Yahya Jammeh
| Yahya Jammeh | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 2nd President of the Gambia | |
|
In office 22 July 1994 – 21 January 2017 |
|
| Vice President | Isatou Njie-Saidy |
| Preceded by | Dawda Jawara |
| Succeeded by | Adama Barrow |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jammeh 25 May 1965 Kanilai, Gambia |
| Political party | Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction |
| Spouse(s) |
Zeinab Soumah Alima Sallah (possibly divorced) Tuti Faal (1994–1998, div.) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Gambia
|
| Service/branch | Gambian National Army |
| Years of service | 1984–1996 |
| Rank | Colonel |
Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former military officer who was the second President of the Gambia from 1994 to 2017. Jammeh ruled the Gambia for 22 years, since he rose to power as a young army officer in the bloodless military coup of 1994.
He was elected as President in 1996; he was re-elected in 2001, 2006, and 2011. He was defeated by Adama Barrow in the 2016 election. Although he initially conceded defeat, on 9 December 2016, he later refused to recognise the results. Jammeh's claim to the presidency became disputed on 19 January 2017 when Adama Barrow was sworn in as president of The Gambia at a ceremony held at the Gambian embassy in Dakar.
On 21 January, Jammeh was forced to step down after a military intervention by the combined armed forces of several countries of the ECOWAS regional alliance. Later on the same day, Jammeh went into exile, first going to Guinea and then onward to Equatorial Guinea.
President Jammeh joined the Gambian National Army in 1984, was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1989, and in August 1992 became commanding officer of the Military Police of Yundum Barracks. He received extensive military training in neighbouring Senegal, and military police training at Fort McClellan, Alabama.
On 22 July 1994, Lt. Yahya Jammeh with a group of young officers in the Gambian National Army seized power from President Sir Dawda Jawara in a military coup by taking control of key facilities in the capital city, Banjul. The coup took place without bloodshed and met with very little resistance. The group identified itself as the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC), with the 29-year-old Jammeh as its chairman.
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