President of Burundi | |
---|---|
Abakuru W'igihugu ca Uburundi (Kirundi) Président du Burundi (French) Rais wa Jamhuri ya Burundi (Swahili) | |
Term length | 7 years, [1] limited to two terms. [2] |
Inaugural holder | Michel Micombero |
Formation | 28 November 1966 |
Deputy | Vice-President of Burundi |
Website | Official Website |
Burundiportal |
The President of Burundi is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Burundi. The president is also commander-in-chief of the National Defence Force. The office of the presidency was established when Michel Micombero declared Burundi a republic on 28 November 1966. [3] The first constitution to specify the powers and duties of the president was the constitution of 1974, which was adopted in 1976. [4] Written by Micombero, the constitution affirmed his position as the first president of Burundi. [2] The powers of the president derive from the latest constitution, implemented in 2005 as a result of the 2000 Arusha Accords after the Burundian Civil War. [4]
The president's stated role is to represent Burundi's national unity and ensure that the laws and functions of the state are created and executed with full compliance of the constitution. The president has the power to appoint military commanders, ambassadors, magistrates and provincial governors. The president also appoints all judges, including those of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. The president can organize government and can call for parliamentary sessions under extraordinary circumstances. In addition to promulgating legislation, the president has the power to propose and amend laws, and can veto laws passed by the parliament. A presidential term is seven years, [1] and presidents can serve a maximum of two terms. [5] [a] The president is entitled to a pension after the end of their final term of office. [2]
Nine people have served in the office since Burundi became a republic. Only one president, Pierre Buyoya, has served on two non-consecutive occasions. [7] Sylvie Kinigi was the first and only woman who has served in the role (on an interim basis). [8] The current president, Évariste Ndayishimiye, has been serving in the role since 18 June 2020.
† Died in office
No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Elected | Term of office | Ethnic group | Political party | Prime minister(s) | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||||
1 | Michel Micombero (1940–1983) | — | 28 November 1966 | 1 November 1976 (Deposed in coup) | 9 years, 339 days | Tutsi | UPRONA / Military | Nyamoya | [10] | ||
2 | Jean-Baptiste Bagaza (1946–2016) [b] | 1984 | 1 November 1976 | 3 September 1987 (Deposed in coup) | 10 years, 306 days | Tutsi | UPRONA / Military | Nzambimana | [11] | ||
3 | Pierre Buyoya (1949–2020) [c] | — | 3 September 1987 | 10 July 1993 | 5 years, 310 days | Hutu | UPRONA / Military | Sibomana | [12] | ||
4 | Melchior Ndadaye (1953–1993) | 1993 | 10 July 1993 | 21 October 1993 (Assassinated) | 103 days | Hutu | FRODEBU | Kinigi | [13] | ||
— | François Ngeze (born 1953) [d] | — | 21 October 1993 | 27 October 1993 | 6 days | Hutu | UPRONA / Military | — | [13] | ||
— | Sylvie Kinigi (born 1953) [e] | — | 27 October 1993 | 5 February 1994 | 101 days | Tutsi | UPRONA | Herself | [15] | ||
5 | Cyprien Ntaryamira (1955–1994) | 1994 | 5 February 1994 | 6 April 1994 (Assassinated) | 60 days | Hutu | FRODEBU | Kinigi Kanyenkiko | [16] | ||
6 | Sylvestre Ntibantunganya (born 1956) | — | 6 April 1994 | 1 October 1994 | 2 years, 110 days | Hutu | FRODEBU | Kanyenkiko Nduwayo | [13] | ||
1994 | 1 October 1994 | 25 July 1996 (Deposed in coup) | |||||||||
(3) | Pierre Buyoya (1949–2020) | — | 25 July 1996 | 11 June 1998 | 6 years, 279 days | Hutu | UPRONA | Ndimira | [12] | ||
11 June 1998 | 30 April 2003 | Position abolished | |||||||||
7 | Domitien Ndayizeye (born 1951) | — | 30 April 2003 | 26 August 2005 | 2 years, 118 days | Hutu | FRODEBU | [17] | |||
8 | Pierre Nkurunziza (1964–2020) | 2005 2010 2015 | 26 August 2005 | 8 June 2020 [†] | 14 years, 287 days | Hutu | CNDD–FDD | [18] [19] | |||
9 | Évariste Ndayishimiye (born 1968) | 2020 | 18 June 2020 | Incumbent | 4 years, 142 days | Hutu | CNDD–FDD | Bunyoni Ndirakobuca | [20] |
The Politics of Burundi takes place in a framework of a transitional presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Burundi is both head of state and 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 two chambers of parliament, the Senate and the National Assembly.
The BurundiNational Defence Force is the state military organisation responsible for the defence of Burundi.
Burundi originated in the 16th century as a small kingdom in the African Great Lakes region. After European contact, it was united with the Kingdom of Rwanda, becoming the colony of Ruanda-Urundi - first colonised by Germany and then by Belgium. The colony gained independence in 1962, and split once again into Rwanda and Burundi. It is one of the few countries in Africa to be a direct territorial continuation of a pre-colonial era African state.
The president of Burundi, officially the President of the Republic, is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Burundi. The president is also commander-in-chief of the National Defence Force. The office of the presidency was established when Michel Micombero declared Burundi a republic on 28 November 1966. The first constitution to specify the powers and duties of the president was the constitution of 1974 adopted in 1976. The constitution, written by Micombero, affirmed Micombero's position as the first president of Burundi. The powers of the president currently derive from the 2005 constitution implemented as a result of the 2000 Arusha Accords after the Burundian Civil War. The current president since 18 June 2020 is Évariste Ndayishimiye.
Pierre Buyoya was a Burundian army officer and politician who served two terms as President of Burundi in 1987 to 1993 and 1996 to 2003. He was the second-longest-serving president in Burundian history.
Jean-Baptiste Bagaza was a Burundian army officer and politician who ruled Burundi as president and de facto military dictator from November 1976 to September 1987.
The Burundian Civil War was a civil war in Burundi lasting from 1993 to 2005. The civil war was the result of longstanding ethnic divisions between the Hutu and the Tutsi ethnic groups. The conflict began following the first multi-party elections in the country since its independence from Belgium in 1962, and is seen as formally ending with the swearing-in of President Pierre Nkurunziza in August 2005. Children were widely used by both sides in the war. The estimated death toll stands at 300,000.
Sylvie Kinigi is a Burundian politician and economist who served as prime minister of Burundi from 10 July 1993 to 7 February 1994, and acting president from November 1993 to 5 February 1994, making her the second African woman to serve as a president.
Antoine Nduwayo was the Prime Minister of Burundi from 22 February 1995, until 31 July 1996. Nduwayo is an ethnic Tutsi.
Pierre Nkurunziza was a Burundian politician who served as the ninth president of Burundi for almost 15 years from August 2005 until his death in June 2020.
The Senate is the upper chamber of Parliament in Burundi. It consists of between 39 and 56 members who serve 5-year terms. The current Senate was elected on 20 July 2020 and consists of 39 members.
The position of vice-president of the Republic of Burundi was created in June 1998, when a transitional constitution went into effect. It replaced the post of Prime Minister.
Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with population of over 14 million people. It is bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and southeast, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west; Lake Tanganyika lies along its southwestern border. The capital city is Gitega and the largest city is Bujumbura.
On 25 April 2015, the ruling political party in Burundi, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), announced that the incumbent President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, would run for a third term in the 2015 presidential election. The announcement sparked protests by those opposed to Nkurunziza seeking a third term in office.
The 1976 Burundian coup d'état was a bloodless military coup that took place in Burundi on 1 November 1976. An Army faction, led by Deputy Chief of Staff Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, ousted President Michel Micombero. Bagaza formed the 30-member Supreme Revolutionary Council to take control, suspended the country's constitution and was inaugurated as president on 10 November 1976.
The Constitutional Court is the supreme authority on Burundi's constitutional law. The Constitutional Court deals with the interpretation of the Constitution of 2005 and is considered the country's second highest court. In conjunction with the Burundian Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court can sit en banc as a High Court of Justice with special prerogatives, such as the power to try an incumbent president. It sits at Bujumbura and its incumbent president is Charles Ndagijimana.
On 21 October 1993, a coup was attempted in Burundi by a Tutsi–dominated army faction. The coup attempt resulted in assassination of Hutu President Melchior Ndadaye and the deaths of other officials in the constitutional line of presidential succession. François Ngeze was presented as the new President of Burundi by the army, but the coup failed under domestic and international pressure, leaving Prime Minister Sylvie Kinigi in charge of the government.
General Évariste Ndayishimiye is a Burundian politician who has served as the tenth President of Burundi since 18 June 2020. He became involved in the rebel National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy during the Burundian Civil War and rose up the ranks of its militia. At the end of the conflict, he entered the Burundian Army and held a number of political offices under the auspices of President Pierre Nkurunziza. Nkurunziza endorsed Ndayishimiye as his successor ahead of the 2020 elections which he won with a large majority.
Aimée Laurentine Kanyana is a magistrate and politician in Burundi.
Kinigi ... served as Prime Minister of Burundi... She also served as acting President ... the first and to date only woman to hold these positions in Burundi.
President of Burundi 1994; ... died Kigali, Rwanda 6 April 1994