Politics of Niger takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Niger is head of state and the Prime Minister of Niger head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly.
Hama Amadou is a Nigerien politician who was Prime Minister of Niger from 1995 to 1996 and again from 2000 to 2007. He was also Secretary-General of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD-Nassara) from 1991 to 2001 and President of the MNSD-Nassara from 2001 to 2009. Amadou is from the Kurtey, a Fula sub-group, and was raised in the Tillaberi Region, in the Niger River valley, north of Niamey.
Mamadou Tandja was a Nigerien politician who was President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD) from 1991 to 1999 and unsuccessfully ran as the MNSD's presidential candidate in 1993 and 1996 before being elected to his first term in 1999. While serving as President of Niger, he was also Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States from 2005 to 2007.
Mahamane Ousmane is a Nigerien politician. He was the first democratically elected and fourth President of Niger, serving from 16 April 1993 until he was deposed in a military coup d'état on 27 January 1996. He has continued to run for president in each election since his ousting, and he was president of the National Assembly from December 1999 to May 2009. Since April 2020, he is the president of the Democratic and Republican Renewal, a major political party that is currently in opposition. RDR Tchanji formed an alliance with Ousmane's other political vehicle, MNRD Hankuri, on 16 December 2018.
Seyni Kountché was a Nigerien military officer who led a 1974 coup d'état that deposed the government of Niger's first president, Hamani Diori. He ruled the country as military head of state from 17 April 1974 until his death on 10 November 1987. Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niger's national stadium in Niamey, is named after him.
Ali Saibou was the third President of Niger from 1987 to 1993 succeeding the deceased Seyni Kountché.
Mahamadou Issoufou is a Nigerien politician who served as the president of Niger from 7 April 2011 to 2 April 2021. Issoufou was the prime minister of Niger from 1993 to 1994, president of the National Assembly from 1995 to 1996, and he was a candidate in each presidential election from 1993 to 2016. He led the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS-Tarayya), a social democratic party, from its foundation in 1990 until his election as president in 2011. During the presidency of Mamadou Tandja (1999–2010), Issoufou was the main opposition leader.
The National Movement for the Society of Development, also known as the National Movement for the Development of Society is a political party in Niger. Founded under the military government of the 1974–1990 period, it was the ruling party of Niger from 1989 to 1993 and again from 1999 until 2010, when a coup on 18 February 2010, by a military junta called the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD) ousted the president, Mamadou Tandja.
The Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism is a political party in Niger. It is a broadly left-leaning party, part of the Socialist International, and in 2011, it has been in power following the election of the former long-time leader, Mahamadou Issoufou. Mohamed Bazoum is the former President of the party and the former Secretary-General is Foumakoye Gado.
Souley Abdoulaye was a Nigerien politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Niger from 28 September 1994 to 8 February 1995. He later served in the government under President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara as Minister of Transport from 1996 to 1997 and then as Minister of the Interior, in charge of police and internal security, from 1997 to 1999.
Amadou Cheiffou is a Nigerien politician who was Prime Minister of Niger from 26 October 1991 to 17 April 1993, heading a transitional government. He has led the Social Democratic Rally (RSD-Gaskiya), a political party, since founding it in January 2004. Cheiffou was President of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of Niger (CESOC) from January 2006 to February 2010, and he held the official post of Ombudsman from August 2011 to December 2015.
Seyni Oumarou is a Nigerien politician who was Prime Minister of Niger from June 2007 to September 2009 and President of the National Assembly of Niger from November 2009 to February 2010. He is from the west of the country and is a member of the Djerma ethnic group. Since November 2008, he has been the President of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD). He unsuccessfully stood as a presidential candidate in 2011, 2016 and 2021. After years as an opposition leader under President Mahamadou Issoufou, he was appointed to the post of High Representative of the President in October 2016.
Abdou Labo is a Nigerien politician and a member of the Democratic and Social Convention (CDS-Rahama). He briefly served in the government of Niger as Minister of Defense from 1994 to 1995, and under President Mamadou Tandja he held a succession of ministerial posts in the 2000s: he was Minister of Equipment from 2000 to 2002, Minister of State for Sports and Culture from 2002 to 2004, and Minister of State for Hydraulics from 2004 to 2007. Later, under President Mahamadou Issoufou, he served as Minister of State for the Interior from 2011 to 2013 and as Minister of State for Agriculture from 2013 to 2014.
Albadé Abouba is a Nigerien politician who has been the Secretary-General of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD-Nassara) since 2009. He served in the government of Niger as Minister of the Interior from 2002 to 2004 and again from 2007 to 2010. Abouba also served as Prime Minister in an acting capacity for a brief period in September–October 2009. In August 2013 he served in the government of Mahamadou Issoufou as Minister of State. He is now the president of The MPR-Jamhuriya, a political party that he created in October 2015 and since April 2016 he served as Minister of State, Minister of Agriculture and livestock.
The Alliance of the Forces of Change was one of the two large political coalitions which contested for power in Niger from 1991 to 1996.
A coup d'état occurred in Niger on 18 February 2010. Soldiers attacked the presidential palace in Niamey under weapons fire at midday and captured President Mamadou Tandja, who was chairing a government meeting at the time. Later in the day, the rebels announced on television the formation of the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD), headed by chef d'escadron Salou Djibo.
The 1996 Nigerien coup d'état was a military coup d'état which occurred on 27 January 1996 in Niamey, Niger. It ousted Niger's first democratically elected president, Mahamane Ousmane after nearly three years in power and installed General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara as head of state. Prime Minister Hama Amadou was arrested in the coup and several soldiers and presidential guards were killed in the fighting.
General elections were held in Niger on 31 January 2011 to elect the President and National Assembly, with a second round of the presidential elections on 12 March. The first round of the presidential elections was originally scheduled to be held on 3 January and the second round on 31 January, but was later postponed. The elections followed a military coup in February 2010 that ousted President Mamadou Tandja.
General elections were held in Niger on 21 February 2016, with a presidential run-off held on 20 March. A total of 15 candidates ran for the presidency, with incumbent President Mahamadou Issoufou running for re-election for a second term. There were two main opposition candidates also vying for the top post, Seyni Oumarou of the MNSD, who lost to Issoufou in 2011, and Hama Amadou of MODEN/FA, who has been campaigning from prison since November 2015. Most of the opposition agreed to align for the second round to back the second-placed candidate against Issoufou.