Hassan Gouled Aptidon (Somali: Xasan Guuleed Abtidoon; Arabic: حسن جوليد أبتيدون) (October 15, 1916 – November 21, 2006) was the first President of Djibouti from 1977 to 1999.
He was born in the small village of Gerisa in the Lughaya district in Somaliland. He was born into the politically powerful Mamassan subclan of the Issa clan. He played an important role in Djibouti's struggle for independence from France. Hassan Gouled began his career in the 1930s as a nurse. He was stationed in Dikhil in 1932. He was then an entrepreneur. In 1946, he founded with Mahamoud Harbi Farah the Somali and Dankali Youth Club. They were elected together in 1951 to the Representative Council of the colony, then separated. Hassan Gouled is elected French senator, against Mahmoud Harbi. He remained so from 1952 to 1957. Hassan Gouled campaigned against Mahamoud Harbi Farah of the Union Republicaine party, who sought to join the territory with neighboring Somalia. By the time of the 23 November 1958 elections, Mahamoud Harbi's party had disintegrated and with the majority of the Afar vote, his faction won election. Mahamoud Harbi subsequently fled Djibouti, and later died in a plane crash.[1]
Hassan Gouled served as Vice-President of the Government Council from 1958 to April 1959. Hassan Gouled also served in the French National Assembly 1959-1962 and the French Senate 1952–1958. He was defeated in parliamentary elections in 1962 by Moussa Ahmed Idriss of the Party of Popular Movement (PMP). In the 1960s, he led the Democratic Union Issa. It is a signatory to the agreement of Arta in September 1963. He was then education minister in a government led by Ali Aref Bourhan from 1963 to 1967. He was briefly jailed in July 1967, along with other officials of the PMP (which he had joined in 1965). He was elected to the Territorial Assembly in November 1968 and later became Minister of the Interior.[2] Later he served as the first Prime Minister of Djibouti between May 1977 and July 1977.
Towards independence
In 1974, Hassan Gouled called a vote with the support of François Mitterrand. He became president of the African People's League for Independence (LPAI) created in February 1975 by the merger of the African People's Union (UPA) and the League for the Future and Order. The General Secretary was Ahmed Dini.
Joint FLCS-LPAI delegation to Kampala in 1976
He became President of the Governing Council on 18 May 1977 and was elected President of the future Republic of Djibouti on 28 May by the Chamber of Deputies. It remained so until 1999. After the attack on the "Zinc Palm" in December 1977, it banned the main opposition party, the MPL, and established a one-party system.
Presidency
In 1981, Hassan Gouled turned the country into a one party state by declaring that his party, the People's Rally for Progress (Rassemblement populaire pour le progrès, RPP), was the sole legal one. As the RPP candidate, he was elected without opposition for a six-year term as President on 12 June 1981, receiving 84.58% of the vote.[3] After the start of the Djiboutian Civil War in 1991, he allowed for a constitutional referendum on multiparty politics in September 1992, with four parties being permitted. In the parliamentary elections held in December 1992, only two parties competed, and the RPP won all 65 seats in the National Assembly. Gouled was reelected for a fourth term in May 1993 with 60.7% of the vote.[4]
In the 1990s, the Djibouti economy deteriorated dramatically, with net external assets falling by 40 per cent. The World Bank issued "a correspondingly gloomy and highly critical" assessment, mentioning such social problems as the excessive consumption of the addictive and debilitating drug qat by Djibouti's citizens. During this period, Hassan Gouled's nephew Ismaïl Omar Guelleh not only maneuvered to be his successor, but increasingly came to handle affairs for the elderly Hassan Gouled.[5]
On 4 February 1999, Gouled Aptidon announced that he would retire at the time of the next election, and an extraordinary congress of the RPP, the party chose Guelleh as its presidential candidate.[6] Guelleh won the presidential election held in April 1999[7] and succeeded his uncle on 8 May 1999.[8] Gouled Aptidon died at his home on 21 November 2006, aged 90.[2]
Gouled's first wife, former First Lady Aicha Bogoreh, a proponent of women's rights and various charities, died in 2001.[9] He married his second wife after Bogoreh's death.[9]
^I. M. Lewis, A modern history of Somalia, fourth edition (Oxford: James Currey, 2002), p. 180
^ ab (in French). Agence djiboutienne d'information. 2006-11-21. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28.
^"Sep 1981 - Re-election of President Hassan Gouled Aptidon - Cabinet Reorganization - Intensified Co-operation with North-East African Countries - Conclusion of Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation with Ethiopia", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 27, September, 1981 Djibouti, Page 31058.
^Elections in Djibouti, African Elections Database.
^"Djibouti: President Gouled Aptidon to retire in April after 22 years in power", AFP (nl.newsbank.com), 4 February 1999.
^"Proclamation du Président de la République de Djibouti par le Conseil Constitutionnel." 2007-08-16 at the Wayback Machine, Journal Officiel de la République de Djibouti (in French).
^"SUDAN: President holds weekend talks with Ethiopia", IRIN, May 11, 1999.
^ abBernstein, Adam (2006-11-30). "Hassan Gouled Aptidon, First President Of Djibouti". Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
^. Archived from the original on 2019-07-19. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hassan Gouled Aptidon.
hassan, gouled, aptidon, somali, xasan, guuleed, abtidoon, arabic, حسن, جوليد, أبتيدون, october, 1916, november, 2006, first, president, djibouti, from, 1977, 1999, excellencyhussein, hassan, guled, aptidonحسن, جوليد, أبتيدونgouled, aptidon, 19771st, president. Hassan Gouled Aptidon Somali Xasan Guuleed Abtidoon Arabic حسن جوليد أبتيدون October 15 1916 November 21 2006 was the first President of Djibouti from 1977 to 1999 His ExcellencyHussein Hassan Guled Aptidonحسن جوليد أبتيدونGouled Aptidon in 19771st President of DjiboutiIn office 27 June 1977 8 May 1999Prime MinisterBarkat Gourad HamadouPreceded byOffice EstablishedSucceeded byIsmail Omar Guelleh nephew 1st Prime Minister of DjiboutiIn office 27 June 1977 12 July 1977PresidentHimselfPreceded byOffice EstablishedSucceeded byAhmed Dini AhmedPersonal detailsBorn 1916 10 15 15 October 1916Garissa Lughaya District British Somaliland now Somalia Died21 November 2006 2006 11 21 aged 90 Djibouti City DjiboutiPolitical partyPeople s Rally for ProgressSpouseAicha Bogoreh died in 2001 Contents 1 Biography 2 Towards independence 3 Presidency 4 Honours 4 1 Foreign honours 5 References 6 External linksBiography EditHe was born in the small village of Gerisa in the Lughaya district in Somaliland He was born into the politically powerful Mamassan subclan of the Issa clan He played an important role in Djibouti s struggle for independence from France Hassan Gouled began his career in the 1930s as a nurse He was stationed in Dikhil in 1932 He was then an entrepreneur In 1946 he founded with Mahamoud Harbi Farah the Somali and Dankali Youth Club They were elected together in 1951 to the Representative Council of the colony then separated Hassan Gouled is elected French senator against Mahmoud Harbi He remained so from 1952 to 1957 Hassan Gouled campaigned against Mahamoud Harbi Farah of the Union Republicaine party who sought to join the territory with neighboring Somalia By the time of the 23 November 1958 elections Mahamoud Harbi s party had disintegrated and with the majority of the Afar vote his faction won election Mahamoud Harbi subsequently fled Djibouti and later died in a plane crash 1 Hassan Gouled served as Vice President of the Government Council from 1958 to April 1959 Hassan Gouled also served in the French National Assembly 1959 1962 and the French Senate 1952 1958 He was defeated in parliamentary elections in 1962 by Moussa Ahmed Idriss of the Party of Popular Movement PMP In the 1960s he led the Democratic Union Issa It is a signatory to the agreement of Arta in September 1963 He was then education minister in a government led by Ali Aref Bourhan from 1963 to 1967 He was briefly jailed in July 1967 along with other officials of the PMP which he had joined in 1965 He was elected to the Territorial Assembly in November 1968 and later became Minister of the Interior 2 Later he served as the first Prime Minister of Djibouti between May 1977 and July 1977 Towards independence EditIn 1974 Hassan Gouled called a vote with the support of Francois Mitterrand He became president of the African People s League for Independence LPAI created in February 1975 by the merger of the African People s Union UPA and the League for the Future and Order The General Secretary was Ahmed Dini Joint FLCS LPAI delegation to Kampala in 1976 He became President of the Governing Council on 18 May 1977 and was elected President of the future Republic of Djibouti on 28 May by the Chamber of Deputies It remained so until 1999 After the attack on the Zinc Palm in December 1977 it banned the main opposition party the MPL and established a one party system Presidency EditIn 1981 Hassan Gouled turned the country into a one party state by declaring that his party the People s Rally for Progress Rassemblement populaire pour le progres RPP was the sole legal one As the RPP candidate he was elected without opposition for a six year term as President on 12 June 1981 receiving 84 58 of the vote 3 After the start of the Djiboutian Civil War in 1991 he allowed for a constitutional referendum on multiparty politics in September 1992 with four parties being permitted In the parliamentary elections held in December 1992 only two parties competed and the RPP won all 65 seats in the National Assembly Gouled was reelected for a fourth term in May 1993 with 60 7 of the vote 4 In the 1990s the Djibouti economy deteriorated dramatically with net external assets falling by 40 per cent The World Bank issued a correspondingly gloomy and highly critical assessment mentioning such social problems as the excessive consumption of the addictive and debilitating drug qat by Djibouti s citizens During this period Hassan Gouled s nephew Ismail Omar Guelleh not only maneuvered to be his successor but increasingly came to handle affairs for the elderly Hassan Gouled 5 On 4 February 1999 Gouled Aptidon announced that he would retire at the time of the next election and an extraordinary congress of the RPP the party chose Guelleh as its presidential candidate 6 Guelleh won the presidential election held in April 1999 7 and succeeded his uncle on 8 May 1999 8 Gouled Aptidon died at his home on 21 November 2006 aged 90 2 Gouled s first wife former First Lady Aicha Bogoreh a proponent of women s rights and various charities died in 2001 9 He married his second wife after Bogoreh s death 9 Honours EditForeign honours Edit Malaysia Honorary Recipient of the Order of the Crown of the Realm 1998 10 References Edit I M Lewis A modern history of Somalia fourth edition Oxford James Currey 2002 p 180 a b Deces du President Hassan Gouled a l age de 90 ans in French Agence djiboutienne d information 2006 11 21 Archived from the original on 2007 09 28 Sep 1981 Re election of President Hassan Gouled Aptidon Cabinet Reorganization Intensified Co operation with North East African Countries Conclusion of Treaty of Friendship and Co operation with Ethiopia Keesing s Record of World Events Volume 27 September 1981 Djibouti Page 31058 Elections in Djibouti African Elections Database Lewis A History pp 290f Djibouti President Gouled Aptidon to retire in April after 22 years in power AFP nl newsbank com 4 February 1999 Proclamation du President de la Republique de Djibouti par le Conseil Constitutionnel Archived 2007 08 16 at the Wayback Machine Journal Officiel de la Republique de Djibouti in French SUDAN President holds weekend talks with Ethiopia IRIN May 11 1999 a b Bernstein Adam 2006 11 30 Hassan Gouled Aptidon First President Of Djibouti Washington Post Retrieved 2012 07 30 Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Archived from the original on 2019 07 19 Retrieved 2016 06 15 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hassan Gouled Aptidon page on the French National Assembly website page on the French Senate websitePreceded by President of Djibouti1977 1999 Succeeded byIsmail Omar GuellehPreceded by Prime Minister of Djibouti1977 Succeeded byAhmed Dini Ahmed Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hassan Gouled Aptidon amp oldid 1122896748, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
