Idriss Deby: 9 Rare Facts about Chad's Late President who Ruled for over 30 Years
Tuesday, April 20, was a sad day for the Republic of Chad as the country lost its president, Idriss Deby at the age of 68.
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The late Chadian leader was a politician and military officer whose multi-decade rule began back in 1990. He was considered by many as a powerful force in Africa.
However, not many people know about Deby's beginning and rise to becoming such a political force.
Source: Twitter
Legit.ng has gathered 9 top facts about the late leader.
Background
1. Born on June 18, 1952, to a poor herder in the village of Berdoba, Deby was of the Bidayat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group in the Ennedi region of northeastern Chad.
Education
2. After attending Qur'anic School in Tiné, Deby proceeded to study at the École Française in Fada and Franco-Arab school (Lycée Franco-Arabe) in Abéché.
3. The late Chadian leader also holds a bachelor's degree in science from the Lycée Jacques Moudeina in Bongor. He was also a graduate of Muammar Gaddafi's World Revolutionary Center.
Military career
4. In 1976, he joined the army after graduating and went to France to receive additional training at a flight school where he earned a pilot’s license.
5. Deby who was made commander-in-chief of the army in 1982, ousted his predecessor, Hissene Habre in a successful coup after his return from Sudan.
Multi-decade rule
6. He took over as president of Chad back in 1990 and has been re-elected to lead the African country every five years up until the time of his death in 2021.
7. Deby was an important Western ally in the fight against Islamist militants in Africa.
8. The late Chadian leader often joined soldiers on the battlefront in his military attire.
Family and personal life
9. Deby, a Muslim, was married several times and has no fewer than a dozen children. In 2005, Deby married Hinda Deby, the country's official first lady and a member of the Civil Cabinet of the presidency, serving as special secretary.
The late president got married to Zina Wazouna Ahmed Idriss, popularly known as Madame Idriss, however, the two parted ways later.
Deby was also married to Hadja Halimé and Amani Musa Hilal from Sudan whose father was his close ally.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the president of Chad died of injuries suffered on the frontline.
An Army spokesman whose name was not mentioned made the announcement on Tuesday, April 20.
Deby's death came a day after he won a sixth term as the country's election results were just released on Monday, April 19.
Source: Legit.ng
