Jump to content

Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
mNo edit summary
Military details updated.
Tags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit
 
(68 intermediate revisions by 40 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Military leader of Niger from 1996 to 1999}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{short description|20th-century Nigerien President and military officer}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara
| name = Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara
| image = Feu Bare Mainassara.jpg
| image = Feu Bare Mainassara.jpg
| order = 5th [[President of Niger]]
| order = 5th [[President of Niger]]{{efn|(to 7 August 1996, as ''President of the National Salvation Council of Niger'')}}
| primeminister = [[Boukary Adji]]<br>[[Amadou Cissé]]<br>[[Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki]]
| primeminister = [[Boukary Adji]]<br>[[Amadou Cissé]]<br>[[Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki]]
| vicepresident =
| vicepresident =
| term_start = January 27, 1996
| term_start = 27 January 1996
| term_end = April 9, 1999
| term_end = 9 April 1999
| predecessor = [[Mahamane Ousmane]]
| predecessor = [[Mahamane Ousmane]]
| successor = [[Daouda Malam Wanké]]
| successor = [[Daouda Malam Wanké]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1949|5|9|mf=y}}<ref name="famous"/>
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1949|5|9|df=y}}<ref name=":0" />
| birth_place = [[Dogondoutchi]], [[Niger]], [[French West Africa]]
| birth_place = [[Dogondoutchi]], [[Niger]], [[French West Africa]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1999|4|9|1949|5|9}}<ref name="famous"/>
| death_date = {{death date and age|1999|4|9|1949|5|9|df=y}}<ref name=":0" />
| death_place = [[Niamey]], [[Niger]]
| death_place = [[Niamey]], [[Niger]]
| spouse =
| death_cause = [[Assassination]] (gunshot wounds)
| party = [[Rally for Democracy and Progress (Niger)|RDP–Jama'a]] (1997–99)
| spouse = [[Clémence Aïssa Baré]]<ref name=bbcnews/>
| party = [[Rally for Democracy and Progress (Niger)|RDP–Jama'a]] (1997–99)
| otherparty = [[National Union of Independents for Democratic Renewal|UNIRD]] (1996–97)
| otherparty = [[National Union of Independents for Democratic Renewal|UNIRD]] (1996–97)
<!--Military service-->
|nickname =
<!--Military service-->| nickname =
|allegiance =
| allegiance = {{flag|Niger}}
|branch = [[Nigerien Army]]
| branch = {{army|Niger}}
|serviceyears = 1970–1996
| serviceyears = 1970–1996
|rank = [[Colonel]]
| rank = [[Colonel]]
|unit =
| unit =
|commands =
| commands =
|battles =
| battles =
|awards =
| awards =
}}
}}
[[General]] '''Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara''' (9 May 1949 – 9 April 1999)<ref name=":0" /> was a Nigerien military officer and diplomat who ruled [[Niger]] from 1996 until his assassination. [[1996 Nigerien coup d'état|He seized]] and [[1999 Nigerien coup d'état|lost power]] in military [[Coup d'état|coups]].


⚫
Baré Maïnassara, a [[Maouri people|Maouri]], a subgroup of Niger's [[Hausa people|Hausa]] ethnic majority, was born in [[Dogondoutchi]] in 1949 and pursued a military career. Maïnassara was named Army Chief of Staff in March 1995, under a constitution that had moved Niger from prolonged military rule in 1991. On April 9, 1999, he was assassinated in [[Niamey]] during [[1999 Nigerien coup d'état|Nigerien coup d'état]].<ref name="bbc">[http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/315840.stm "President Mainassara: A profile"], BBC News, 9 April 1999.</ref>
[[General]] '''Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara''' (May 9, 1949<ref name="famous">{{cite web|url=https://fampeople.com/cat-ibrahim-bare-mainassara|title=Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara - Interesting stories about famous people|accessdate=13ma di septembro 2020|language=en}}</ref> – April 9, 1999<ref name="famous"/>) was a military authority and diplomat in [[Niger]] who ruled the country until his assassination during the [[1999 Nigerien coup d'état|military coup of April 1999]].


==Seizure of power==
⚫
Baré Maïnassara, a Maouri, a subgroup of Niger's [[Hausa people|Hausa]] ethnic majority, was born in [[Dogondoutchi]] in 1948, and pursued a military career. Maïnassara was named Army Chief of Staff in March 1995, under a constitution which had moved Niger from military rule in 1991.<ref>[http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/315840.stm "President Mainassara: A profile"], BBC News, April 9, 1999.</ref>
{{See also|1996 Nigerien coup d'état}}

==Political conflict==
Parliamentary elections in January 1995 resulted in [[cohabitation (government)|cohabitation]] between President [[Mahamane Ousmane]] and a parliament controlled by his opponents, led by Prime Minister [[Hama Amadou]].<ref name=MNSD>Jibrin Ibrahim and Abdoulayi Niandou Souley, [http://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=11625 "The rise to power of an opposition party: the MNSD in Niger Republic"], Unisa Press, Politeia, Vol. 15, No. 3, 1996.</ref>
Parliamentary elections in January 1995 resulted in [[cohabitation (government)|cohabitation]] between President [[Mahamane Ousmane]] and a parliament controlled by his opponents, led by Prime Minister [[Hama Amadou]].<ref name=MNSD>Jibrin Ibrahim and Abdoulayi Niandou Souley, [http://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=11625 "The rise to power of an opposition party: the MNSD in Niger Republic"], Unisa Press, Politeia, Vol. 15, No. 3, 1996.</ref>
⚫
Rivalry between Ousmane and Amadou effectively paralyzed the government, and Maïnassara seized power on January 27, 1996,<ref name=MNSD/> pointing to the difficult political situation as justification.<ref name=MNSD/><ref name=Obit>Kaye Whiteman, [https://web.archive.org/web/20150924095159/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19990412/ai_n14221141 "Obituary: Ibrahim Bare Mainassara"], ''The Independent'' (London), April 12, 1999.</ref>


⚫
Rivalry between Ousmane and Amadou effectively paralyzed the government, and Maïnassara seized power on 27 January 1996,<ref name=MNSD/> pointing to the difficult political situation as justification.<ref name=MNSD/><ref name=Obit>Kaye Whiteman, [https://web.archive.org/web/20150924095159/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19990412/ai_n14221141 "Obituary: Ibrahim Bare Mainassara"], ''The Independent'' (London), 12 April 1999.</ref>
⚫
==Rule of Niger==
⚫
Under Maïnassara's rule, a new constitution was approved by referendum in May 1996, and a presidential election was held on July 7–8, 1996. Maïnassara took about 52% of the vote,<ref>[http://africanelections.tripod.com/ne.html Elections in Niger], African Elections Database.</ref> but the election was widely viewed as fraudulent. On the second day of polling he had the electoral commission dissolved and replaced it with another electoral commission; on the same day, he also had the four opposition candidates placed under house arrest, which lasted for two weeks.<ref name=AI>[https://www.amnesty.org.ru/library/Index/ENGAFR430021996?open&of=ENG-NER "Niger: A major step backwards"], Amnesty International, October 16, 1996.</ref> Maïnassara was sworn in on August 7.<ref name=Obit/><ref name=AI/>


⚫
==Rule==
⚫
The [[National Union of Independents for Democratic Renewal]] (UNIRD) was established in 1996 to support Maïnassara in that year's elections, but subsequently the [[Rally for Democracy and Progress (Niger)|Rally for Democracy and Progress-Jama'a]] was established as the ruling party. With the constitution barring presidents from leading parties, [[Hamid Algabid]] became leader of the RDP-Jama'a in August 1997.<ref>[http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Newsletters/irinw10.html "Niger – New party leader for RDP"], IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 10–97 of Main Events in West Africa covering period August 19–25, 1997.</ref>
⚫
Under Maïnassara's rule, a new constitution was approved by referendum in May 1996, and a presidential election was held on 7–8 July 1996. Maïnassara took about 52% of the vote,<ref>[http://africanelections.tripod.com/ne.html Elections in Niger], African Elections Database.</ref> in an election widely viewed as fraudulent. On the second day of polling, he had the electoral commission dissolved and replaced it with another electoral commission; on the same day, he also had the four opposition candidates placed under house arrest, which lasted for two weeks.<ref name=AI>[https://www.amnesty.org.ru/library/Index/ENGAFR430021996?open&of=ENG-NER "Niger: A major step backwards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219230157/https://www.amnesty.org.ru/library/Index/ENGAFR430021996?open&of=ENG-NER |date=19 December 2018 }}, Amnesty International, 16 October 1996.</ref> Maïnassara was sworn in on 7 August.<ref name=Obit/><ref name=AI/>


He imposed conservative Islamist laws that included the banning of short skirts and a crackdown on the sale of contraceptives, while also introducing economic reforms and signing an agreement with the [[International Monetary Fund]]. However, the country's economic problems continued and its external debt rose to $1.4 billion. This led to strikes by teachers and civil servants over pay arrears and job losses and a near-mutiny by the army in February 1998 over unpaid salaries.<ref name="bbc"/>
⚫
Local elections were held in February 1999, and in early April the Supreme Court released results which showed the opposition winning more seats than Maïnassara's supporters; the Court also cancelled the results in many areas and ordered elections there to be held again.<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=5964 "NIgeria: Partial result of local elections announced"], IRIN, April 8, 1999.</ref><ref name=Rapport>[https://web.archive.org/web/20051018053532/http://democratie.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/RAPPORT_DE_LA_MISSION_D_OBSERVATION_DES_ELECTIONS_PRESIDENTIELLES_ET_LEGISLATIVES_DES_17_OCTOBRE_ET_24_NOVEMBRE_1999_.pdf "Rapport de la Mission D'Oberservation des Elections Presidentelles et Legislatives des 17 Octobre et 24 Novembre 1999"], democratie.francophonie.org {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> The opposition called for protests against the cancellation of results on April 8.<ref name=Rapport/>

⚫
The [[National Union of Independents for Democratic Renewal]] (UNIRD) was established in 1996 to support Maïnassara in that year's elections, but subsequently, the [[Rally for Democracy and Progress (Niger)|Rally for Democracy and Progress-Jama'a]] was established as the ruling party. With the constitution barring presidents from leading parties, [[Hamid Algabid]] became the leader of the RDP-Jama'a in August 1997.<ref>[http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Newsletters/irinw10.html "Niger – New party leader for RDP"], IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 10–97 of Main Events in West Africa covering period 19–25 August 1997.</ref>

⚫
Local elections were held in February 1999, and in early April the Supreme Court released results which showed the opposition winning more seats than Maïnassara's supporters; the Court also canceled the results in many areas and ordered elections there to be held again.<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=5964 "NIgeria: Partial result of local elections announced"], IRIN, 8 April 1999.</ref><ref name=Rapport>[https://web.archive.org/web/20051018053532/http://democratie.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/RAPPORT_DE_LA_MISSION_D_OBSERVATION_DES_ELECTIONS_PRESIDENTIELLES_ET_LEGISLATIVES_DES_17_OCTOBRE_ET_24_NOVEMBRE_1999_.pdf "Rapport de la Mission D'Oberservation des Elections Presidentelles et Legislatives des 17 Octobre et 24 Novembre 1999"], democratie.francophonie.org {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> The opposition called for protests against the cancellation of results on 8 April.<ref name=Rapport/>


==Death==
==Death==
{{See also|1999 Nigerien coup d'état}}
On April 9, 1999, Maïnassara was ambushed and shot to death by soldiers, reportedly members of the Presidential Guard, at the airport in the capital city of [[Niamey]] as he was going to board a helicopter attempting to flee the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/358644/Ibrahim-Bare-Mainassara|title=Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara|work=Encyclopædia Britannica|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=1999: President of Niger 'killed in ambush'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/9/newsid_2463000/2463927.stm|accessdate=April 9, 2014|newspaper=BBC}}</ref> The circumstances of the killing were not clear;<ref name=Right/> rumors suggested that Maïnassara was attempting to flee the country.<ref name="Obit"/> Initially his death was officially described as an "unfortunate accident", but this claim was widely considered implausible.<ref name=Right>[http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR430032000?open&of=ENG-NER "Niger: The people of Niger have the right to truth and justice"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061129105756/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR430032000?open&of=ENG-NER |date=November 29, 2006 }}, Amnesty International, April 6, 2000.</ref><ref name=New>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/316956.stm "New military leader for Niger"], BBC News, April 12, 1999.</ref><ref name=End>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/574825.stm "Military rule ends in Niger"], BBC News, December 22, 1999.</ref> Coup leader [[Daouda Malam Wanké]] succeeded him as head of state and initiated a political transition that ended with elections late in the year.<ref name=End/>
On 9 April 1999, Maïnassara was ambushed and shot to death by soldiers, reportedly members of the Presidential Guard, at the airport in the capital city of [[Niamey]] as he was going to board a helicopter.<ref name=":0">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/358644/Ibrahim-Bare-Mainassara|title=Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=9 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=1999: President of Niger 'killed in ambush'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/9/newsid_2463000/2463927.stm|access-date=9 April 2014|newspaper=BBC}}</ref> The circumstances of the killing were not clear;<ref name=Right/> rumors suggested that Maïnassara was attempting to flee the country.<ref name="Obit"/> Initially his death was officially described as an "unfortunate accident", but this claim was widely considered implausible.<ref name=Right>[http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR430032000?open&of=ENG-NER "Niger: The people of Niger have the right to truth and justice"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061129105756/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR430032000?open&of=ENG-NER |date=29 November 2006 }}, Amnesty International, 6 April 2000.</ref><ref name=New>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/316956.stm "New military leader for Niger"], BBC News, 12 April 1999.</ref><ref name=End>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/574825.stm "Military rule ends in Niger"], BBC News, 22 December 1999.</ref> Coup leader [[Daouda Malam Wanké]] succeeded him as head of state and initiated a political transition that ended with elections late in the year.<ref name=End/>


The constitution adopted in a July 1999 referendum provides for an [[amnesty]] for participants in both the 1996 and 1999 coups. An investigation into Maïnassara's death had begun in June 1999, but following the amnesty it was ended in September.<ref>[http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/3df4be7714.html "Niger: Conditions of the amnesty granted to the perpetrators of the coups d'état of 27 January 1996 and of 9 April 1999; possibility that some of the guilty, in particular the former director of national security and the head of the special unit, were imprisoned following the coup d'état of 9 April 1999, then released without conditions after the amnesty"], Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada (UNHCR.org), October 29, 1999.</ref> The RDP-Jama'a has demanded an international inquiry into his death in the years since.<ref name=Res>[http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/3f7d4dda0.html "Niger: Democratic Rally of the People-Jama'a-RDP (Rassemblement démocratique du peuple-Jama'a), including its leadership, its youth clubs, the role that the party holds following the assassination of President Ibrahim Maïnassara on 19 April 1999; whether its members are involved in strikes or demonstrations demanding an inquiry into the President's assassination. If so, the date and location of these strikes, and response of the current government to participants on strike; whether arrests were made following these strikes (April 1999 – September 2002)"], Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada (UNHCR.org), September 19, 2002.</ref>
The constitution adopted in a July 1999 referendum provides for an [[amnesty]] for participants in both the 1996 and 1999 coups. An investigation into Maïnassara's death had begun in June 1999, but following the amnesty, it ended in September.<ref>[http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/3df4be7714.html "Niger: Conditions of the amnesty granted to the perpetrators of the coups d'état of 27 January 1996 and of 9 April 1999; possibility that some of the guilty, in particular the former director of national security and the head of the special unit, were imprisoned following the coup d'état of 9 April 1999, then released without conditions after the amnesty"], Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada (UNHCR.org), 29 October 1999.</ref> The RDP-Jama'a has demanded an international inquiry into his death in the years since.<ref name=Res>[http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/3f7d4dda0.html "Niger: Democratic Rally of the People-Jama'a-RDP (Rassemblement démocratique du peuple-Jama'a), including its leadership, its youth clubs, the role that the party holds following the assassination of President Ibrahim Maïnassara on 19 April 1999; whether its members are involved in strikes or demonstrations demanding an inquiry into the President's assassination. If so, the date and location of these strikes, and response of the current government to participants on strike; whether arrests were made following these strikes (April 1999 – September 2002)"], Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada (UNHCR.org), 19 September 2002.</ref> His widow, former first lady [[Clémence Aïssa Baré]], and their children have campaigned for the prosecution of his killers in Niger and before the [[ECOWAS]] Court of Justice for more than 20 years.<ref name=bbcnews>{{cite news |first= |last=|title=Au Niger, la famille de l'ex-président Baré Maïnassara réclame justice |url=https://www.bbc.com/afrique/region-47868803 |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher= |date=9 April 2019 |access-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128185815/https://www.bbc.com/afrique/region-47868803 |archive-date=28 January 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=jafrique>{{cite news |first=Clarisse |last=Juompan-Yakam |title=Clémence Baré Maïnassara: "La balle est maintenant dans le camp de l'État du Niger" |trans-title=Clémence Baré Maïnassara: "The ball is now in the court of the State of Niger" |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/275577/societe/clemence-bare-mainassara-la-balle-est-maintenant-dans-le-camp-de-letat-du-niger/ |work=[[Jeune Afrique]] |publisher= |date=29 October 2015 |access-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527153539/https://www.jeuneafrique.com/275577/societe/clemence-bare-mainassara-la-balle-est-maintenant-dans-le-camp-de-letat-du-niger/ |archive-date=27 May 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}


{{s-start}}
{{s-start}}
Line 58: Line 68:


{{NigerPresidents}}
{{NigerPresidents}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Mainassara, Ibrahim Bare}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mainassara, Ibrahim Bare}}
⚫
[[Category:1949 births]]
⚫
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:Presidents of Niger]]
[[Category:Presidents of Niger]]
[[Category:Assassinated Nigerien politicians]]
[[Category:Assassinated Nigerien politicians]]
[[Category:Hausa people]]
[[Category:Leaders who took power by coup]]
[[Category:Leaders who took power by coup]]
[[Category:Leaders ousted by a coup]]
[[Category:Leaders ousted by a coup]]
⚫
[[Category:1948 births]]
⚫
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
⚫
[[Category:Assassinated heads of state]]
[[Category:People murdered in Niger]]
[[Category:People murdered in Niger]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Niger]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Niger]]
Line 75: Line 84:
[[Category:Ambassadors of Niger to Algeria]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Niger to Algeria]]
[[Category:People from Dosso Region]]
[[Category:People from Dosso Region]]
[[Category:African politicians assassinated in the 1990s]]
⚫
[[Category:Assassinated presidents in Africa]]
[[Category:20th-century Nigerien politicians]]
[[Category:National presidents assassinated in the 20th century]]
[[Category:20th-century presidents in Africa]]
[[Category:Politicians assassinated in 1999]]

Latest revision as of 15:49, 22 July 2024

Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara
5th President of Niger[a]
In office
27 January 1996 – 9 April 1999
Prime MinisterBoukary Adji
Amadou Cissé
Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki
Preceded byMahamane Ousmane
Succeeded byDaouda Malam Wanké
Personal details
Born(1949-05-09)9 May 1949[1]
Dogondoutchi, Niger, French West Africa
Died9 April 1999(1999-04-09) (aged 49)[1]
Niamey, Niger
Manner of deathAssassination (gunshot wounds)
Political partyRDP–Jama'a (1997–99)
Other political
affiliations		UNIRD (1996–97)
SpouseClémence Aïssa Baré[2]
Military service
Allegiance Niger
Branch/service Niger Army
Years of service1970–1996
RankColonel

General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara (9 May 1949 – 9 April 1999)[1] was a Nigerien military officer and diplomat who ruled Niger from 1996 until his assassination. He seized and lost power in military coups.

Baré Maïnassara, a Maouri, a subgroup of Niger's Hausa ethnic majority, was born in Dogondoutchi in 1949 and pursued a military career. Maïnassara was named Army Chief of Staff in March 1995, under a constitution that had moved Niger from prolonged military rule in 1991. On April 9, 1999, he was assassinated in Niamey during Nigerien coup d'état.[3]

Seizure of power

[edit]
See also: 1996 Nigerien coup d'état

Parliamentary elections in January 1995 resulted in cohabitation between President Mahamane Ousmane and a parliament controlled by his opponents, led by Prime Minister Hama Amadou.[4]

Rivalry between Ousmane and Amadou effectively paralyzed the government, and Maïnassara seized power on 27 January 1996,[4] pointing to the difficult political situation as justification.[4][5]

Rule

[edit]

Under Maïnassara's rule, a new constitution was approved by referendum in May 1996, and a presidential election was held on 7–8 July 1996. Maïnassara took about 52% of the vote,[6] in an election widely viewed as fraudulent. On the second day of polling, he had the electoral commission dissolved and replaced it with another electoral commission; on the same day, he also had the four opposition candidates placed under house arrest, which lasted for two weeks.[7] Maïnassara was sworn in on 7 August.[5][7]

He imposed conservative Islamist laws that included the banning of short skirts and a crackdown on the sale of contraceptives, while also introducing economic reforms and signing an agreement with the International Monetary Fund. However, the country's economic problems continued and its external debt rose to $1.4 billion. This led to strikes by teachers and civil servants over pay arrears and job losses and a near-mutiny by the army in February 1998 over unpaid salaries.[3]

The National Union of Independents for Democratic Renewal (UNIRD) was established in 1996 to support Maïnassara in that year's elections, but subsequently, the Rally for Democracy and Progress-Jama'a was established as the ruling party. With the constitution barring presidents from leading parties, Hamid Algabid became the leader of the RDP-Jama'a in August 1997.[8]

Local elections were held in February 1999, and in early April the Supreme Court released results which showed the opposition winning more seats than Maïnassara's supporters; the Court also canceled the results in many areas and ordered elections there to be held again.[9][10] The opposition called for protests against the cancellation of results on 8 April.[10]

Death

[edit]
See also: 1999 Nigerien coup d'état

On 9 April 1999, Maïnassara was ambushed and shot to death by soldiers, reportedly members of the Presidential Guard, at the airport in the capital city of Niamey as he was going to board a helicopter.[1][11] The circumstances of the killing were not clear;[12] rumors suggested that Maïnassara was attempting to flee the country.[5] Initially his death was officially described as an "unfortunate accident", but this claim was widely considered implausible.[12][13][14] Coup leader Daouda Malam Wanké succeeded him as head of state and initiated a political transition that ended with elections late in the year.[14]

The constitution adopted in a July 1999 referendum provides for an amnesty for participants in both the 1996 and 1999 coups. An investigation into Maïnassara's death had begun in June 1999, but following the amnesty, it ended in September.[15] The RDP-Jama'a has demanded an international inquiry into his death in the years since.[16] His widow, former first lady Clémence Aïssa Baré, and their children have campaigned for the prosecution of his killers in Niger and before the ECOWAS Court of Justice for more than 20 years.[2][17]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ (to 7 August 1996, as President of the National Salvation Council of Niger)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Au Niger, la famille de l'ex-président Baré Maïnassara réclame justice". BBC News. 9 April 2019. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b "President Mainassara: A profile", BBC News, 9 April 1999.
  4. ^ a b c Jibrin Ibrahim and Abdoulayi Niandou Souley, "The rise to power of an opposition party: the MNSD in Niger Republic", Unisa Press, Politeia, Vol. 15, No. 3, 1996.
  5. ^ a b c Kaye Whiteman, "Obituary: Ibrahim Bare Mainassara", The Independent (London), 12 April 1999.
  6. ^ Elections in Niger, African Elections Database.
  7. ^ a b "Niger: A major step backwards" Archived 19 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Amnesty International, 16 October 1996.
  8. ^ "Niger – New party leader for RDP", IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 10–97 of Main Events in West Africa covering period 19–25 August 1997.
  9. ^ "NIgeria: Partial result of local elections announced", IRIN, 8 April 1999.
  10. ^ a b "Rapport de la Mission D'Oberservation des Elections Presidentelles et Legislatives des 17 Octobre et 24 Novembre 1999", democratie.francophonie.org (in French).
  11. ^ "1999: President of Niger 'killed in ambush'". BBC. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  12. ^ a b "Niger: The people of Niger have the right to truth and justice" Archived 29 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Amnesty International, 6 April 2000.
  13. ^ "New military leader for Niger", BBC News, 12 April 1999.
  14. ^ a b "Military rule ends in Niger", BBC News, 22 December 1999.
  15. ^ "Niger: Conditions of the amnesty granted to the perpetrators of the coups d'état of 27 January 1996 and of 9 April 1999; possibility that some of the guilty, in particular the former director of national security and the head of the special unit, were imprisoned following the coup d'état of 9 April 1999, then released without conditions after the amnesty", Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada (UNHCR.org), 29 October 1999.
  16. ^ "Niger: Democratic Rally of the People-Jama'a-RDP (Rassemblement démocratique du peuple-Jama'a), including its leadership, its youth clubs, the role that the party holds following the assassination of President Ibrahim Maïnassara on 19 April 1999; whether its members are involved in strikes or demonstrations demanding an inquiry into the President's assassination. If so, the date and location of these strikes, and response of the current government to participants on strike; whether arrests were made following these strikes (April 1999 – September 2002)", Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada (UNHCR.org), 19 September 2002.
  17. ^ Juompan-Yakam, Clarisse (29 October 2015). "Clémence Baré Maïnassara: "La balle est maintenant dans le camp de l'État du Niger"" [Clémence Baré Maïnassara: "The ball is now in the court of the State of Niger"]. Jeune Afrique. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
[edit]
Preceded by President of Niger
1996–1999 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ibrahim_Baré_Maïnassara&oldid=1236044526"