Moussa Faki Mahamat is a Chadian politician and diplomat who has been the elected 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 the late President Idriss Déby.
François Lonseny Fall is a Guinean diplomat and politician. He briefly served as Prime Minister of Guinea from February 23,2004 to July 15,2004,under authoritarian President Lansana Conté. Later,under democraticly elected President Alpha Condé,he was Secretary-General of the Presidency from December 2010 to October 2012 and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from October 2012 to January 2016.
Mohamed Ibn Chambas is a Ghanaian lawyer,diplomat,politician and academic who has served as an international civil servant since 2006. He last served as the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel,and the former head of UNOWAS from April 2014 to April 2021. Previously,he served as the UN SRSG and Head of the Joint UN-AU Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (2012-2014),the Secretary-General of the African,Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (2010-2012) and the president of the Economic Community of West African States.
The United Front for Democratic Change was a Chadian rebel alliance,made up of eight individual rebel groups,all with the goals of overthrowing the government of Chadian president Idriss Déby. It is now part of the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development. UFDC was founded between 26–28 December 2005 in Modeina in eastern Chad. FUC's "president" is Mahamat Nour Abdelkerim,the former leader of the Rally for Democracy and Liberty rebel group,"first vice president" Hassan Salleh Algadam,"second vice president" Abakar Tollimi,and "secretary-general" Abdelwahit About. On 18 December the RDL and another allied rebel group,Platform for Change,Unity and Democracy,attacked the city of Adré. The attack was repulsed by the Chadian military,and the Chadian government accused the Sudanese government of supporting the rebels,which Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir denies. Chad declared a "state of belligerance" with Sudan on 23 December 2005,resulting in the Chad-Sudan Conflict. The result was the Tripoli Agreement.
A special representative of the Secretary-General is a highly respected expert who has been appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to represent them in meetings with heads of state on critical human rights issues. The representatives can carry out country visits to investigate alleged violations of human rights and act as negotiators on behalf of the United Nations.
Maman Sambo Sidikou is a diplomat and a former Nigerien politician. He is currently the high representative of the African Union for Mali and the Sahel. From 2011 to 2014,he served as Niger's ambassador to the United States,he oversaw U.N. peacekeeping efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2015 to 2018,and from 2018 to 2021 he served as executive secretary of the G5 Sahel.
Youssouf Saleh Abbas 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.
The United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel is a United Nations political mission in Dakar,Senegal established in 2002 for preventive diplomacy,political mediation,and facilitation in West Africa and the Sahel. It is managed by the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs
Ousmane Issoufou Oubandawaki is a Nigerien politician. An engineer by profession,specializing in civil aviation,Oubandawaki held various posts at ASECNA and served in the government of Niger under President Ibrahim BaréMainassara,first as Minister of National Defense from 1996 to 1997 and then as Minister of Transport from 1997 to 1998. He was Director-General of ASECNA from January 1999 to December 2004.
Arnauld Antoine Akodjènou,a native of Benin,is a long-life humanitarian and diplomat,currently serving as Senior Adviser for Africa at the Kofi Annan Foundation specifically working on the Democracy and Electoral Integrity Initiative. Prior to this he served as the Regional Refugee Coordinator and Special Adviser to the High Commissioner for refugees for the South Sudan Situation at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He has held numerous positions in the United Nations Department of Peace Operations,in Côte d'Ivoire (ONUCI) and Mali (MINUSMA),and as a Deputy Special Representative of UN Secretary General. His career with the UNHCR spans over twenty-five years.
Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno,also known as Mahamat Kaka,is a Chadian four-star general serving as the transitional president of Chad. He gained power as the president of the Transitional Military Council on 20 April 2021 when his father,the late Chadian President Idriss Déby,died in action while commanding troops in the Northern Chad offensive. He previously served as the second in-command of the military for the Chadian Intervention in Northern Mali (FATIM).
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali was a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali. MINUSMA was established on 25 April 2013 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2100 to stabilise the country after the Tuareg rebellion of 2012,and was terminated over a decade later on 30 June 2023. Officially deployed on 1 July 2013,MINUSMA was the UN's second-most dangerous peacekeeping mission after Lebanon,with 304 peacekeepers killed out of a force of about 15,200 as of May 2023.
Ramtane Lamamra is an Algerian diplomat and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria. He was the African Union's Commissioner for Peace and Security from 2008 to 2013 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2017 and briefly in March 2019.
Aurélien Agbénonci is a Beninese diplomat who served in the government of Benin as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2023. Previously he was Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
Hiroute Guebre Sellassie is an Ethiopian diplomat and human rights lawyer. She has held several senior portfolios in the United Nations,most recently serving as the Deputy Special Representative (DSRSG) for the Office for West Africa and the Sahel during 12 February 2016 to 6 August 2017. She was previously appointed the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General and Head of Office for the Sahel on 1 May 2014 by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,succeeding Romano Prodi of Italy,who completed his assignment on 31 January 2014.
Mahamat Zene Cherif is a Chadian diplomat and politician. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chad from December 2017 to his resignation in September 2022. before serving as the Minister of Communication for a brief stint and then being re-appointed in May 2021 to once again continue as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He previously served as the Permanent Representative of Chad to the United Nations in New York.
The Transitional Military Council was a military junta that ruled Chad from 2021 to 2022. It announced the death of former President Idriss Déby on 20 April 2021,and declared that it would take charge of the government of Chad and continue hostilities against FACT rebels in the north of the country. It was chaired by Mahamat Idriss Déby,the son of the late President,making him the de facto President of Chad. It was dissolved on 10 October 2022,following a "national dialogue" that named Déby Transitional President and replaced the CMT with a transitional administration appointed by him.
The 2019 Aguelhok attack in 2019 was an attack by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin against the MINUSMA base in Aguelhok,Mali on January 20,2019. At the time of the attack,the base was defended by Chadian and Bengali peacekeepers,and was later aided by French forces part of Operation Barkhane.
