تشاد « TŠĀD »
— Also: Tchad.
— Officially: الجمهورية تشاد « ɔal-Ĝumhūrīaḧ Tšād »; République du Tchad.
— English: Chad.
— Seat of government: نجامينا « Niĝāmīnā » / Ndjamena.
— Status: Not democratic.
— Structure: Autocracy of the current president.
— Governing party: Mouvement Patriotique du Salut.
— Head of government: Idriss Déby, president.
— Assessment: Ruled by dictators and warlords since independence, beginning with François Tombalbaye (1959-75). During this time, north-south tensions began to dominate politics; Tombalbaye was a southerner whose government favored the south. The Front de Libération Nationale du Tchad, a political and eventual rebel movement, benefitted from this tension. The fight with FroLiNaT created further tension between Tombalbaye and the army, leading to the imprisonment of army chief of staff Félix Malloum; the military assassinated Tombalbaye in 1975 and took power, with Malloum installed as head of the régime. In 1978, Malloum attempted a national-unity government by bringing FroLiNaT military commander Hissène Habré into government as prime minister. Less than a year later, Habré forced Malloum out; meanwhile, prominent northerner, FroLiNaT figure, and Habré ally-turned-rival Goukouni Oueddei arrived in force to take نجامينا « Niĝāmīnā » and became the recognized head of government; the Gouvernement d’Union Nationale de Transition was essentially a council of warlords. Habré, nominally defense minister in the GUNT, seized power and deposed Goukouni in 1982. Déby was a key military aide and commander to Habré; the two fell out in 1989, Déby fled, formed the MPS with foreign assistance, and returned in 1990 to depose Habré. He has since arranged to rule indefinitely, claiming fraudulent election victories in 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011. Déby has in later years been involved in petulant disputes with the UN, threatening to expel Darfur refugees unless action were taken against rebels against him, and the World Bank, after attempting to divert aid to his military. Attempts to overthrow Déby persist, generally originating in the east. Rebels reached the capital in 2006, and an attack in 2008 was thwarted only at the presidential palace, and with foreign support of Déby.
— FH: 7-6, not free. Econ: 1.52 (166), authoritarian.
— Updated: 2014 December 3.
O.T. FORD