People

Famous People From Chad

Reference
Updated June 9, 2017 85 items

List of famous people from Chad, including photos when available. The people below are listed by their popularity, so the most recognizable names are at the top of the list. Some of the people below are celebrities born in Chad, while others are simply notable locals. If you're from Chad you might already know that these prominent figures are also from your hometown, but some of the names below may really surprise you. This list includes people who were born and raised in Chad, as well as those who were born there but moved away at a young age.

This is a list that features people like Ndiganbeye Appolinaire and Jules Mbairemadji.

If you want to answer the questions, "Which famous people are from Chad?" or "Which celebrities were born in Chad?" then this list is a great resource for you.

  • Sosthene Moguenara

    Age: 35
    Sosthene Taroum Moguenara is a German long jumper. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but failed to qualify for the final. In 2011 Moguenara won the bronze medal at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Ostrava.

  • Idriss Déby

    Age: 73
    General Idriss Déby Itno (Arabic: إدريس ديبي‎ Idrīs Daybī Itnū; born June 18, 1952) is a Chadian politician who has been the President of Chad since 1990. He is also head of the Patriotic Salvation Movement. Déby is of the Bidyat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. He took power at the head of a rebellion against President Hissène Habré in December 1990 and has since survived various rebellions against his own rule. He won elections in 1996 and 2001, and after term limits were eliminated he won again in 2006, 2011, and 2016. He added "Itno" to his surname in January 2006. He is a graduate of Muammar Gaddafi's World Revolutionary Center.

  • Adoum Younousmi

    Age: 63
    Adoum Younousmi (born 1962) is a Chadian politician who served in the government of Chad as Minister of Public Works and Transport from 2003 to 2005 and as Minister of State for Infrastructure from 2005 to 2011. He was briefly Prime Minister in an acting capacity for a few days in February 2007.

  • Youssouf Djaoro

    Youssouf Djaoro is a Chadian film actor.He made his debut by appearing in the film Daresalam in 2000 in which he played the character of Tom. It was directed by the critically acclaimed Issa Serge Coelo and was the first of several films they have collaborated with. Tartina City, also directed by Coelo in 2006 in which Djaoro played a journalist won the Innovation Award at the 31st Montreal World Film Festival.Later in 2006 he starred in the film Daratt playing the role of Nassara. Directed by Mahamat Saleh Haroun, Darratt won the Grand Special Jury Prize at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival, as well as eight other prizes at Venice and the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou. For his role in A Screaming Man, Djaoro won the Silver Hugo for best actor at the 46th Chicago International Film Festival.

  • Moumine Ekiang

    Age: 36
    Moumine Ekiang is a Chadian footballer.

  • Esaie Djikoloum

    Age: 33
    Esaïe Djikoloum (born 3 October 1991) is a Chadian footballer who plays as a striker for CotonTchad.

  • Koulsy Lamko

    Age: 66
    Koulsy Lamko (born 1959) is a Chadian-born playwright, poet, novelist and university lecturer. Born in Dadouar, Lamko left his country for Burkina Faso in 1979 due to the beginning of the civil war. There, he became acquainted with Thomas Sankara and involved with the Institute of Black Peoples in Ouagadougou. Lamko spent ten years promoting community theater in Burkina Faso through the Theater of the Community and helped found the International Festival of Theatre for Development. Some of his poetry was published in Revue Noire in 1994. In 1997 he co-released the album Bir Ki Mbo of mixed poetry and music in tribute to Sankara in collaboration with Stéphane Scott and Rémi Stengel. A regular attendant at the Limousin Festival International des Francophonies, he briefly lived in Limoges, France. He then moved to Rwanda, where he read for his doctorate at the National University in Butare while founding the university's Center for the Arts and the Theater and teaching theater and creative writing. His doctoral thesis was on emerging theatrical aesthetics in Africa. His experience in Rwanda led him to write his novel, La phalène des collines ("The butterfly of the hills"), about the 1994 genocide.In 2009 he stayed, as a guest of Amsterdam Vluchtstad, in the former apartment of Anne Frank and her family at the Amsterdam Merwedeplein. He currently lives in Mexico City.

  • Mahamat Saleh Annadif

    Age: 68
    Mahamat Saleh Annadif (born December 25, 1956) is a Chadian diplomat who served in the government of Chad as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1997 to 2003.

  • Judicael Mbaide Allahissem

    Age: 32

  • Marco Mourmada

    Age: 48
    Marco Mourmada is an Indonesian footballer who previously played as a midfielder for PSMS Medan and the Chad national football team.

  • Mahamoud Adam Béchir

    Age: 60
    Mahamoud Adam Béchir (born 1965) is a Chadian diplomat who has served as Chad's Ambassador to South Africa since 2012. Previously he was Chadian Ambassador to the United States from 2004 to 2012.

  • Francis Oumar Belonga

    Age: 47
    Francis Oumar Belonga (born 13 March 1978) is a retired Chadian footballer who is currently a coach of Elect-Sport FC.

  • Marius Mbaiam

    Age: 38
    Nekiambé Marius Mbaiam (born 1 June 1987) is a Chadian footballer who plays in the Championnat National 3 for Besançon Football. At international level, he represents the Chad national team.

  • Félix Malloum

    Dec. at 76 (1932-2009)
    Félix Malloum or Félix Malloum Ngakoutou Bey-Ndi (Arabic: فليكس معلوم‎ Filiks Mʿalūm; September 10, 1932 – June 12, 2009) was a Chadian politician. He attended the French military academy and saw action in Indochina and Algeria. He later served as an officer in the Chadian Military and a member of the ruling Chadian Progressive Party (PPT). In 1971, he became the Chief of General Staff with the rank of colonel and named Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces in 1972. In July 1973, he was arrested and imprisoned by President François Tombalbaye on charges of conspiring against the government, but was released after a successful coup-d'etat on April 13, 1975. He served as both President and Prime Minister of Chad until August 29, 1978, when Hissène Habré was appointed Prime Minister to integrate armed northern rebels into the government. However, he was unsuccessful and resigned from the presidency on March 23, 1979 after signing the Kano Peace Agreement which allowed the rebels to form a provisional government.Malloum retired from politics and settled in Nigeria. He returned to the Chadian capital N'Djamena on May 31, 2002, after 23 years in exile. Upon his return he was entitled to the various benefits allowed to former presidents; these benefits included a monthly stipend of 3,000,000 CFA francs, a residence, and coverage of his health expenses, along with two vehicles and a driver.Malloum died from cardiac arrest aged 76 on June 12, 2009 at the American Hospital in Paris, France.

  • Hassan Hissein

    Age: 33
    Hassan Hissein is a Chadian footballer who plays as striker for El-Kanemi Warriors and Chad national team.

  • Abdullah Omar

    Age: 38
    Abdullah Omar Ismail (Arabic: عبد الله عمر; born 1 January 1987) is a Chadian-born Bahraini professional footballer currently playing for Al Ettifaq FC as a midfielder. He also plays for the Bahrain national football team.

  • Carine Ngarlemdana

    Age: 30
    Carine Ngarlemdana is a Chadian judoka. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Women's -70 kg event. She was the flag bearer for Chad at the opening ceremony.

  • Armand Djerabe

    Age: 44
    Armand Djérabé (born 11 September 1980 in N'Djamena) is a Chadian footballer who plays for CotonTchad.

  • Ezechiel N'Douassel

    Age: 37
    Ezechiel N'Douassel (Arabic: إيزيكييل ندواسل ; born 22 April 1988) also known as King Eze, is a Chadian international footballer who plays a forward for Indonesian club Persib Bandung and the Chad national team.

  • Mahamat Saleh Haroun

    Age: 64
    Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (French pronunciation: ​[ma.ama sale aʁun]; Arabic: محمد الصالح هارون‎) (born 1961 in Abéché) is a film director from Chad who has lived in France since 1982. He made his first feature film, Bye Bye Africa, in 1999. His second feature, Abouna, won best cinematography award at FESPACO, while his third, Daratt, won the Grand Special Jury Prize at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival. The 2010 feature film A Screaming Man won the Jury Prize at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, making Haroun the first Chadian director to enter, as well as win, an award in the main Cannes competition.In April 2011, it was announced that he would be a member of the jury for the main competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. His 2013 film Grigris was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.He has been named as one of the jury members for the Cinéfondation and short film sections of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.

  • Armel Koulara

    Age: 35
    Armel N'Dinga Koulara Kwanyéllé (born 15 August 1989 in N'Djamena, Chad; known simply as Armel Koulara and occasionally Armel Kwanyéllé) is a former footballer from Chad who played as a goalkeeper .

  • Hinikissia Albertine Ndikert

    Age: 32
    Hinikissia Albertine Ndikert (born September 15, 1992) is a track and field sprint athlete who competes internationally for Chad.Ndikert represented Chad at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She competed at the 100 metres sprint and placed seventh in her heat without advancing to the second round. She ran the distance in a time of 12.55 seconds.

  • Yaya Kerim

    Age: 33
    Yaya Kerim (born 10 August 1991) is a Chadian football striker and the member of Chad national football team. He currently plays for Renaissance in the Chad Premier League.

  • Pascal Yoadimnadji

    Dec. at 57 (1950-2007)
    Pascal Yoadimnadji (January 11, 1950 – February 23, 2007) was a Chadian politician. He was Prime Minister of Chad from February 2005 to his death in February 2007.

  • Leger Djime

    Age: 37
    Léger Djimrangar (born 2 October 1987) is a Chadian football midfielder, and a member of Chad national football team.

  • Misdongarde Betolngar

    Age: 39
    Misdongarde Betolngar (born 26 November 1985) is a retired football player from Chad. His last club was Renaissance. He played for Chad national team. His given name is sometimes spelled Misdongard and his surname Betoligar or Betonligar. In 2011, Betolngar was the highest paid athlete from Chad, making an annual salary of $21,500 (USD) with FK Metalac Gornji Milanovac.

  • Mahamat Labbo

    Age: 36
    Mahamat Ahmat Labbo is a Chadian footballer who plays as striker.

  • Japhet N'Doram

    Age: 59
    Japhet N'Doram (born 27 February 1966) is a Chadian retired footballer who played as a striker. His 14-year senior career was mainly spent with Nantes, which he represented in several capacities. He was nicknamed The Wizard.

  • Romarin Billong

    Age: 55
    Aimé-Romarin Billong (born June 11, 1970) is a former Cameroonian footballer. Born in Moundou, Chad, Billong played for the Cameroon national football team and a few clubs in France. In October 1999 he signed for Premier League side West Ham United to play under Harry Redknapp. However, he never made a first team appearance for the club.He was a participant at the 1998 African Cup of Nations, playing in the group match against Burkina Faso and the quarterfinal against Congo DR. Billong also represented Cameroon during 1998 World Cup qualifiers, but he was not included in the 22-man squad for the final tournament in France.

  • Abbas Maigue

    Age: 40
    Maigué Abbas (born 24 July 1984) is a Chadian football defender, who plays for Chadian side Gazelle.

  • Cesar Madalangue

    Age: 37
    César Madalngué (born 9 December 1987) is a Chadian football defender and the member of Chad national football team. He has 14 caps for national team, and he was a part of qualifying campaign for 2010 World Cup.

  • Karl Max Barthelemy

    Age: 38
    Karl Max Barthélémy also known as Karl Max Dany (born 27 October 1986 in N'Djaména) is a Chadian footballer who plays as forward for Liga 1 club Semen Padang. He has 20 caps for national team and 2 goals and he was a part of qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup, as well as the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

  • Pina Guillaume

    Age: 35
    Pina Guillaume is a basketball player.

  • Hilaire Kédigui

    Age: 39
    Hilaire Kédigui (born 19 September 1982 ) is a retired Chadian football player. His last club was Chadian Foullah Edifice FC.

  • Catherine Samba-Panza

    Age: 71

  • Mahamat Habib Saleh

    Age: 45
    Mahamat Saleh Habib, also known as Mahamat Saleh is a Chadian professional football player, who currently plays for US Albi.

  • François Tombalbaye

    Dec. at 56 (1918-1975)
    François Tombalbaye (Arabic: فرنسوا تومبالباي‎ Franswā Tūmbālbāy; June 15, 1918 – April 13, 1975), also known as N'Garta Tombalbaye, was a Chadian teacher and a trade union activist who served as the first president of Chad. The head of Chad's colonial government and its ruling party, the Chadian Progressive Party, after 1959, Tombalbaye was appointed the nation's head of government after its independence on August 11, 1960. He ruled as a dictator until his deposition and assassination by members of the Chadian military in 1975.

  • Ndakom Valerie Ndeidoum

    Age: 43
    Valérie Ndakom Ndeidoum (born July 14, 1981 in N'Djamena) is a retired Chadian goalkeeper.

  • Joseph Brahim Seid

    Dec. at 53 (1927-1980)
    Joseph Brahim Seid (1927 in N'Djamena – 1980) was a Chadian writer and politician. He served as Minister of Justice from 1966 to 1975. As a writer he is known for the works Au Tchad sous les étoiles ("In Chad under the stars", 1962) and Un enfant du Tchad ("A Child of Chad", 1967), based on his own life.

  • Sitamadji Allarassem

    Age: 36
    Sitamadji Allarassem (24 December 1988 – 4 December 2014) was a Chadian football defender who played for Tourbillon FC. He was also a member of Chad national football team where he played right back position. He played 15 official matches for national team and was a part of qualifying campaign for 2010 World Cup, as well as 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

  • Rufin Yambe

    Age: 44
    Rufin Yambe (born 17 June 1981 in N'Djamena) is a Chadian professional football player, he plays for Renaissance FC.

  • Ferdinand Gassina

    Age: 32
    Ferdinand Gassina is a Chadian footballer who plays for Foullah Edifice.

  • Djimrangar Dadnadji

    Age: 71
    Joseph Djimrangar Dadnadji is a Chadian politician who was Prime Minister of Chad in 2013.

  • Rodrigue Ninga

    Age: 32
    Rodrigue Ninga is an Chadian professional footballer who plays as a forward.

  • Mahamat Idriss

    Dec. at 45 (1942-1987)
    Mahamat Idriss (ne Koundja Ouya, July 17, 1942 – October 3, 1987) was a Chadian high jumper. He was born in Fort-Lamy, Chad, French Equatorial Africa. Before the Chadian independency on August 11, 1960 he competed for France, winning the French national championships in 1960 and 1961. He also finished twelfth at the 1960 Olympic Games while representing France.For Chad he finished ninth at the 1964 Olympic Games. On the Track and Field News annual world rankings Idriss placed ninth in 1961, tenth in 1964 and eighth in 1966.His personal best jump was 2.17 metres, achieved in April 1966 in Fort-Lamy. This is still the Chadian record, although it has been equalled by Paul Ngadjadoum and Mathias Ngadjadoum in 1993 and 1996 respectively.

  • Nabatingue Toko

    Age: 72
    Nabatingue Tokomon Dieudonné, often shortened to Nabatingue Toko (born August 21, 1952 in N'Djamena) is a Chadian football attacker who retired in 1986.

  • Mahamat Hissein

    Age: 46
    Mahamat Hissein (born on 3 March 1979) is a Chadian footballer, who plays for French clubs.

  • Ahmed Evariste Medego

    Age: 43
    Ahmed Evariste Medego (born 7 April 1982) is a retired football striker, who played for Chadian national football team.

  • Hissène Habré

    Age: 82
    Hissène Habré (Arabic: حسين حبري Ḥusaīn Ḥabrī, Chadian Arabic: pronounced [hiˈsɛn ˈhabre]; French pronunciation: ​[isɛn abʁe]; born 13 September 1942), also spelled Hissen Habré, is a Chadian politician who served as the President of Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990. He was brought to power with the support of France and the United States, who provided training, arms and financing.In May 2016, he was found guilty by a court in Senegal of human-rights abuses, including rape, sexual slavery and ordering the killing of 40,000 people, and sentenced to life in prison. He is the first former head of state to be convicted for human rights abuses in the court of another nation.

  • Youssouf Togoïmi

    Dec. at 49 (1953-2002)
    Youssouf Togoïmi (26 March 1953 – 24 September 2002) was a Chadian politician who served in the government under President Idriss Déby but subsequently led a rebel group, the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJT), against Déby.

  • Mondésir Alladjim

    Age: 39
    Mondesir Alladjim (born 10 February 1986) is a Chadian football defender who currently plays for Renaissance. He is also a member of Chad national football team where he plays centre-back position. He has 12 caps for national team and was a part of qualifying campaign for 2010 World Cup, as well as 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

  • Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh

    Dec. at 58 (1949-2008)
    Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh (December 31, 1949 – disappeared February 2008) is a Chadian politician and opposition leader who headed the Party for Liberties and Development (PLD).

  • Idriss Ndele Moussa

    Dec. at 54 (1959-2013)
    Idriss Ndele Moussa Yayami (17 April 1959 in Faya-Largeau, Chad, Africa – 20 May 2013) was the president of the African Union's Pan-African Parliament from 2009–2012. He became president on 29 May 2009. The other leading contenders for the presidency were Sawadogo Lassane and Mostefa Abdelaziz El-Gendy. Moussa received a majority of votes of the members of the Pan-African Parliament.

  • Youssouf Saleh Abbas

    Age: 72
    Youssouf Saleh Abbas (Arabic: يوسف صالح عباس‎ Yūsuf Ṣāliḥ ʿAbbās; born c. 1953) is a Chadian political figure who was Prime Minister of Chad from April 2008 to March 2010. He was previously a diplomatic adviser and special representative of President Idriss Déby.

  • Jean Alingué Bawoyeu

    Age: 87
    Jean Alingué Bawoyeu (born August 18, 1937), known in French as the vieux sage, which translates as "wise elder", is a Chadian politician who was Prime Minister of Chad from 1991 to 1992. During the 1970s, he served successively as Ambassador to the United States and France. Later, he was President of the National Assembly of Chad in 1990. He served in the government as Minister of Justice from 2008 to 2010 and as Minister of Posts and New Information Technologies from 2010 to 2013. A Christian, his base of support is in Tandjilé, in southern Chad, from which he originates.

  • Djimalde Dossengar

    Age: 40
    Djimalde Dossengar (born 31 December 1984) is a Chadian football midfielder and the member of Chad national football team. He has nine caps for national team, and he was a part of qualifying campaign for 2010 World Cup. Now he plays for Elect-Sport FC.

  • Ahmat Brahim

    Age: 42
    Ahmat Brahim (born 8 December 1982) is a Chadian footballer. He currently plays as a midfielder for Elect-Sport FC.

  • Herman Doumde

    Age: 40
    Herman Doumnan is a Chadian professional football player. He has made nine appearances for the Chad national football team.

  • Cesar Abaya

    Age: 40
    Cesar Abaya is a Chadian footballer who plays for Renaissance FC.

  • Olivier Mbaigoto

    Olivier Mbaigoto is a basketball player who plays for the Central Michigan Chippewas.

  • Mbaya II Brice

    Age: 39
    Mbaya II Brice is a Chadian footballer who plays for Foullah Edifice.

  • Sylvain Ndoubam

    Age: 38
    Sylvain Ndoubam is a Chadian footballer.

  • Ndiganbeye Appolinaire

    Age: 32
    Ndiganbeye Appolinaire is a Chadian footballer who plays for Renaissance FC.

  • Moussa Faki

    Age: 65
    Moussa Faki Mahamat (Arabic: موسى فكي محمد‎ Mūsā Fakī Muḥammad, born 21 June 1960) is a Chadian politician and diplomat who has been Chairperson of the African Union Commission since 14 March 2017. Previously he was Prime Minister of Chad from 24 June 2003 to 4 February 2005 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from April 2008 to January 2017. Faki, a member of the ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), belongs to the Zaghawa ethnic group, the same group as President Idriss Déby.On 30 January 2017, he was elected as Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

  • Jules Mbairemadji

    Age: 40
    Jules Mbairemadji is a Chadian footballer .

  • Abakar Adoum

    Age: 40
    Abakar Adoum is a Chadian footballer who plays for Renaissance N'Djaména.

  • Djideo Abdoulaye

    Age: 37
    Djideo Abdoulaye is a Chadian footballer.

  • Issa Serge Coelo

    Age: 58
    Issa Serge Coelo (born 1967) is a Chadian film director. Born in Biltine, Chad, he studied history in Paris and film at the Ecole Supérieure de Réalisation Audiovisuelle (ESRA). He then worked as a cameraman at Métropole Télévision, France 3, TV5MONDE and CFI before creating the 1994 short film Un taxi pour Aouzou. The film was well-received, being nominated for a 1997 César Award in the category Best Short Film - Fiction. This was followed by the feature films Daresalam (2000) and Tartina City (2006). He also portrayed himself in the 1999 film Bye Bye Africa, which was directed by Chad's other prominent director Mahamat Saleh Haroun.

  • Mahamat Nouri

    Age: 78
    General Mahamat Nouri (born 1947) is a Chadian insurgent leader who currently commands the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD). A Muslim from northern Chad, he began his career as a FROLINAT rebel, and when the group's Second Army split in 1976 he sided with his kinsman Hissène Habré. As Habré's associate he obtained in 1978 the first of the many ministerial positions in his career, becoming Interior Minister in a coalition government. When Habré reached the presidency in 1982, Nouri was by his side and played an important role in the regime. Following Habré's downfall in 1990, Nouri passed his allegiance to his successor, Idriss Déby, under whom he rose once again to great prominence, remaining in the cabinet without interruption from 1995 to 2004. After that he was sent as Chad's ambassador to Saudi Arabia: while in that country he broke with Déby in 2006, joining armed opposition against him. Nouri led the creation, from a plurality of armed movements, the most powerful of the Chadian rebel groups, the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD). He started a series of attacks against government positions in eastern Chad in autumn 2006, causing serious difficulties to Déby. After the ultimate failure of a series of talks held in Libya in 2007, Nouri coalesced with two other rebel groups and launched a direct attack on the Chadian capital in February 2008, but was repelled after days of heavy fighting. On 17 June 2019 he was arrested by the French police, as were Abakar Tollimi and Abderaman Abdelkerim (brother of Mahamat Nour Abdelkerim), on suspicion of crimes against humanity in which he was implicated between 2005 and 2010 in Chad and Sudan. following a procedure opened in 2017.

  • Nehemie Benoudjita

    Dec. at 54 (1945-1999)
    Nehemie Benoudjita is a Chadian journalist. He was born on March 21, 1945 at Dorro (Chad). He completed his higher studies in Paris. He hold a Master in Political Science at the University of Paris 8, Vincennes. For a long time in France, he was an activist for human rights movements. He was father of two. In 1993, he returned to his home country. He created and managed an independent newspapers: “Le Temps”, in which there was a weekly column for democracy and human rights. Chad, has an authoritarian regime. So, many articles of the newspapers "Le Temps" are subject to regular government persecution, and its director also. In 1998, he received the "Maître Joseph Behidi" Prize as the League of Human Rights in Chad awarded to defenders of rights and freedom in Africa. On September 29, 1999, Nehemie Benoudjita died at the military hospital of N'djamena. In 2007, La maison de Nehemyah, an organization specialized in services for sick children, especially, those who suffer from HIV/AIDS, was created in his memory at Nehemyah's home.

  • Kaltouma Nadjina

    Age: 48
    Kaltouma Nadjina (born November 16, 1976) is a Chadian sprinter. Her specialities are the 200 and 400 metres, and she holds Chadian records in those events, the 100 m, and the 800m. She won the 200 m events at the 2001 Jeux de la Francophonie held in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and the 200 and 400 m in the 2002 African Championships held in Tunis.

  • Lol Mahamat Choua

    Age: 86
    Lol Mahamat Choua (born June 15, 1939) is a Chadian politician who served as his country's head of state for four months in 1979. He is the President of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) political party. An adherent of Islam and a member of the Kanembu ethnic group, Choua came into power during the First Chadian Civil War. The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Chad (MPLT), a Kanembu rebel group backed by Nigeria, along with the central government, the Armed Forces of the North (FAN) and the People's Armed Forces (FAP) were the main combatants. When a peace conference was organized in Kano, Nigeria, the MPLT, which suffered from a lack of members, chose Lol to head its delegation to meeting. Under Nigerian pressure, Lol was made head of the Transitional Government of National Unity on April 29, 1979, by the four factions present at Kano I. The GUNT included 21 ministers, of whom 11 were northerners and 10 were southerners. Goukouni Oueddei, head of the FAP, became Interior Minister, Hissène Habré became Defence Minister, and Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué, leader of the Chadian Armed Forces (FAT), became vice-president. But the transitional government excluded all the pro-Libyan forces; as a result, a rival government, backed by Muammar al-Gaddafi, was formed; it was called the Democratic Revolutionary Council, and it was headed by Ahmat Acyl, an Arab. The problem of the rival government, and the transitional government's resistance to Nigerian influence, led to two new peace conferences, this time in Lagos, Nigeria. On August 21, an agreement between all factions, those of the CDR included, was signed; it became known as the Lagos Accord. The accord brought to the replacement of Choua with Goukouni as head of the transitional government, an act that was accomplished on September 3. Choua served as minister of transport in Habré's government, starting in 1982 to 1985, after returning from exile in Paris since 1979. Idriss Déby overthrew Habré in 1990, and when he legalized opposition parties in 1992, one of them was Choua's Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), based mainly in Kanem Region. From January 15, 1993 to April 7, 1993, the Sovereign National Conference, which initiated the transition to multiparty elections, was held. Among the decisions of the conference was to form a transitional legislative body, the Higher Transitional Council (Conseil supérieur de la transition, or CST), composed of 57 members, which had Choua as its president. Choua served as President of the CST until he came into conflict with Déby, and as a result the CST replaced him with Mahamat Bachir, a loyalist of Déby's Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), on October 15, 1994.In June 1996, the first multiparty presidential election in Chad's history were held. Choua placed fifth, taking 5.93% of the vote, while Déby won in the second round, held in July. He was elected to the National Assembly as an RDP candidate in the first round of the 1997 parliamentary election.In the 2001 presidential election, the RDP supported Déby, and the party, in alliance with Déby's Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), won 12 seats (out of 155) in the April 2002 parliamentary election. Choua himself was re-elected to the National Assembly as an RDP candidate from Mao constituency in Kanem Department. Choua is the President of the RDP Parliamentary Group in the National Assembly. In 2005, during the constitutional referendum on the elimination of presidential term limits, Choua and his party boycotted the vote. Following an August 2007 agreement between political parties on preparations for a new parliamentary election in 2009, Choua headed a committee overseeing the implementation of the agreement.According to the RDP, on February 3, 2008, during a battle between government forces and rebels for control of N'Djamena, Choua was arrested by members of the presidential guard, who "acted with incredible brutality", and taken away in the back of a truck. Following international expressions of concern regarding the fate of Choua and two other opposition politicians (Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh and Ngarlejy Yorongar) who were also reportedly arrested, Interior Minister Ahmat Mahamat Bachir said on February 14 that Choua had been "found" and that he was still alive. Also on February 14, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the French ambassador to Chad had been allowed to visit Choua, who was being held in a military prison. On February 16, Minister of Communications Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor said that Choua was being held with prisoners of war. Foreign Minister Ahmad Allam-Mi said on February 22 that Choua had been found working with the rebels in flagrant délit and was being held for investigation. The RDP sharply denounced this claim.On February 26, the government announced that Choua was being placed under house arrest.

  • Fernand Poukré-Kono

    Age: 70
    Fernand Poukré-Kono (born in 1955, N'Djamena, Chad) was the Permanent Representative to the United Nations for the Central African Republic, taking office in January 2003. He is married with two children.

  • Xavier Yombandje

    Age: 68
    François Xavier Yombandje (Koumra; July 9, 1956) is a former Central African Roman Catholic bishop. Yombandje was born on July 9, 1956 in Koumra, Chad. He was ordained a priest in 1985. In 1997 he became bishop of Kaga-Bandoro and in 2004 of Bossangoa. He was chairman of the Central African Episcopal Conference. Yombandje resigned from his pastoral duties on May 16, 2009 after a Vatican investigation found that many local priests had violated their vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. Yombandje was also specifically cited for having a common-law wife. A few weeks later the archbishop of Bangui, Paulin Pomodimo, resigned as well.

  • Ahmed Senoussi

    Age: 79
    Ahmed Senoussi (born January 22, 1946) is a former Chadian high jumper. He finished twelfth in the high jump final at the 1968 Olympic Games. He also competed at the 1972 Olympic Games without reaching the final.

  • Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye

    Age: 75
    Nouradine Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye (born December 31, 1949) is a Chadian politician and the head of the National Rally for Development and Progress (VIVA-RNDP) political party. After serving as a minister in the government during the 1980s and early 1990s; he was Prime Minister of Chad from November 6, 1993 to April 8, 1995 and again from February 26, 2007 to April 16, 2008. In 2008, he became President of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council.

  • Marie-Christine Koundja

    Age: 68
    Marie-Christine Koundja (born 30 March 1957) is a Chadian writer and diplomat, who has worked in various departments, ministries and embassies of her country. The first published female Chadian author, she has written two novels: Al-Istifakh, ou, L'idylle de mes amis (2001) and Kam-Ndjaha, la dévoreuse (2009).

  • Fidèle Moungar

    Age: 77
    Fidèle Abdelkérim Moungar (born 1948) is a Chadian politician who served as Prime Minister of Chad in 1993. He is currently Secretary-General of Chadian Action for Unity and Socialism (ACTUS), a left-wing opposition party. Moungar is an ethnic Sara, born in 1948 in Doba in the Logone Oriental Region, who has practiced as a surgeon in France. He started his political career when, along with other exiles, he founded ACTUS, a party hostile to both the FROLINAT and Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué's de facto government of southern Chad, the Comité Permanente du Sud, in May 1979 in Paris.In 1992, two years after the rise to the presidency of Idriss Déby, he became Minister of Education in the government led by Jean Alingué Bawoyeu. At the Sovereign National Conference (CNS), a reconciliation conference representing most Chadian factions that was first convened on January 15, 1993, Moungar was elected as transitional Prime Minister on April 6, 1993, receiving 444 votes against the 334 received by Adoum Helbongo. He succeeded Alingué as the 5th Prime Minister of Chad on April 7.Moungar formed a transitional government including 16 ministers, in which all party leaders had a post; among these, Saleh Kebzabo became Trade and Industry Minister, Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye became Communications Minister and Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué became Civil Service and Labour Minister. In a message on Radio Tchad, Moungar asserted his cabinet's loyalty to the CNS' instructions, claiming that his ministers would be the CNS' "missionaries".Moungar's tenure in office was marked by confrontation with the President over the pace for adopting a multiparty political system, a confrontation that a Chadian journalist dates from June, when during a presidential visit to France Idriss Déby noted that Moungar was highly regarded by the French government. This made Déby conclude that Moungar might transform himself in a dangerous rival for the presidency. He was also led to suspect this, together with rival opposition leaders, by Moungar's conduct and speeches, which indicated a considerable ambition, despite his previous promise that he had no political interest in remaining in politics after the transition period. This brought the downfall of the Moungar cabinet on October 28, 1993, when the President's supporters presented a censure motion in transitional parliament, the Conseil Supérieur de Transition (CST). The CST (the country's transitional legislature charged with the task of monitoring the government's implementation of the CNS' recommendations) approved the motion with 45 votes against 10, and 1 abstained, displaying what the scholar William Miles calls "a good example of their deference to the Presidency", which repeated itself when the CST readily accepted Déby's candidate for Prime Minister, the Justice Minister Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye. Moungar called his removal unconstitutional, threatening to bring the issue to court, while workers went on strike, deserting their jobs.In 1996 Moungar was disqualified from participating in the first Chadian multi-party presidential election for alleged residence irregularities.In January 2007 Moungar strongly criticized French policy in Chad, asking for the recall of the French troops stationed in Chad. He claimed that "France has crucified Chadian democracy, systematically contributing to the faking of all elections, and, through the intervention of its troops, has caused the repression of all rebellions, in open violation of the Franco-Chadian accords."On July 30, 2007, Moungar returned to Chad along with a delegation of about 20 other exiled opponents of the regime to meet with Déby and discuss how to restore peace to the country; he and the rest of the delegation returned to Libreville, Gabon on the same day. In November 2007, he said that he was outraged that France wanted the defendants in the Arche de Zoé child kidnapping case to be tried in France rather than Chad.As of 2009, Moungar remains Secretary-General of ACTUS. As part of a peace initiative in February 2009, he met with Deby and then travelled to Khartoum to meet with Chadian rebel leaders.

  • Nodjialem Myaro

    Age: 48
    Nodjialem Myaro is a French handball player. She won silver at the 1999 World Championship and gold in 2003. She also competed at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics.

  • Mamadou Bouba

    Age: 37
    Mamadou Bouba is a footballer from Chad, who plays as a goalkeeper for Sudanese club Watachim Sinnar.

  • Jacqueline Moudeina

    Age: 68
    Jacqueline Moudeina is a Chadian lawyer and human rights activist, who is known for her work in attempting to bring Hissène Habré to justice for crimes against humanity, as well as those who worked with him.

  • Pape Diouf

    Age: 73
    Mababa "Pape" Diouf (born 18 December 1951) is a Senegalese former journalist, best known for being the president of French football club Olympique de Marseille between 2005 and 2009.Diouf was born in Abéché, Chad, to Senegalese parents. The family returned to their native country shortly after Diouf's birth.

  • Arabi El Goni

    Dec. at 53 (1920-1973)
    Arabi El Goni was a politician from Chad who served in the French National Assembly from 1956-1958.

  • Mahamat Déby Itno

    Age: 41
    General Mahamat Déby Itno, son of Chadian president Idriss Déby, is second in command of the Armed Forces for the Chadian Intervention in Northern Mali.

  • Hel Here

    Age: 30