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Abdourahamane Tiani

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

General
Abdourahamane Tiani
Headshot of a seated Tiani looking to his left
Tiani in 2025
11th President of Niger
Incumbent
Assumed office
26 March 2025
Prime MinisterAli Lamine Zeine
Preceded byMohamed Bazoum (2023)
President of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 July 2023
Prime MinisterAli Lamine Zeine
Vice PresidentSalifou Modi
Preceded byCollective leadership[1][2][3][4][5]
Leader of Niger[6][3]
De facto
26 July 2023 – 28 July 2023
PresidentCollective leadership[1][2][3][4][5]
Preceded byMohamed Bazoum (as President)
Succeeded byHimself (as President of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland)
Commander of the Presidential Guards
In office
8 April 2011 – 8 August 2023
PresidentMahamadou Issoufou
Mohamed Bazoum
Succeeded byHabibou Assoumane
Personal details
BornAbdourahamane Tiani
(1964-01-01) 1 January 1964 (age 62)
Toukounous, Filingué, Niger
Military service
AllegianceNiger
National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland
Branch/serviceNiger Army
Years of service
1984–present
RankGeneral
Battles/warsBoko Haram insurgency
Jihadist insurgency in Niger
2021 Nigerien coup attempt
2023 Nigerien coup d'état
2023–2024 Nigerien crisis

Abdourahamane Tiani (Hausa: [áb.dú.ɽà.há.mà.nè t͡ʃáː.nì];[a] often incorrectly spelled Tchiani; born 1 January 1964) is a Nigerien military officer and politician who has served as the 11th president of Niger since 2025. Known for his anti-imperialist, pan-Africanist and Hausa nationalist views, Tiani served as the chief of the Nigerien presidential guard from 2011 to 2023 when he overthrew president Mohamed Bazoum in a coup, becoming the leader of a junta. He was inaugurated as president of Niger two years later.

Born in Toukounous to a Hausa family, Tiani received military training from the National School of Active Officers in Thiès, Senegal. He led Nigerien military forces in Agadez, Diffa and Zinder regions to combat drug trafficking. He later served in United Nations peacekeeping missions in the Ivory Coast, Sudan, and DR Congo. In 2011, Tiani was assigned the command of the Nigerien presidential guard and became a close ally of President Mahamadou Issoufou; however, relations soured after Tiani was accused of conspiring against Issoufou and unsuccessfully attempted a coup in 2021. Issoufou's successor Mohamed Bazoum retained Tiani in his position. In early 2023, Tiani gained knowledge of Bazoum's attempt to dismiss him as head of the presidential guard. This led to Tiani overthrowing Bazoum in the July 2023 coup.

Tiani subsequently became de facto ruler of Niger and declared himself president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland. He oversaw a diplomatic standoff with ECOWAS stemming from the coup and consequently withdrew from ECOWAS. He formed the Alliance of Sahel States along with Burkina Faso and Mali in July 2024. Tiani has also aligned Niger with Russia, receiving help from Wagner Group forces to fight an insurgency in western Niger. In January 2025, Tiani led Niger to become the first African country and fifth worldwide to eradicate onchocerciasis. He inaugurated himself as the president of Niger in March 2025. In August 2026, mutinous soldiers staged a coup attempt against Tiani in Niamey.

Identified as a Hausa nationalist, Tiani has retained popularity domestically as an anti-imperialist, pan-Africanist and a combatant to French influence in Africa. His rule has nevertheless been regarded as authoritarian and dictatorial.[8]

Early life

[edit]

Abdourahamane Tiani was born on 1 January 1964.[9][10][11] Born into a Hausa family,[12] he hails from Toukounous in the Tillabéri Region,[10] a main recruitment area for the Nigerien army in the west of the country.[13]

Tiani completed his secondary education in the capital Niamey, graduating with a Baccalauréat in 1984. He then joined the army and studied at the National School of Active Officers in Thiès, Senegal in the same year.[14]

Military career

[edit]

Before becoming Commander of the Presidential guard, he led forces in Zinder, Agadez, and Diffa regions where he combated drug trafficking.[14] In 1989, he was the first officer to make it to the site of the UTA Flight 772 crash in the Ténéré desert, for which he was decorated.[15] He also served in UN peacekeeping missions in the Ivory Coast, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.[16] He also served in the Multinational Joint Task Force set up by Niger, Chad, Nigeria and Cameroon to fight Boko Haram.[12]

In 2011, Tiani assumed command of the Presidential Guard and was a close ally of then-president Mahamadou Issoufou, who promoted him to general in 2018. In 2015, Tiani was accused of involvement in a coup plot against Issoufou but denied the charges in court.[17] He was otherwise regarded as keeping his views to himself during that time.[12]

In 2021, Tiani led the unit that thwarted an attempted coup; at the time a military unit tried to seize the presidential palace two days before Issoufou stepped down to make way for his democratically elected successor, Mohamed Bazoum, who retained Tiani in his post.[13]

Seizure of power

[edit]

On 26 July 2023, Tiani ordered presidential guards to detain Bazoum at his presidential residence in Niamey. Bazoum was planning to relieve Tiani from his position.[18] Sources close to Bazoum said that he had decided on Tiani's dismissal at a cabinet meeting on 24 July as their relations had reportedly become strained.[19]

On 28 July, Tiani revealed himself as the president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, which took power on 26 July, in an address on state television.[20][21] He said the coup was undertaken to avoid "the gradual and inevitable demise" of the country and said that Bazoum had tried to hide "the harsh reality" of the country, which he called "a pile of dead, displaced, humiliation and frustration". He also criticized the government's security strategy for its purported ineffectiveness.[22][17][23]

ECOWAS relations

[edit]

ECOWAS, a union of West-African countries, responded to the coup by imposing the strictest travel and economic sanctions the bloc ever imposed on a member state, demanding the reinstatement of Bazoum.[24] As blackouts and supply disruptions roiled Niger, Tiani criticized the sanctions as illegal and inhumane. In a meeting with an ECOWAS delegation, Tiani proposed a three-year window for a transition to civilian rule, which ECOWAS rejected in favor of an immediate transfer of power.[25] ECOWAS lifted the sanctions for humanitarian reasons after Niger had departed the organization.[26]

Presidency (2024–present)

[edit]

Under Tiani's leadership, Niger established the Alliance of Sahel States with Burkina Faso and Mali in July 2024,[27] and left ECOWAS with them in 2024.[28] US and EU troops were withdrawn from the country. The country also aligned itself closer to Russia and mercenary troops from the Wagner Group were sent to help Niger combat the Jihadist insurgents.[29]

Analysts[who?] identified three main objectives of Tiani's internal policy: modernizing the army, promoting economic growth (including a lessened dependence on uranium through investments in agriculture, infrastructure and renewable energy), and implementing an anti-corruption agenda.[30]

Tiani at the opening ceremony of the National Assembly in 2025

In December 2024, Tiani accused France and Nigeria of colluding with rebel groups to destabilize the Nigerien government, as well as accusing Nigeria of sabotaging the oil pipeline to Benin. Nigeria denied these allegations.[31]

Tiani was formally sworn in as president on 26 March 2025, for a five year term, and promoted to the rank of general.[32][33][34]

Social policies

[edit]

Tiani has pursued a socially conservative social policy, with him repealing Law 2015-36 on the Illicit Trafficking of Migrants, which prohibited discrimination (Art. 4) based on a number of personal conditions including sexual orientation.[35] The 2025 transitional charter also penalized homosexuality, with penalites ranging from 10 to 20 years in prison.[36][37]

Under President Tiani, Hausa replaced French as the national and official language of Niger through the 2025 transitional charter.[38]

Economic policy

[edit]

As before the coup d'état, the economic system is based upon planning, but accords an important role to private enterprise. The three main policy objectives are the maintenance of national unity, the elevation of the living standards of the population, and the attainment of economic independence. The private sector of the economy consists partly of a multitude of small enterprises and partly of enterprises belonging to large French or international companies.[citation needed]

In October 2023, sanctions and the suspension of international aid from ECOWAS left Niger as one of the poorest countries in the world. Niger's governing junta announced at the start of the month a 40% cut in the 2023 budget due to "heavy sanctions imposed by international and regional organizations ... exposing the country to a major drop in external and internal revenue." Nigeria, a supplier of 71% of Niger's electricity prior to the coup, contributed to Niamey's crisis by halting its services. By October 2023, Niger's Nigelec state-owned utility company could only meet between a quarter and half of demand across the country.[39]

In February 2024, a new regulatory law was enacted to secure unrestricted access to state resources. Military spending is no longer subject to public procurement regulations. This has paved the way for faster processing of arms purchases, the use of mercenaries, and the alleged personal enrichment of the new rulers.[who?][40]

In June 2024, the military junta revoked the operating licence of French nuclear fuel producer Orano at one of the world's biggest uranium mines. Days later, it announced that the Imouraren mine had returned "to the state's public domain".[41]

His prime minister and finance minister, Ali Lamine Zeine was affiliated with the MNSD-Nassara, a party which advocates for liberal economic policies.[42][43][44][45][46]

2026 coup attempt

[edit]

In August 2026, mutinous soldiers staged a coup attempt against Tiani in Niamey. Deputy leader Salifou Modi later announced the failure of the coup attempt on Nigerien state television.

Personal life

[edit]

Tiani is married and has five children.[10]

Public image

[edit]

Domestically, pro-military propaganda and songs have been circulated in his honor.[47][48] Academic Taiwo Adeagbo asserted that the Hausa people, the majority ethnic group of Niger, were not supportive of Bazoum due to his Ouled Slimane Arab origin and became loyalists of Tiani due to his populist ethnic sentiment.[49]

Awards and honors

[edit]

Domestic

[edit]

Source:[50]

  • Grand Officer of the National Order of Niger [fr] (2021)
  • Commander of the National Order of Niger (2018)
  • Officer of the National Order of Niger (2010)
  • Knight of the National Order of Niger (2004)
  • Officer of the Merit of Niger [ru] (2001)

Foreign

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ In Hausa phonology, alveolar consonants like /t/ undergo palatalization before front vowels like /i/, shifting /t/ to [tʃ].[7]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 Aksar, Moussa; Balima, Boureima (28 July 2023). "Niger soldiers say President Bazoum's government has been removed". Reuters.
  2. 1 2 "Au Niger, des militaires putschistes ont renversé le président Mohamed Bazoum". BFMTV. 27 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Who is Omar Tchiani, leader of Niger's new military government?". Al Jazeera.
  4. 1 2 "رئيس النيجر يرفض الانقلاب الذي أعلنه عسكريون". DW. 27 July 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Niger soldiers declare coup on national TV". BBC. 26 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "Omar Tchiani: Who is the General spearheading Niger's coup?". APAnews.
  7. ↑ Newman, Paul. "Chapter 27, Hausa". West African Languages Institute, Indiana University. Archived from the original on 7 January 2026.
  8. ↑ AMÈGAN, Koffi (2 June 2026). "Niger: drones, army, terrorism... Tiana flies to Ankara to meet Erdogan this Wednesday, June 3rd". Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Who is Omar Tchiani, leader of Niger's new military government?". Al Jazeera. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2025. There was also speculation that this may have been because of the general's age, who is 62 [...]
  10. 1 2 3 "Biographie du Général de Brigade TIANI Abdourahamane". Studio Kalangou - Au rythme du Niger (in French). 29 July 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  11. ↑ Aksar, Moussa; Balima, Boureima (31 July 2023). "The Niger general who ousted a president he was meant to protect". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 January 2025. Retrieved 17 May 2025. The insecurity was close to home for Tiani, who was born in 1964 in a small village in the Filingué region [...]
  12. 1 2 3 "Niger's coup leader General Tchiani: The ex-UN peacekeeper who seized power". BBC. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Who is Omar Tchiani, the suspected brain behind Niger coup?". Aljazeera. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  14. 1 2 Daniel, Serge (28 July 2023). "Le général Tchiani, nouvel homme fort du Niger à l'épreuve du pouvoir" [General Tchiani, Niger's new strongman put to the test of power]. RFI (in French). Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  15. ↑ Moussa Aksar; Emelia Sithole-Matarise (29 July 2023). "Who is Niger's new leader, Abdourahamane Tiani?". Reuters. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  16. ↑ "Five Things We Know About Niger's New Military Leader". Bloomberg.com. 29 July 2023. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  17. 1 2 "Niger coup: Abdourahmane Tchiani declares himself leader". BBC. 28 July 2023. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  18. ↑ "Niger's president vows democracy will prevail after mutinous soldiers detain him and declare a coup". AP News. 27 July 2023. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  19. ↑ "Niger army general declares himself country's new leader". Gulf News. 29 July 2023. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  20. ↑ Peltier, Elian; Saley, Omar Hama (28 July 2023). "Head of Presidential Guard Claims Power in Niger Coup". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "Niger general Tchiani named head of transitional government after coup". Al Jazeera.
  22. ↑ "Niger's General Abdourahamane Tchiani declared new leader following coup (state TV)". France 24. 28 July 2023. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  23. ↑ "Niger general Tchiani named head of transitional government after coup". Al Jazeera. 28 July 2023. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  24. ↑ Obasi, Nnamdi (5 December 2023). "ECOWAS, Nigeria and the Niger Coup Sanctions: Time to Recalibrate | International Crisis Group". International Crisis Group. Retrieved 6 May 2026. Within days, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced a raft of sanctions on Niger, the strictest the bloc has ever imposed on an errant member state. Members of the fifteen-nation bloc [...] agreed to close all borders with Niger, suspend financial transactions and freeze the country's assets in external banks.
  25. ↑ "Niger coup leader Gen Tchiani promises to handover power in three years". 20 August 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2026. Niger's coup leader has promised to return the West African nation to civilian rule within three years. [...] Gen Tchiani also reiterated criticism of what he called the "illegal and inhumane" sanctions imposed by Ecowas on the landlocked country. [...] "Ecowas is not accepting any prolonged transition again in the region. They just have to get ready to hand over in the shortest possible time," Abdel-Fatau Musah, the bloc's commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, told the BBC.
  26. ↑ Asadu, Chinedu (24 February 2024). "West Africa bloc lifts coup sanctions on Niger in a new push for dialogue to resolve tensions". AP News. Retrieved 6 May 2026. West Africa's regional bloc known as ECOWAS said Saturday that it is lifting travel and economic sanctions imposed on Niger that were aimed at reversing last year's coup in the country [...]
  27. ↑ Asadu, Chinedu (24 November 2023). "A newly formed alliance between coup-hit countries in Africa's Sahel is seen as tool for legitimacy". AP News. Retrieved 6 May 2026. [...] Niger's junta leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani held separate meetings Thursday with his Mali and Burkina Faso counterparts. During their meetings, the leaders pledged security and political collaborations under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) [...]
  28. ↑ "Juntas and Moscow reshaping Sahel alliances – GIS Reports". 8 April 2026. Retrieved 6 May 2026. Following the countries' coordinated 2024 withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), these three leaders charted a markedly different course from the previous cooperation with the West: a rupture with France, the U.S. and the EU, accompanied by a strategic realignment toward new partners, most notably Russia.
  29. ↑ Elidad, Addo (19 February 2024). "Shifting Sands: The Sahel's Pivot from Paris to Moscow". The Euroculturer. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  30. ↑ Powelton, Frédéric (13 June 2024). "Portrait d'un président : Abdourahamane Tchiani du Niger". Sahel Intelligence. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  31. ↑ Akinpelu, Yusuf (27 December 2024). "Nigeria denies colluding with France to destabilise Niger". BBC. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  32. ↑ "Niger's junta leader cements his grip on power as he is sworn in as president". AP News. 26 March 2025. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  33. ↑ "Niger coup leader Abdourahamane Tchiani sworn in as president for five years". www.bbc.com. 26 March 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  34. ↑ "Niger: Abdourahmane Tiani reaches the top - promoted to Army General and sworn in as President". ActuNiger (in French). 26 March 2025. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  35. ↑ iMalyis (27 November 2023). "Niger : Le CNSP abroge la loi sur le trafic illicite de migrants". Agence Nigérienne de Presse (in French). Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  36. ↑ "Niger military junta introduces new penal code criminalizing homosexuality with 5-10 years in prison". AP News. 12 June 2026. Archived from the original on 25 August 2026. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  37. ↑ Adamou, Hamza Harouna (12 June 2026). "Le Niger criminalise la Pratique LGBTQIA+ dans le pays". Agence Nigérienne de Presse (in French). Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  38. ↑ Okafor, Chinedu (8 April 2025). "Niger downgrades French as it distances from its colonial past with a new official language". Business Insider Africa. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  39. ↑ "World Bank, WFP Study: Niger's Coup Left Economy in Tatters". Voice of America. 30 October 2023.
  40. ↑ Tschörner, Lisa. "Came to Stay: Niger's Military Junta Consolidates its Power". Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP).
  41. ↑ "Niger putsch: How security and economic perceptions changed in a year - TRT Afrika". Niger putsch: How security and economic perceptions changed in a year.
  42. ↑ "Niger military promises elections". BBC. 21 February 2010.
  43. ↑ "Ali Lamine Zeine". Jeuneafrique. Archived from the original on 21 November 2006.
  44. ↑ "SITE DE LA PRESIDENCE DELA REPUBLIQUE DU NIGER". Presidence.ne.
  45. ↑ Boureima Hama; Fiacre Vidjingninou (24 February 2010). "Niger: la junte s'installe, appels à un retour rapide de la démocratie". La Presse.
  46. ↑ "Junta to run country until elections, promises new constitution". France 24. 21 February 2010.
  47. ↑ "Au Niger, le coup d'État inspire les musiciens". africaradio.com (in French). 25 August 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  48. ↑ Sanou, Oumarou. "Mutiny in Niger: Russia, AES and the Limits of Propaganda". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  49. ↑ "The Politics of Populism, Ethnic Polarization, and the recent Military coups in West African countries: A focus on Niger and Mali. – International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science". rsisinternational.org. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  50. ↑ "Abdourahamane TchianI CV" (PDF). studiokalangou.org (in French). 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  51. ↑ "Distinction du Président de la République au Mali : Le Général d'Armée Abdourahamane Tiani élevé à la dignité de Grand-Croix de l'Ordre National du Mali". lesahel.org (in French). 24 December 2025. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
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