André Salifou
Encyclopedia
André Salifou is a Niger
ien politician, diplomat, and professor. He was President of the High Council of the Republic during the 1991–93 transitional period, Foreign Minister in 1996, and an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 1999.
. From 1972 to 1979, he worked for the Agency of Cultural and Technical Cooperation
(Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique), UNESCO
, and the Common African and Mauritian Organization. He then became a Professor of History at the University of Niamey until 1991. For his doctorate d'état he wrote the thesis Colonisation et sociétés indigènes au Niger de la fin du XIXe siècle à la début de la Seconde Guerre mondiale (Colonization and indigenous societies of Niger from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the Second World War).
came under increasing domestic pressure and civil resistance. At the end of 1990, the regime acquiesced to demands for a return to civilian rule and a national conference was convened in July 1991 to prepare the way for the adoption of a new constitution and the holding of free and fair elections. Professor Salifou was chosen as a neutral figure to be President of the Presidium of the National Conference, which was held from July 29, 1991 to November 3, 1991 and established a transitional government leading to democratic elections. At the Conference, he was elected as President of the High Council of the Republic, which was created to function in a legislative role during the transitional period, which lasted from November 1991 to April 1993. In late February 1992 he was briefly kidnapped, along with the Interior Minister, Mohamed Moussa, by soldiers demanding back pay; he and Moussa were freed after the soldiers were promised that they would receive the pay.
, Salifou was a candidate for his party, the Union of Democratic and Progressive Patriots
(UPDP-Chamoua), in Zinder constituency, and was elected to the National Assembly
. Like Prime Minister Ahmadou Cheiffou, he was prohibited by the National Conference from standing as a candidate in the presidential election
held later in the same month due to his role as President of the High Council of the Republic. Following the election, the UPDP, which was led by Salifou, formed part of the opposition along with the National Movement for the Development of Society
(MNSD). Salifou participated in an opposition protest on April 16, 1994 and was arrested along with 90 others, including MNSD leader Tandja Mamadou
.
seized power in a military coup on January 27, 1996, Salifou was appointed as Minister of State in charge of Higher Education and Research in the new transitional government named on February 1. Three months later, on May 5, Salifou was instead named Minister of State in charge of Foreign Relations. He left this position in December 1996, when he was moved to the post of Minister of State in charge of Relations with the Assemblies; he remained in the latter position until December 1997.
. In the election, he placed sixth with 2.08% of the vote.
After the 1999 election, Salifou acted in a diplomatic role for international organizations. He was special envoy of La Francophonie to the Comoros
; on March 15, 2001, the Comoran opposition alleged that Salifou, together with the French ambassador, had been secretly working against the presence of the Organization of African Unity in the Comoros. Later, on April 30, 2002, Salifou was named special envoy of OAU Secretary-General Amara Essy
to Madagascar
.
Salifou was appointed by President Tandja as his Special Representative to La Francophonie, and he was included in the Nigerien delegation to La Francophonie's ninth summit, held in Beirut
in October 2002. He also headed an African Union
mission to the Central African Republic
in November 2002, meeting with Central African President Ange-Félix Patassé
on November 19 to discuss "the conditions for the restoration of peace in the CAR". On February 13, 2003, he was designated as the special representative of Essy, who was by this time the interim Chairman of the Commission of the African Union
, to Côte d'Ivoire
.
After Mahamadou Issoufou
took office as President, he appointed Salifou as Special Adviser to the President, with the rank of Minister, on 20 April 2011. Salifou was to hold that post concurrently with his role as the President's Personal Representative to La Francophonie.
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
ien politician, diplomat, and professor. He was President of the High Council of the Republic during the 1991–93 transitional period, Foreign Minister in 1996, and an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 1999.
Biography
Salifou was born in ZinderZinder
Zinder is the second largest city in Niger, with a population of 170,574 by 2005 was estimated to be over 200,000...
. From 1972 to 1979, he worked for the Agency of Cultural and Technical Cooperation
Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique
The Agence de coopération culturelle et technique was founded in 1970 and was the precursor to what is now the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie....
(Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique), UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, and the Common African and Mauritian Organization. He then became a Professor of History at the University of Niamey until 1991. For his doctorate d'état he wrote the thesis Colonisation et sociétés indigènes au Niger de la fin du XIXe siècle à la début de la Seconde Guerre mondiale (Colonization and indigenous societies of Niger from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the Second World War).
Role in the National Conference and High Council of the Republic
At the end of the 1980s the military regime of Brigadier General Ali SaibouAli Saibou
Ali Saibou was the third President of Niger from 1987 to 1993 succeeding the deceased Seyni Kountché.A member of the Djerma people, he was born in Dingajibanda, a village in the Ouallam arrondissement. Although from Kountché's home village, Saibou is not a cousin...
came under increasing domestic pressure and civil resistance. At the end of 1990, the regime acquiesced to demands for a return to civilian rule and a national conference was convened in July 1991 to prepare the way for the adoption of a new constitution and the holding of free and fair elections. Professor Salifou was chosen as a neutral figure to be President of the Presidium of the National Conference, which was held from July 29, 1991 to November 3, 1991 and established a transitional government leading to democratic elections. At the Conference, he was elected as President of the High Council of the Republic, which was created to function in a legislative role during the transitional period, which lasted from November 1991 to April 1993. In late February 1992 he was briefly kidnapped, along with the Interior Minister, Mohamed Moussa, by soldiers demanding back pay; he and Moussa were freed after the soldiers were promised that they would receive the pay.
Opposition politician
In the February 1993 parliamentary electionNigerien parliamentary election, 1993
Parliamentary elections were held in Niger on 14 February 1993. They followed the constitutional changes approved in a referendum the previous year, which re-introduced multi-party democracy...
, Salifou was a candidate for his party, the Union of Democratic and Progressive Patriots
Union of Democratic and Progressive Patriots
The Union of Democratic and Progressive Patriots is a centrist Nigerien political party, founded and led by André Salifou. The UPDP has only three times won a handful in the National Assembly of Niger since it formed prior to the 1993 elections. One three occasions these seats were held Professor...
(UPDP-Chamoua), in Zinder constituency, and was elected to the National Assembly
National Assembly of Niger
The unicameral National Assembly of Niger is the country's sole legislative body. The National Assembly may propose laws and is required to approve all legislation.-History:...
. Like Prime Minister Ahmadou Cheiffou, he was prohibited by the National Conference from standing as a candidate in the presidential election
Nigerien presidential election, 1993
Presidential elections were held in Niger on 28 February 1993, with a second round on 28 March after no candidate passed the 50% barrier in the first round. They followed the constitutional changes approved in a referendum the previous year, which re-introduced multi-party democracy, and were the...
held later in the same month due to his role as President of the High Council of the Republic. Following the election, the UPDP, which was led by Salifou, formed part of the opposition along with the National Movement for the Development of Society
National Movement for the Development of Society
The National Movement for the Society of Development - MNSD / MNSD-Nassara is a political party in Niger. Founded under the military government of the 1974-1990 period, it was the ruling party of Niger from 1989 to 1993 and again from 1999 until a coup on February 18, 2010, by a military junta...
(MNSD). Salifou participated in an opposition protest on April 16, 1994 and was arrested along with 90 others, including MNSD leader Tandja Mamadou
Tandja Mamadou
Lieutenant Colonel Mamadou Tandja is a Nigerien politician who was President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement of the Development Society from 1991 to 1999 and unsuccessfully ran as the MNSD's presidential candidate in 1993 and 1996 before being elected to his...
.
Under military rule
After Ibrahim Baré MaïnassaraIbrahim Baré Maïnassara
Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara was a military officer in the West African country of Niger who seized power in a January 1996 coup d'état and ruled the country until his assassination during the military coup of April 1999....
seized power in a military coup on January 27, 1996, Salifou was appointed as Minister of State in charge of Higher Education and Research in the new transitional government named on February 1. Three months later, on May 5, Salifou was instead named Minister of State in charge of Foreign Relations. He left this position in December 1996, when he was moved to the post of Minister of State in charge of Relations with the Assemblies; he remained in the latter position until December 1997.
Return to democracy
In late August 1999, Salifou announced that he would run as the UPDP candidate in the October 1999 presidential electionNigerien presidential election, 1999
A presidential election was held in Niger in late 1999, with the first round on October 17 and a second round, coinciding with a parliamentary election, on November 24. The election followed a coup d'état on April 9, 1999, in which Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, who had led an earlier coup in January...
. In the election, he placed sixth with 2.08% of the vote.
After the 1999 election, Salifou acted in a diplomatic role for international organizations. He was special envoy of La Francophonie to the Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
; on March 15, 2001, the Comoran opposition alleged that Salifou, together with the French ambassador, had been secretly working against the presence of the Organization of African Unity in the Comoros. Later, on April 30, 2002, Salifou was named special envoy of OAU Secretary-General Amara Essy
Amara Essy
Amara Essy is a diplomat from Côte d'Ivoire .Essy was born in Bouake. He was the Permanent Representative of Côte d'Ivoire to the United Nations from 1981 to 1990, and in January 1990 he was President of the United Nations Security Council...
to Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
.
Salifou was appointed by President Tandja as his Special Representative to La Francophonie, and he was included in the Nigerien delegation to La Francophonie's ninth summit, held in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
in October 2002. He also headed an African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
mission to the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
in November 2002, meeting with Central African President Ange-Félix Patassé
Ange-Félix Patassé
Ange-Félix Patassé was a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 1993 until 2003, when he was deposed by the rebel leader François Bozizé...
on November 19 to discuss "the conditions for the restoration of peace in the CAR". On February 13, 2003, he was designated as the special representative of Essy, who was by this time the interim Chairman of the Commission of the African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
, to Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
.
After Mahamadou Issoufou
Mahamadou Issoufou
Mahamadou Issoufou is a Nigerien politician who has been President of Niger since 7 April 2011. Previously he was Prime Minister of Niger from 1993 to 1994 and President of the National Assembly from 1995 to 1996, and he has stood as a candidate in each presidential election since 1993.Issoufou...
took office as President, he appointed Salifou as Special Adviser to the President, with the rank of Minister, on 20 April 2011. Salifou was to hold that post concurrently with his role as the President's Personal Representative to La Francophonie.