Azali Assoumani was a president of 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...

. He became leader of the country on 30 April 1999 after leading a coup to depose acting president Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde

Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde

Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde was a Comorian politician.Massounde served as Prime Minister from 27 March 1996 to 27 December 1996. After the death of President Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim on 6 November 1998, he became interim President. His government was overthrown in a 30 April 1999 military coup...

, who he saw as pandering

Pandering (politics)

Pandering is the act of expressing one's views in accordance with the likes of a group to which one is attempting to appeal. The term is most notably associated with politics...

 to the independence movement on Anjouan

Anjouan

Anjouan is an autonomous island, part of the Union of Comoros. The island is located in the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Mutsamudu and its population as of 2006 is about 277,500. The total area of the island is 424 sq. kilometers Anjouan (also known as Ndzuwani or Nzwani) is an autonomous island,...

. He won multi-party elections

Elections in Comoros

Elections in Comoros gives information on election and election results in Comoros.Comoros elects on federal level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a four year term by the people. The federal presidency is to take it in turns between the three islands...

 in 2002, prior to which he was constitutionally required to temporarily step down in order to run as a candidate.

Azali was born in 1959 at Mitsoudjé

Mitsoudjé

Mitsoudjé is a town located on the island of Grande Comore in the Comoros. It is the birthplace of former President Azali Assoumani....

 in south-western Grande Comore

Grande Comore

Grande Comore is an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population as of 2006 is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, which is also the national capital...

. Until he overthrew the civilian government in 1999, he pursued a military career for two decades. Between 1977 and 1980 he trained at the Royal Military Academy in Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

 and qualified as a parachutist

Parachuting

Parachuting, also known as skydiving, is the action of exiting an aircraft and returning to earth with the aid of a parachute. It may or may not involve a certain amount of free-fall, a time during which the parachute has not been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal...

. On his return to Comoros, he joined the Comorian Armed Forces (then overseen by Bob Denard

Bob Denard

Colonel Bob Denard , born Gilbert Bourgeaud, was a French soldier and mercenary. He was known for having done various jobs in support of Françafrique for Jacques Foccart, in charge of French president Charles de Gaulle's policy in Africa...

's European mercenaries) and was close to President Ahmed Abdallah

Ahmed Abdallah

Ahmed Abdallah Abderemane was a Comorian politician. He was President of the Comoros from 25 October 1978 until his death.-Life prior to the presidency:...

. After the death of Abdullah and the departure of the mercenaries in 1989-1990, Major Azali became a senior officer in the new Comorian Defense Force (FCD). During this period the FCD was again (temporarily) defeated by Denard's mercenaries in 1995 and routed in its attempt to invade Anjouan in 1997. In 1996 he undertook further training at a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 military academy and was promoted to colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 and chief of staff of the new National Army of Development (NAD).

Constitutionally, the presidency is supposed to rotate every four years between the country's three islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli

Mohéli

Mohéli, also known as Mwali, is one of the three islands which make up the nation of Comoros. Mohéli is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is by far the smallest of the Comoros islands. Its population, as of 2006, is about 38,000. Its capital city is Fomboni...

. In 2005, a draft law was under consideration that would have changed this to allow Azali to run for a second term, but it was withdrawn.