Lol Mahamat Choua facts for kids

Lol Mahamat Choua (15 June 1939 – 15 September 2019) was a Chadian politician. He served as his country's leader for four months in 1979. He was also the President of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) political party.

Early Life and Rise to Power

Lol Mahamat Choua was born on June 15, 1939. He was a member of the Kanembu ethnic group and followed the Islamic faith. He became a leader during the First Chadian Civil War. This was a time when different groups in Chad were fighting for control.

Joining the Peace Talks

Several groups were involved in the conflict. These included the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Chad (MPLT), the central government, the Armed Forces of the North (FAN), and the People's Armed Forces (FAP). The MPLT was a rebel group supported by Nigeria. When a peace meeting was set up in Kano, Nigeria, the MPLT chose Lol Mahamat Choua to lead their group at the talks.

Leading the Transitional Government

Because of pressure from Nigeria, Lol Mahamat Choua was chosen to lead the Transitional Government of National Unity (GUNT). This happened on April 29, 1979. The GUNT was a temporary government formed by the four main groups at the Kano meeting.

Forming the New Government

The GUNT had 21 ministers. Eleven of these ministers were from the northern part of Chad, and ten were from the southern part.

• Goukouni Oueddei, who led the FAP, became the Minister of Interior.
• Hissène Habré became the Minister of Defence.
• Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué, who led the Chadian Armed Forces (FAT), became the vice-president.

However, this new government did not include groups that supported Libya. Because of this, a rival government was formed. It was called the Democratic Revolutionary Council and was led by Ahmat Acyl.

Peace Agreements in Lagos

The existence of a rival government and the GUNT's resistance to Nigerian influence led to more peace meetings. These meetings took place in Lagos, Nigeria. On August 21, all the groups, including the rival one, signed an agreement. This agreement was known as the Lagos Accord. The Lagos Accord led to Lol Mahamat Choua being replaced as head of the transitional government by Goukouni Oueddei. This change happened on September 3, 1979.

Later Political Career

After his time as head of state, Lol Mahamat Choua went to live in Paris. He returned to Chad in 1982. From 1982 to 1985, he served as the Minister of Transport in Hissène Habré's government.

Return to Opposition Politics

In 1990, Idriss Déby took over the government from Habré. When Déby allowed opposition parties in 1992, Choua's party, the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), became active again. The RDP was mainly based in the Kanem Region.

From January 15 to April 7, 1993, a special meeting called the Sovereign National Conference took place. This meeting started the process of moving towards elections with many political parties. One of the decisions was to create a temporary law-making body called the Higher Transitional Council (CST). This council had 57 members, and Lol Mahamat Choua became its president.

Choua was the President of the CST until he had disagreements with President Déby. As a result, the CST replaced him with Mahamat Bachir on October 15, 1994. Bachir was loyal to Déby's party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS).

Elections and Parliamentary Role

In June 1996, Chad held its first presidential election where many parties could participate. Choua came in fifth place, getting 5.93% of the votes. Déby won the election in the second round.

Choua was elected to the National Assembly in the 1997 parliamentary election. He was a candidate for the RDP party.

In the 2001 presidential election, the RDP supported Déby. In the April 2002 parliamentary election, the RDP worked with Déby's MPS party and won 12 out of 155 seats. Choua himself was re-elected to the National Assembly. He represented the Mao area in the Kanem Department. Choua was the leader of the RDP group in the National Assembly.

In 2005, there was a vote to change the constitution. This change would remove limits on how many times a president could be elected. Choua and his party chose not to vote in this referendum.

In August 2007, political parties agreed on how to prepare for new parliamentary elections in 2009. Choua led a committee that made sure this agreement was followed.

Later Years and Arrest

On February 3, 2008, during a fight between government forces and rebels in N'Djamena, Choua was arrested. Members of the presidential guard took him away. Many countries expressed concern about what happened to Choua and two other politicians who were also arrested.

On February 14, the Interior Minister, Ahmat Mahamat Bachir, said that Choua had been "found" and was alive. The French ambassador to Chad was allowed to visit Choua, who was being held in a military prison. On February 16, it was announced that Choua was being held with prisoners of war.

The Foreign Minister, Ahmad Allam-Mi, later said that Choua had been found working with the rebels and was being investigated. The RDP strongly disagreed with this claim. On February 26, the government announced that Choua was placed under house arrest.

Lol Mahamat Choua passed away on September 15, 2019.

See also

In Spanish: Lol Mohamed Shawa para niños