François Tombalbaye
| N'Garta Tombalbaye | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 1st President of Chad | |
|
In office August 11, 1960 – April 13, 1975 |
|
| Prime Minister | None |
| Succeeded by |
Noël Milarew Odingar (as interim head of state) |
| Colonial Prime Minister of Chad | |
|
In office March 26, 1959 – August 11, 1960 |
|
| Preceded by |
Ahmed Koulamallah (as President of Provisional Govt.) |
| Succeeded by |
Hissène Habré (as PM of independent Chad) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
François Tombalbaye فرنسوا تومبالباي June 15, 1918 Moyen-Chari, French Chad |
| Died | April 13, 1975 (aged 56) N'Djamena, Chad |
| Political party |
PPT (1947-1973) MNRCS (1973-1975) |
| Profession |
Professor Trade unionist |
| Signature | .png){kind=small} |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Free French Forces |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
François Tombalbaye (Arabic: فرنسوا تومبالباي Franswā Tūmbālbāy; June 15, 1918 – April 13, 1975), also called N'Garta Tombalbaye from 1973 until his death, was a teacher and a trade union activist who served as the first president of Chad. The head of Chad's colonial government and its ruling party, the Chadian Progressive Party, after 1959, Tombalbaye was appointed the nation's head of government after its independence on August 11, 1960. He ruled as a dictator until his deposition and assassination by members of the Chadian military in 1975.
Tombalbaye was born on June 15, 1918 in Moyen-Chari Prefecture in the southern region of the French colony of Chad, close to the city of Koumara. He was of the Sara ethnic group, the prominent ethnicity of Chad's five southern prefectures. As a young man, Tombalbaye studied to become an educator in the Republic of Congo's capital of Brazzaville, due to the lack of in-country schools.
During World War II, Tombalbaye fought for Free France against the Nazi-backed Vichy regime.
Tombalbaye succeeded Gabriel Lisette as head of the Chadian Progressive Party (PPT), heading Chad's colonial government from 1959. He ruled the country during its independence on August 11, 1960, and was appointed its first head of government.
Tombalbaye managed to create a coalition of progressive forces from both the north and south of the country and isolating the more conservative Islamic factions in the center as a colonial legislator. After independence he adopted an autocratic form of government, eliminated opposition both within his party and outside his party by banning all other political parties. In 1963 Tombalbaye dissolved the National Assembly in response to rioting. He began nationalizing the civil service, replacing French administrators with less competent locals. He imposed a "National Loan", greatly increasing taxing, to fund the nationalization.
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