Hamadou Moustapha
Encyclopedia
Hamadou Moustapha is a Cameroon
ian politician, currently serving as Minister in Charge of Special Duties at the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon. He served in the government from 1975 to 1983, again from 1992 to 1997, and he has held his current position at the Presidency since December 2004. Additionally, Moustapha is the National President of the National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), a small party that supports President Paul Biya
.
, located in the Diamaré Division of the Far North Province
. He was the First Deputy Prefect of Yagoua
from 1971 to 1972 before being assigned responsibility for special duties at the Presidency of the Republic in May 1972. After three years in the latter position, he was appointed to the government as Deputy Minister of Finance on 30 June 1975; subsequently he was promoted to the position of Minister of Urban Planning and Housing on 8 November 1979. Moustapha was dismissed from the government on 18 June 1983.
When multiparty politics was introduced in 1990, Moustapha was a founding member of the National Union for Democracy and Progress
(UNDP), an opposition party, and he became that party's National Vice-President. He was elected to the National Assembly
in the March 1992 parliamentary election
as a UNDP candidate in Diamaré constituency. After Paul Biya won the October 1992 presidential election
, he appointed Moustapha to the government as Deputy Prime Minister for Urban Planning and Housing on 27 November 1992. This appointment, which Moustapha accepted, was made without the approval of the UNDP's leadership and was denounced by UNDP President Maigari Bello Bouba, but Moustapha was not expelled from the party at that time. Some believed that Biya intended for real power in the government to be exercised by Moustapha and the other Deputy Prime Minister, Andze Tsoungui, and not by Prime Minister Simon Achidi Achu
. Moustapha and Tsoungui were francophones, while Achu was an anglophone.
After Moustapha and Issa Tchiroma
again accepted positions in the government as part of a July 1994 cabinet reshuffle, Bello Bouba said on 23 July 1994 that this would mean the end of their membership in the UNDP. Subsequently, while visiting Maroua on 30 July 1994, Moustapha's car was attacked at the Makabaye bridge by people throwing stones at it. As a result, the car went off the road, with one person being killed and a number of others being injured. 28 UNDP members were arrested for the attack. The UNDP denied responsibility and blamed the government for the attack, saying that it was used as a pretext for a crackdown on the UNDP. Moustapha and Tchiroma challenged their removal from the party, but they were expelled by the UNDP Central Committee in January 1995.
Following their expulsion, Moustapha and Tchiroma established their own "authentic" faction of the UNDP, rejecting Bello Bouba's leadership. This faction then became the National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), a new party featuring a slight alteration of the UNDP's name, and it was legally recognized on 31 August 1995; Moustapha became the ANDP's National President. Despite their creation of a new party, Moustapha and Tchiroma still legally contested Bello Bouba's leadership of the UNDP. The ANDP has been allied with the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement
(RDPC) since its formation, and it supported Biya in the October 1997 presidential election
. Moustapha remained in his post as Deputy Prime Minister until December 1997, when he was dismissed from the government by Biya.
Following the June 2002 parliamentary election
, Moustapha and four other notable northern politicians released a statement in July, in which they alleged electoral fraud and announced the formation of a "resistance front". They warned that the RDPC was moving the country back to single-party rule and called on politicians "to transcend any divergence, selfishness and personal ambition in order to create a movement capable of saving Cameroon from collapse". He also joined other northern politicians in signing a September 2002 memo decrying the government's alleged marginalization and neglect of the north and urging that more attention be paid to addressing the north's problems.
The ANDP Executive Bureau met on 18 September 2004 and decided to support Paul Biya's candidacy in the October 2004 presidential election
. Speaking on this occasion, Moustapha said that Biya "incarnates national cohesion and stability" and "is the architect of the peace, stability and economic growth we are enjoying in Cameroon". After the election, he was appointed to the government as Minister in Charge of Special Duties at the Presidency on 8 December 2004. He was installed in that post on 21 December.
At the Second Ordinary Congress of the ANDP in July 2008, Moustapha was re-elected as President of the ANDP for another four years.
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
ian politician, currently serving as Minister in Charge of Special Duties at the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon. He served in the government from 1975 to 1983, again from 1992 to 1997, and he has held his current position at the Presidency since December 2004. Additionally, Moustapha is the National President of the National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), a small party that supports President Paul Biya
Paul Biya
Paul Biya is a Cameroonian politician who has been the President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982. A native of Cameroon's south, Biya rose rapidly as a bureaucrat under President Ahmadou Ahidjo in the 1960s, serving as Secretary-General of the Presidency from 1968 to 1975 and then as Prime...
.
Political career
Moustapha was born in MarouaMaroua
Maroua is the capital of the Far North Region of Cameroon, on the Ferngo and Kaliao Rivers. The city had 201,371 inhabitants at the 2005 Census,and is a centre of cotton industry. The city also has an airport located near the town of Salak, an agricultural school and ethnographic museum. To the...
, located in the Diamaré Division of the Far North Province
Far North Province
The Far North Region , also known as the Extreme North Region , is the northernmost constituent province of the Republic of Cameroon. It borders the North Region to the south, Chad to the east, and Nigeria to the west. The capital is Maroua.The province is one of Cameroon's most culturally diverse...
. He was the First Deputy Prefect of Yagoua
Yagoua
Yagoua is a town and commune in the Far North Province of Cameroon. It is the capital of the department of Mayo-Danay....
from 1971 to 1972 before being assigned responsibility for special duties at the Presidency of the Republic in May 1972. After three years in the latter position, he was appointed to the government as Deputy Minister of Finance on 30 June 1975; subsequently he was promoted to the position of Minister of Urban Planning and Housing on 8 November 1979. Moustapha was dismissed from the government on 18 June 1983.
When multiparty politics was introduced in 1990, Moustapha was a founding member of the National Union for Democracy and Progress
National Union for Democracy and Progress (Cameroon)
The National Union for Democracy and Progress is a political party in Cameroon, drawing its main support from the north of the country. It was established as an opposition party in the early 1990s and won the second largest number of seats in the 1992 parliamentary election...
(UNDP), an opposition party, and he became that party's National Vice-President. He was elected to the National Assembly
National Assembly of Cameroon
The National Assembly is the parliament of Cameroon. It has 180 members, elected for five-year terms in 49 single and multi-seat constituencies....
in the March 1992 parliamentary election
Cameroonian parliamentary election, 1992
Parliamentary elections were held in Cameroon on 1 March 1992. They were first multi-party elections for the National Assembly since 1964, although they were boycotted by the Social Democratic Front and the Cameroon Democratic Union. The result was a victory for the ruling Cameroon People's...
as a UNDP candidate in Diamaré constituency. After Paul Biya won the October 1992 presidential election
Cameroonian presidential election, 1992
A presidential election was held in Cameroon on 11 October 1992. It was the first presidential election since multi-party politics had been legalised, and it was also the first to feature more than one candidate. Incumbent Paul Biya won with 39.98% of the vote. Voter turnout was 71.9%.The 1992...
, he appointed Moustapha to the government as Deputy Prime Minister for Urban Planning and Housing on 27 November 1992. This appointment, which Moustapha accepted, was made without the approval of the UNDP's leadership and was denounced by UNDP President Maigari Bello Bouba, but Moustapha was not expelled from the party at that time. Some believed that Biya intended for real power in the government to be exercised by Moustapha and the other Deputy Prime Minister, Andze Tsoungui, and not by Prime Minister Simon Achidi Achu
Simon Achidi Achu
"Pa" Simon Achidi Achu is a Cameroonian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Cameroon from 1992 to 1996. A leading member of the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement , he is currently the Chairman of the National Investment Corporation.-Biography:Achidi Achu was born in Bamenda and grew...
. Moustapha and Tsoungui were francophones, while Achu was an anglophone.
After Moustapha and Issa Tchiroma
Issa Tchiroma
Issa Tchiroma Bakary is a Cameroonian politician who served in the government of Cameroon as Minister of Transport from 1992 to 1996 and has been Minister of Communication since 2009...
again accepted positions in the government as part of a July 1994 cabinet reshuffle, Bello Bouba said on 23 July 1994 that this would mean the end of their membership in the UNDP. Subsequently, while visiting Maroua on 30 July 1994, Moustapha's car was attacked at the Makabaye bridge by people throwing stones at it. As a result, the car went off the road, with one person being killed and a number of others being injured. 28 UNDP members were arrested for the attack. The UNDP denied responsibility and blamed the government for the attack, saying that it was used as a pretext for a crackdown on the UNDP. Moustapha and Tchiroma challenged their removal from the party, but they were expelled by the UNDP Central Committee in January 1995.
Following their expulsion, Moustapha and Tchiroma established their own "authentic" faction of the UNDP, rejecting Bello Bouba's leadership. This faction then became the National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), a new party featuring a slight alteration of the UNDP's name, and it was legally recognized on 31 August 1995; Moustapha became the ANDP's National President. Despite their creation of a new party, Moustapha and Tchiroma still legally contested Bello Bouba's leadership of the UNDP. The ANDP has been allied with the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement
Cameroon People's Democratic Movement
The Cameroon People's Democratic Movement is the ruling political party in Cameroon.-History:Previously known as the Cameroon National Union, which had dominated Cameroon politics since independence in 1960, it was renamed in 1985...
(RDPC) since its formation, and it supported Biya in the October 1997 presidential election
Cameroonian presidential election, 1997
Presidential elections were held in Cameroon on 12 October 1997. They were boycotted by the main opposition parties, the Social Democratic Front, the National Union for Democracy and Progress, and the Cameroon Democratic Union, as well as the smaller African Peoples Union. As a result incumbent...
. Moustapha remained in his post as Deputy Prime Minister until December 1997, when he was dismissed from the government by Biya.
Following the June 2002 parliamentary election
Cameroonian parliamentary election, 2002
Parliamentary elections were held in Cameroon on 30 June 2002. The result was a victory for the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement, which won 149 of the 180 seats. In 17 constituencies the result was cancelled by the Supreme Court due to irregularities and the election re-run on 15...
, Moustapha and four other notable northern politicians released a statement in July, in which they alleged electoral fraud and announced the formation of a "resistance front". They warned that the RDPC was moving the country back to single-party rule and called on politicians "to transcend any divergence, selfishness and personal ambition in order to create a movement capable of saving Cameroon from collapse". He also joined other northern politicians in signing a September 2002 memo decrying the government's alleged marginalization and neglect of the north and urging that more attention be paid to addressing the north's problems.
The ANDP Executive Bureau met on 18 September 2004 and decided to support Paul Biya's candidacy in the October 2004 presidential election
Cameroonian presidential election, 2004
The 2004 Cameroonian presidential election took place in Cameroon on 11 October 2004. Incumbent President Paul Biya was easily re-elected in an election which the opposition claimed had seen widespread electoral fraud.-Background:...
. Speaking on this occasion, Moustapha said that Biya "incarnates national cohesion and stability" and "is the architect of the peace, stability and economic growth we are enjoying in Cameroon". After the election, he was appointed to the government as Minister in Charge of Special Duties at the Presidency on 8 December 2004. He was installed in that post on 21 December.
At the Second Ordinary Congress of the ANDP in July 2008, Moustapha was re-elected as President of the ANDP for another four years.