Idriss Déby Itno
| Idriss Déby إدريس ديبي |
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|---|---|
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| 8th President of Chad | |
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Assumed office 2 December 1990 |
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| Prime Minister |
Jean Alingué Bawoyeu Joseph Yodoyman Fidèle Moungar Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye Koibla Djimasta Nassour Guelendouksia Ouaido Nagoum Yamassoum Haroun Kabadi Moussa Faki Pascal Yoadimnadji Adoum Younousmi Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye Youssouf Saleh Abbas Emmanuel Nadingar Djimrangar Dadnadji Kalzeubet Pahimi Deubet Albert Pahimi Padacké |
| Preceded by | Hissène Habré |
| Chairperson of the African Union | |
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In office 30 January 2016 – 30 January 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Robert Mugabe |
| Succeeded by | Alpha Conde |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 18, 1952 Fada, French Equatorial Africa (now Chad) |
| Political party | Patriotic Salvation Movement |
| Spouse(s) | Hinda Déby (2005–present) Amani Musa Hilal |
| Children |
Mahamat Brahim |
| Religion | Islam |
General Idriss Déby Itno (Arabic: إدريس ديبي Idrīs Daybī Itnū; born June 18, 1952) is a Chadian politician who has been the President of Chad since 1990. He is also head of the Patriotic Salvation Movement. Déby is of the Bidyat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. He took power at the head of a rebellion against President Hissène Habré in December 1990 and has since survived various rebellions against his own rule. He won elections in 1996 and 2001, and after term limits were eliminated he won again in 2006, 2011, and 2016. He added "Itno" to his surname in January 2006. He is a graduate of Muammar Gaddafi's World Revolutionary Center.
Déby was born in Fada as the son of a Zaghawa herder. After finishing school he entered the Officers' School in N'Djamena. From there he was sent to France for training, returning to Chad in 1976 with a professional pilot certificate. He remained loyal to the army and to President Félix Malloum until central authority crumbled in 1979. Déby tied his fortunes to those of Hissène Habré, one of the chief Chadian warlords. A year after Habré became President in 1982, Déby was made commander-in-chief of the army. He distinguished himself in 1984 by destroying pro-Libyan forces in Eastern Chad. In 1985 Habré sent him to Paris to follow a course at the École de Guerre; on his return he was made chief military advisor to the Presidency. In 1987 he confronted Libyan forces on the field in the so-called "Toyota War", adopting tactics that inflicted heavy losses on enemy forces. A rift emerged in 1989 between Habré and Déby over the increasing power of the Presidential Guard. According to Human Rights Watch, Habré was found responsible for "widespread political killings, systematic torture, and thousands of arbitrary arrests", as well as ethnic purgings when it was perceived that group leaders could pose a threat to his rule. Increasingly paranoid, Habré accused Déby, Mahamat Itno, minister of the interior, and Hassan Djamous, commander in chief of the Chadian army of preparing a coup d'état. Déby fled to Libya, while Itno and Djamous were arrested and killed. Since all three were ethnic Zaghawa, Habré started a targeted campaign against the group which saw hundreds seized, tortured and imprisoned. Dozens died in detention or were summarily executed. In 2016, Habré was convicted of war crimes by a specially-created international tribunal in Senegal.
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