Ahmed Abdallah

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Ahmed Abdallah Abderemane

| native_name = {{nobold|أحمد عبد الله عبد الرحمن}}

| nationality = Comoros

| smallimage =

| image = Portait officiel du président Abdallah.jpg

| caption =

| order = 1st and 14th and President of Comoros

| term_start = 6 July 1975

| term_end = 3 August 1975

| predecessor = Country gains independence, Position created

| successor = Said Mohamed Jaffar

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1919|6|12|df=y}}

| birth_place = Domoni, Anjouan

| death_date = {{death date and age|1989|11|26|1919|6|12|df=y}}

| death_place = Moroni, Comoros

| death_cause = Assassination (gunshot wound)

| party = Comorian Democratic Union, then Comorian Union for Progress

| footnotes =

| order2 =

| term_start2 = 25 October 1978

| term_end2 = 26 November 1989

| primeminister2 = Abdallah Mohamed
Salim Ben Ali
Ali Mroudjaé

| predecessor2 = Himself as Co-Chairman of the Politico-Military Directorate

| successor2 = Said Mohamed Djohar

| order3 = 13th Co-Chairman of the Politico-Military Directorate of the Federal and Islamic Republic of Comoros

| term_start3 = 23 May 1978

| term_end3 = 25 October 1978

| predecessor3 = Position created

| successor3 = Position abolished

| native_name_lang = ar

}}

Ahmed Abdallah Abderemane ({{langx|ar|أحمد عبد الله عبد الرحمن}}, {{transl|ar|Ahmad Abd Allah Abd ar-Rahman}}, 12 June 1919 – 26 November 1989{{cite web|url=http://www.deadoraliveinfo.com/dead.nsf/anames-nf/Abdallah+Ahmed |title=Ahmed Abdallah |accessdate=2006-12-28 |publisher=Kentix Computing |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208182428/http://www.deadoraliveinfo.com/dead.nsf/anames-nf/Abdallah%2BAhmed |archivedate=8 December 2006 |url-status=live }}) was a top Comorian politician. He was a member of the French Senate from 1959 to 1973,[http://www.senat.fr/senateur/ahmed_abdallah_abderamane000425.html Page on the French Senate website] and President of the Comoros from 25 October 1978 until his assassination in 1989.{{cite web| url = http://www.comores-online.com/mwezinet/histoire| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20021201095745/http://www.comores-online.com/mwezinet/histoire/| url-status = usurped| archive-date = 1 December 2002| title = Histoire des Comores| accessdate = 2006-12-26 | date = 2006-11-16| publisher = MweziNet}}

Life prior to the presidency

Abdallah was born in Domoni, on the island of Anjouan.{{cite web |title=Ahmed Abdallah Sambi {{!}} Biography & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ahmed-Abdallah-Sambi |website=www.britannica.com |date=June 2024 |language=en}} He began participating in the government in the 1940s, while the Comoros were still part of France. He was the President of the general council from 1949 until 1953,[http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-8666.html Security concerns - Comoros] and was the chairman of the Chamber of Deputies from April 1970 to June 1970.{{cite web |title=Ahmed Abdallah (1919-1989) |url=http://www.masiwanet.com/MasiwaNet/Histoire/Portraits/A_Abdallah.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051216163509/http://www.masiwanet.com/MasiwaNet/Histoire/Portraits/A_Abdallah.html |archive-date=16 December 2005 }}

First presidency

In 1972, Abdallah, now leader of his political party, the Comoros Democratic Union (UDC), became president of the government council and Chief Minister of the Comoros;A Political Chronology of Africa. Taylor & Francis, 2001, {{ISBN|1857431162}}, p. 92. he served in that position until 6 July 1975, when the islands became independent from France, (with the exception of Mayotte, which voted to remain part of France.){{cite book|title=Mayotte |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mf.html |accessdate=2006-12-28 |date=2006-12-29 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921084632/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mf.html |archivedate=2012-09-21 }} Abdallah became the first president of the independent islands, but was overthrown by Said Mohamed Jaffar in a coup d'état on 3 August 1975.{{cite encyclopedia | author = Thomson Gale authors | title = Comoros History | url = http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Comoros-HISTORY.html | accessdate = 2006-12-28 | publisher = Encyclopedia of the Nations| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061124183314/http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Comoros-HISTORY.html| archivedate= 24 November 2006 | url-status= live}} Jaffar, in turn, would be overthrown by Ali Soilih in 1976.{{cite encyclopedia | last = Ottenheimer | first =Martin|author2= Harriet Joseph Ottenheimer| title = History (from Comoros) | url = http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-1442/Comoros | accessdate = 2006-12-28 | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061216203704/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-1442/Comoros| archivedate= 16 December 2006 | url-status= live}}

Second presidency

Abdallah (who had been living in exile Paris, France) was the nominal leader of the coup staged by mercenary Bob Denard on 13 May 1978. After Said Atthoumani had served as "Chairman of the Politico-Military Directorate" for ten days, Abdallah and Mohamed Ahmed assumed the titles of "Co-Chairmen of the Politico-Military Directorate".{{cite web| url = http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Comoros.html| title = Comoros| accessdate = 2006-12-29| last = Cahoon | first = Benjamin M| publisher = Worldstatesmen.org| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061205031124/http://worldstatesmen.org/Comoros.html| archivedate= 5 December 2006 | url-status= live}} On 22 July, their titles were changed to "Co-Chairmen of the Directorate," and on 3 October, Abdallah became the lone chair. Abdallah was in fact a puppet leader with no power to make decisions of his own, and the real ruler of the Comoros was Denard, who served as the commander of the Presidential Guard.Hebditch, David & Connor, Ken How to Stage a Military Coup: From Planning to Execution, New York: Skyhorse, 2005 p.136

On 25 October, Abdallah assumed the title of president and remained in office until his death, despite three separate coup attempts against him.{{cite encyclopedia | editor = Chernow, Barbara A. |editor2=George A. Vallasi | encyclopedia = The Columbia Encyclopedia | title = Comoros | edition = Fifth | year = 1993 | publisher = Columbia University Press | isbn= 0-395-62438-X | page = 615}} In 1982, Abdallah had the UDC and all other parties abolished, and a new party, the Comorian Union for Progress (UCP), was set up.{{cite encyclopedia | author = Thomson Gale authors |title = Comoros Political Parties | url = http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Comoros-POLITICAL-PARTIES.html | accessdate = 2006-12-28 | publisher = Encyclopedia of the Nations| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061124183417/http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Comoros-POLITICAL-PARTIES.html| archivedate= 24 November 2006 | url-status= live}} The Comoros became a one-party state, with the UCP being the only legal party, the regime became dictatorial, supervised by mercenaries who controlled the country and avoided various coup attempts. Some opponents of the regime are executed or disappear during this period. The only candidate to be allowed to stand for election, Ahmed Abdallah was re-elected on 30 September 1984, and his party won all seats in the Federal Assembly on 22 May 1987. During this time, Denard proceeded to plunder the Comorian economy as he became the largest single landowner in the Comoros, taking over all the best land, which he then developed into luxury hotel resorts for wealthy Western tourists who wished to enjoy the tropics.Axelrod, Alan Mercenaries: A Guide to Private Armies and Private Military Companies, Washington: CQ Press, 2013 p.78

Assassination

On 26 November 1989, he was shot dead in his Moroni office under highly disputed circumstances. It is generally believed that Denard had Abdallah assassinated for trying to dismiss him as commander of the Presidential Guard.Axelrod, Alan Mercenaries: A Guide to Private Armies and Private Military Companies, Washington: CQ Press, 2013 p.78 At his trial in 1999 for Abdallah's murder in Paris, Denard claimed that Abdallah was assassinated by Abdallah Jaffar during a coup led by Ali Soilih's half-brother, Said Mohamed Djohar.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/348077.stm World: Africa Comoros mercenary cleared of assassination] BBC, 19 May 1999. Denard was acquitted for a lack of evidence as the judge ruled that the prosecution made only a circumstantial case that Denard was behind Abdallah's murder.{{Cite web|url=https://www.liberation.fr/societe/1999/05/20/bob-denard-acquitte-les-comoriens-presents-au-proces-ont-hue-le-verdict-des-jures-de-la-cour-d-assis_273476|title = Bob Denard acquitté. Les Comoriens présents au procès ont hué le verdict des jurés de la cour d'assises|publisher=www.liberation.fr}} Djohar took control of the country the next day. Denard tried to prevent Djohar from assuming the presidency, but this time, France, which found Denard an embarrassment, sent in military forces to gently usher Denard and his mercenaries out of the Comoros.