Hissène Habré (born 1942), also spelled Hissen Habré, was the brutal leader of Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990.

The Early Years

Habré was born in 1942 in Chad. He was member of the now-extinct political party Forces Armées Nationale du Tchad (Armed Forces of Chad, FANT).

Habré: Prime Minister

Chad was a Colony that gained autonomy on 20 November, 1928. On 11 August, 1960 it became fully independent from France.

François Tombalbaye became president and prime minister of Chad (on 30 August, 1973 he changed his name to N'Garta Tombalbaye). On 30 April, 1975, Félix Malloum led a coup d'état against Tombalbaye and deposed him, assuming the posts of prime minister and president.

On 29 August, 1978, Habré was given the post of prime minister of Chad. His term ended, however, a year later, when Malloum's government ended. Elections brought Goukouni Oueddei to the presidency.

The Civil War

Habré deposed Oueddei on 7 June, 1982 and the FANT leader became president; the post of prime minister was abolished. Many political opponents of Habré were executed. Habré created the a police force, the Documentation and Security Directorate (DSD). Thousands of tribes Habré thought hostile to the regime were destroyed.

Libya invaded Chad on July 1975 to drive out Habré. Libya occupied and annexed the Aozou Strip. France and the United States aided Chad, because they were hostile to the Libyan "revolutionary leader", Muammar al-Qaddafi.

Civil war deepened. On 15 December, 1980, Libya occupied all of northern Chad, but Habré defeated Libyan troops and drove them out on November 1981. On 1983, Qaddafi's troops occupied all of the country north of Koro Toro. The United States used a clandestine base in Chad to train captured Libyan soldiers whom it was organizing into an anti-Qaddafi force. The USA provided military aid and gave support to the DSD.

The Defeat of Qaddafi and Fall of Habré

Habré's aid from the USA and France helped him win over Qaddafi. The Libyan occupation of the north of Koro Toro ended when Habré defeated him on 1987. By that time, the war was beginning to end. The war had positively ended on 1988.

However, Habré had little time to enjoy victory. People in Chad hating his brutal regime of terror and genocide, Idriss Déby finally deposed him on 1 December 1990. Hissène Habré went exile to Senegal. Déby installed himself as dictator. However, popular support for Déby was shown on on the 20 May, 2001 elections, where he defeated six other candidates with 2,161,287, which is 67.3%. The person in second place was Ngarlejy Yorongar, with 13.9%. (Anyone with info on the international response to this election, fair/cockeyed/crooked?)

Human Rights

Habré killed thousands of people, but the exact number is unknown. His most brutal campaigns included genocide against ethnic groups in the south (1984), against the Hadjerai (1987), and against the Zaghawa (1989). He authorized tens of thousands of political murders and physical torture ([1]).