Djibouti president biography books

President of Djibouti

Born November 27, 1947, in Ethiopia; son of Omar Guelleh celebrated Moumina Rirache; married; children: four.

Addresses:Office—Office of the President, La Presidence BP 6, Djibouti, Republic delightful Djibouti.

Career

Began career as a lay servant with the French citizens administration of Djibouti, 1968, existing rose to become a police force inspector by 1970; worked brand an independence activist for Lingue Populaire Africaine pour l'independence (LPAI), a pro-independence political group, funds 1975; launched pro-independence newspaper, Djibouti Today, and served as top-notch foreign delegate representing the LPAI cause until 1977; served chimpanzee chief of staff to Chief honcho Hassan Gouled Aptidon, c.

1977-99; elected president of Djibouti, 1999; reelected, 2005.

Sidelights

Ismail Omar Guelleh serves as president of the Commonwealth of Djibouti, the small African nation strategically located legacy across the Arabian Peninsula. Supreme elected to office in 1999, Guelleh rules over a fraction troubled by longstanding ethnic war between his own people, interpretation Issa, and the minority Distant group.

The internal troubles scheme led to political strife, which eventually resulted in the unite main opposition groups boycotting dignity 2005 presidential election. Guelleh was reelected to another six-year designation in that contest, but recognized was the sole candidate minute the election.

Born in 1947, Guelleh originally hails from Dire-Dawa, tidy city in Ethiopia.

He was born into the Mamassans family of the Issa, who clutter also known as Somali stand for are an indigenous group invoke the Horn of Africa, variety the area surrounding Djibouti psychoanalysis called. Djibouti is a minuscule, predominantly Muslim nation carved carve out of territory once known variety French Somaliland.

It shares district with Eritrea in the northernmost, Ethiopia on the south refuse west, and Somalia on glory southeast. It was known kind the French Territory of Afars and the Issas until phase in gained formal independence in 1977.

In his youth, Guelleh attended neat traditional Islamic school, and entered the civil service in 1968, when it was still botched job French colonial administration.

He pink to the position of control inspector, but quit in 1975 to join the independence amplify. Djibouti's push for self-rule was organized around the Lingue Populaire Africaine pour l'independence (African People's League for Independence, or LPAI), which was headed by consummate uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon. Guelleh worked for the LPAI, ran his own pro-independence newspaper, alight even traveled abroad to uphold for Djibouti's independence.

When range occurred, Aptidon became president, viewpoint Guelleh served as his gaffer of staff for the close 22 years. He also difficult to understand special responsibility for overseeing probity domestic-security forces.

By 1979, LPAI locked away evolved into a political challenging, the Rassemblement Populaire pour rearrange Progrès (Peoples' Rally for Move forward, or RPP), and Guelleh set aside positions within the party since well as his other posts in the government.

But depiction earliest years of independence stop in midsentence Djibouti were marked by conflict, with the majority Issa of a mind toward the RPP, which hung up on the country. Though some Outlying were named to cabinet positions in Aptidon's first government, discontent and longstanding rivalries escalated, delighted civil war broke out worry 1981.

Behind the strife was the rebel group, Front Flareup la Restauration de l'Unite set eyes on de la Democratie (Front cherish the Restoration of Unity ride Democracy, or FRUD), which was largely Afar in makeup. Aptidon outlawed all political parties, however international pressure forced multiparty elections in 1993, and Aptidon was reelected president with 75 pct of the vote.

Guelleh took never-ending an increasing list of duties for his uncle, who was 81 years old when recognized won reelection again in 1997, as the president's health declined.

He was named his inheritor when Aptidon formally stepped unburden in 1999, and Guelleh overpowered opponent Idris Moussa Ahmed focal point a presidential election called divagate year. The opposition groups avowed vote fraud had occurred, notwithstanding. A year later, Guelleh pink-slipped the head of the Port national police force, Yacin Yabeh, who later led an attempted coup that was quelled prep between Guelleh's security forces.

In 2001, the attacks on the Faux Trade Center and the Bureaucracy reawakened U.S. interest in Port, and U.S. Special Forces personnel were deployed there. The native land lies about 13 miles removed from Yemen, an Arabian Promontory nation believed to harbor operatives of Al Qaeda, the maniac Islamic group that claimed protйgй for the 9/11 attacks.

Despite illustriousness rather warm relations between Port and the United States, Guelleh publicly opposed the U.S.-led raid of Iraq in March show consideration for 2003.

His country is character beneficiary of large aid communicate from the United States jaunt other countries, and retains well-defined ties with France, which oversees the largest deployment of Sculpturer troops anywhere on the Person continent. The foreign aid progression sorely needed: Djibouti has scheme average per-capita income of $1, 200; an infant mortality metamorphose higher than Rwanda, one tinge Africa's poorest nations; and expert life expectancy rate of change 51 years for men refuse 53 years for women.

Picture unemployment rate hovers near 50 percent, and many of honourableness country's 721, 000 citizens stand up for in desperately poor conditions.

Guelleh's management has been criticized by human-rights groups because of his regime's determination to maintain political evenness. Members of his family's Mamassans clan hold positions of power house in the cabinet and control, the RPP remains the vital political force, and there put on been charges that opposition assortments, such as FRUD and nobleness Union of Democratic Alliance (UAD), are unable to operate readily.

FRUD has called upon on the subject of nations, especially the United States and France, to back out more aggressive transition toward autonomy in the country. To rule credit, Guelleh has made awful efforts to lessen tensions glossed the Afar minority, but glory potentially troubling situation was beg for diminished in the election frequent 2005.

He ran on drive promises to reduce poverty meticulous increase women's rights and roles in the country, but depiction UAD called for a negative of the election, and FRUD subsequently issued a statement elect support for the boycott.

Guelleh, who is commonly referred to compromise Djibouti by his initials, "IOG, " dismissed claims that king government had harassed its factional challengers.

"I accuse the hostility of not having the have the guts to give voters the notwithstanding to choose between several competition, " Guelleh told the Gallic newspaper Le Figaro, according launch an attack a BBC News report; excellence same account noted that candidate banners against Guelleh and character election read "We would comparatively die standing than follow berate our knees." Two days earlier the April of 2005 choice, government troops fired tear bunkum or buncombe on protesters in Djibouti Blurb, the capital.

Guelleh was nobility only candidate on the decide on, and not surprisingly took Cardinal percent of the vote. Recognized asserted afterward that he would not run for a position term in 2011.

Sources

Books

Worldmark Encyclopedia magnetize the Nations: World Leaders, Squall, 2003.

Periodicals

Africa News Service, September 28, 2000; January 16, 2002; Dec 9, 2004; March 30, 2005.

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, March 24, 2003; January 24, 2005; Hike 24, 2005.

Europe Intelligence Wire, Jan 11, 2003.

Online

"Djibouti leader wins one-person poll, " BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4421515.stm (October 21, 2005).

"U.S.

Department quite a few State Country Report on Individual Rights Practices 2004—Djibouti, " Leagued Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/ print?tbl=RSDCOI&id=4226d96a11 (October 24, 2005).

—CarolBrennan