on May 8, 1997, according to which Kamougué would become President of the National Assembly. He was elected to that position on May 9.
Kamougué ran again in the May 2001 presidential election
. In March 2001, he was one of three presidential candidates who called for the election to be delayed and for the international community to delay funding for the election, describing it as a "masquerade" and a "travesty". The URD decided against boycotting the election and nominated Kamougué as its candidate at an ordinary party congress in early April. Kamougué accused Déby and the MPS of running Chad "in a catastrophic and disastrous manner". In the election, which took place on schedule, he took fourth place and 6.02% of the vote. He remained President of the National Assembly until 2002. In the April 2002 parliamentary election
, he was re-elected to the National Assembly as an URD candidate from Sarh
constituency in Barh Köh Department
.
It was initially reported that Kamougué was one of the opposition leaders arrested during a battle between government forces and rebels
in N'Djamena
in early February 2008. On February 16, 2008, Minister of Communications Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor denied this, saying that Kamougué had not been arrested and that he was "hiding in the country's interior". It later emerged that Kamougué had escaped arrest. In a statement on February 26, he and another opposition leader, Saleh Kebzabo
, released a statement calling for "the immediate convening of an all-inclusive national dialogue", the release of the three opposition leaders who had been arrested and an international inquiry into the arrests, and an immediate cease-fire. Kamougué returned to N'Djamena from Cameroon on March 22, having received guarantees of safety from the authorities.
In the government of Prime Minister Youssouf Saleh Abbas
, which was announced on April 23, 2008, Kamougué was appointed as Minister of National Defense. He was one of four members of the Coordination of Political Parties for Defense of the Constitution opposition coalition to be included in the government.
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
ian politician and former army officer. Kamougué was a leading figure in the 1975 coup d'état and since then he has held several positions in the Chadian government and legislature. He was Vice-President from 1979 to 1982 and was President of the National Assembly of Chad
National Assembly of Chad
The National Assembly is the parliament of Chad. It has 155 members, elected for a four year term in 25 single-member constituencies and 34 multi-member constituencies.-See also:*List of Presidents of the National Assembly of Chad...
from 1997 to 2002. Kamougué was also President of the Union for Renewal and Democracy
Union for Renewal and Democracy
The Union for Renewal and Democracy is a political party in Chad. Its President is Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué.The party, which has always been based around Kamougué, was founded in March 1992 and legalized in May 1992...
(URD) political party, and he was appointed as Minister of National Defense in April 2008.
He was born in Bitam, Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
, and is a southerner from Logone Oriental
Logone Oriental Region
Logone Oriental is one of the 22 regions of Chad and its capital is Doba. It is composed by the former Logone Oriental Prefecture.-Subdivisions:The region of Logone Oriental is divided in 4 departments:-Demography:...
in Chad. As a junior officer he was one of the key military leaders (some sources name him as "the" leader) of the coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
which overthrew and killed Chadian President
Heads of state of Chad
-List of Heads of State of Chad:-Affiliations:-External links:**...
Ngarta Tombalbaye
François Tombalbaye
François Tombalbaye, also called Ngarta Tombalbaye , was a teacher and a trade union activist who served as the first president of Chad. He was born in the southern region of the country in the Moyen-Chari Prefecture near the city of Koumara and was of the Sara ethnic group, the prominent ethnicity...
on April 13, 1975. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1975 to 1978 as well as a member of the Higher Military Council (Conseil supérieur militaire, CSM) under Head of State Félix Malloum
Félix Malloum
General Félix Malloum or Félix Malloum Ngakoutou Bey-Ndi was a Chadian politician from the south. He served as an officer in the Chadian Military and as a member of the ruling Chadian Progressive Party . He later became the Chief of Staff with the rank of colonel...
. Kamougué subsequently became Vice-President in the Transitional Government of National Unity (GUNT) when Goukouni Oueddei
Goukouni Oueddei
Goukouni Oueddei is a Chadian political figure. He was Head of State of Chad from 1979 to 1982. He is currently in exile.-Biography:...
became President on November 10, 1979, remaining in that position until the GUNT was overthrown by supporters of Hissène Habré
Hissène Habré
Hissène Habré , also spelled Hissen Habré, was the leader of Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990.-Early life:...
when they captured N'Djamena
N'Djamena
N'Djamena is the capital and largest city of Chad. A port on the Chari River, near the confluence with the Logone River, it directly faces the Cameroonian town of Kousséri, to which the city is connected by a bridge. It is also a special statute region, divided in 10 arrondissements. It is a...
on June 7, 1982.
After Habré seized N'Djamena, Kamougué, based in Moundou
Moundou
Moundou is the second largest city in Chad, and is the capital of the region of Logone Occidental.The city lies on the Logone River some 475 kilometres south of the capital N'Djamena. It is the main city of the Ngambai people...
, continued to control southern Chad at the head of a permanent committee, and he called for a federal solution to the conflict, which was rejected by Habré. On September 4, 1982, a broadcast from N'Djamena announced that rebels within Kamougué's forces had captured his headquarters and that he had fled to Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
.
Kamougué returned from exile in early 1987. He then became Minister of Agriculture under Habré in August 1987.
Kamougué was appointed as Minister of Civil Service and Labor in April 1993, as part of the transitional government formed after the Sovereign National Conference. Following the January 1994 devaluation of the CFA franc
CFA franc
The CFA franc is the name of two currencies used in Africa which are guaranteed by the French treasury. The two CFA franc currencies are the West African CFA franc and the Central African CFA franc...
, a civil service strike began on April 26, 1994, seeking higher salaries to compensate for the devaluation of the currency, and Kamougué led negotiations with the strikers. In the midst of the strike, he was dismissed as Minister of Civil Service and Labor by President Idriss Déby
Idriss Déby
General Idriss Déby Itno is the President of Chad and the head of the Patriotic Salvation Movement. Déby is of the Bidyat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. He added "Itno" to his surname in January 2006.-Rise to power:...
on May 17, 1994.
In the 1996 presidential election
Chadian presidential election, 1996
Presidential election were held in Chad on 2 June 1996, with a second round on 3 July. This was the first multiparty presidential election in the history of Chad since its independence. It occurred at the end of a long transitional process and was repeatedly delayed...
, Kamougué stood as a candidate, taking second place in the first round on June 2 with 12.39% of the vote; in the second round, held on July 3, he was defeated by President Déby, taking 30.91% of the vote compared to Déby's 69.09%.
Following the 1997 parliamentary election
Chadian parliamentary election, 1997
Parliamentary elections were held in Chad in 1997, the first multi-party election since independence in 1960. The voting system was similar to that of France, using runoff voting, with two separate rounds of voting, the first on 5 January and the second on 23 February in those constituencies where...
, Kamougué's party, the Union for Renewal and Democracy, reached an agreement with Déby's ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement
Patriotic Salvation Movement
The Patriotic Salvation Movement is the ruling political party in Chad.After Idriss Déby, an army commander who participated in an unsuccessful plot against President Hissène Habré in 1989, fled to Sudan, he and his supporters, known as the April 1 Movement, operated from Sudan with Libyan backing...
(MPS) on May 8, 1997, according to which Kamougué would become President of the National Assembly. He was elected to that position on May 9.
Kamougué ran again in the May 2001 presidential election
Chadian presidential election, 2001
A presential election was held in Chad on May 20, 2001. President Idriss Déby stood as a candidate for a second term. He obtained the support of a former opponent, Lol Mahamat Choua, leader of the Rally for Democracy and Progress ....
. In March 2001, he was one of three presidential candidates who called for the election to be delayed and for the international community to delay funding for the election, describing it as a "masquerade" and a "travesty". The URD decided against boycotting the election and nominated Kamougué as its candidate at an ordinary party congress in early April. Kamougué accused Déby and the MPS of running Chad "in a catastrophic and disastrous manner". In the election, which took place on schedule, he took fourth place and 6.02% of the vote. He remained President of the National Assembly until 2002. In the April 2002 parliamentary election
Chadian parliamentary election, 2002
The Chadian parliamentary election of 2002 was the second multi-party parliamentary election since the independence of Chad, and came after the normal expiry of the mandate of the National Assembly's deputies...
, he was re-elected to the National Assembly as an URD candidate from Sarh
Sarh
Sarh is the third largest city in Chad, after N'Djamena and Moundou. It is the capital of Moyen-Chari region and the department of Barh Köh. It lies 350 miles south-east of the capital Ndjamena on the Chari River...
constituency in Barh Köh Department
Barh Köh
Barh Köh is one of three departments in Moyen-Chari, a region of Chad. Its capital is Sarh....
.
It was initially reported that Kamougué was one of the opposition leaders arrested during a battle between government forces and rebels
Battle of N'Djamena (2008)
The Battle of N'Djamena began on February 2, 2008 when Chadian rebel forces opposed to Chadian President Idriss Déby entered N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, after a three-day advance through the country. The rebels were initially successful, taking a large part of the city and attacking the heavily...
in N'Djamena
N'Djamena
N'Djamena is the capital and largest city of Chad. A port on the Chari River, near the confluence with the Logone River, it directly faces the Cameroonian town of Kousséri, to which the city is connected by a bridge. It is also a special statute region, divided in 10 arrondissements. It is a...
in early February 2008. On February 16, 2008, Minister of Communications Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor denied this, saying that Kamougué had not been arrested and that he was "hiding in the country's interior". It later emerged that Kamougué had escaped arrest. In a statement on February 26, he and another opposition leader, Saleh Kebzabo
Saleh Kebzabo
Saleh Kebzabo is a Chadian politician. He is the President of the National Union for Democracy and Renewal and a Deputy in the National Assembly of Chad.-Political career:...
, released a statement calling for "the immediate convening of an all-inclusive national dialogue", the release of the three opposition leaders who had been arrested and an international inquiry into the arrests, and an immediate cease-fire. Kamougué returned to N'Djamena from Cameroon on March 22, having received guarantees of safety from the authorities.
In the government of Prime Minister Youssouf Saleh Abbas
Youssouf Saleh Abbas
Youssouf Saleh Abbas is a Chadian political figure who was Prime Minister of Chad from April 2008 to March 2010. He was previously a diplomatic adviser and special representative of President Idriss Déby.-Political career:...
, which was announced on April 23, 2008, Kamougué was appointed as Minister of National Defense. He was one of four members of the Coordination of Political Parties for Defense of the Constitution opposition coalition to be included in the government.