Habré, Hissène was the leader of Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990.
Background
Ethnicity:
He is a member of the Anakaza branch of the Daza ethnic group, which is itself a branch of the Toubou ethnic group.
Habré was born in 1942 in Faya-Largeau, northern Chad, then a colony of France. He was born into a family of shepherds.
Education
French colonial administration, where he impressed his superiors and gained a scholarship to study in France.
Career
On 29 August 1978, Habré was given the post of prime minister of Chad, replacing Félix Malloum in that position; Malloum had been both prime minister and president since 1975. Habré's term as prime minister ended, however, a year later, when Malloum's government ended. Elections brought Goukouni Oueddei to the presidency.
Habré deposed Oueddei in a coup on 7 June 1982, and the FAN leader became president; the post of prime minister was abolished. There followed a period of turmoil.
Habré ruled Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990 by Idriss Déby. He then fled to Senegal. Habré's one party regime was characterized by widespread human rights abuses and atrocities. Habré's government periodically engaged in ethnic cleansing against groups such as the Sara, Hadjerai and the Zaghawa, killing and arresting group members en masse when it perceived that their leaders were posing a threat to the regime. Following his rise to power, Habré created a secret police force known as the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS), under which opponents of Habré were tortured and executed. Some methods of torture commonly used by the DDS included; burning with incandescent objects, spraying of gas into the eyes, ears, and nose; forced swallowing of water, and forcing the mouths of detainees around the exhaust pipes of running cars. It is estimated that 40,000 Chadians nationwide either died in detention or were executed under Habré, and that over 200,000 were subjected to torture. Human Rights Watch later dubbed Habré "Africa's Pinochet. ruled Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990 by Idriss D
Politics
Hissène Habré ruled Chad from 1982 to 1990, when he was replaced by current President Idriss Déby and in a short period of time he fled to Senegal. When he was in power Hissène Habré established a dictatorship. His one-party regime was marked by widespread atrocities and campaigns against his people. During his eight years as head of state, Hissène Habré attempted to destroy all forms of opposition of his regime. Using collective arrests and mass murders, Habré persecuted different ethnic groups whose leaders were the perceived as posing a threat to his regime. In 1984 his targets were groups: the Sara and other southern ethnicities, Arabs, in 1987 -the Hadjaraï, and in 1989 -the Zaghawa.