Background
Goukouni is from the northern half of the country and is the son of Oueddei Kichidemi, derde of the Teda.
Head of State chairman of the provisional council of state
Goukouni is from the northern half of the country and is the son of Oueddei Kichidemi, derde of the Teda.
He entered politics in the late 1960s as a militant in the National Liberation Front of Chad (FROLINAT) led by Abba Siddick. FROLINAT resented the political dominance enjoyed by southerners under the presidency of François Tombalbaye and advocated the participation of central and northern peoples. After Tombalbaye's assassination in 1975, tensions between the two geographical halves escalated into a convoluted civil war that involved several Chadian political groups, Libya, the United States, and France. The conflict was to last through the 1980s. Goukouni viewed the dictatorial Tombalbaye regime as an instrument of continued French hegemony in Chad.
Goukouni was installed as interim Chadian head of state on 23 March 1979. He was acclaimed President of the Transitional Government of National Unity (GUNT), which sought reconciliation between warring factions, on 10 November 1979. Goukouni, a Cold War neutralist who supported Libya, was Head of State; Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué (a southern moderate) was Vice President; Hissène Habré (a pro-West northerner) was Minister of Defence; and Acyl Ahmat (a strongly pro-Libyan Arab) was Minister of Foreign Affairs. By 1983, Goukouni returned to Chad with substantial Libyan assistance to fight the Habré régime through guerrilla warfare. He was the most recognized Chadian oppositionist, whose views carried significant weight, though Habré granted only limited concessions in an attempt to reconcile with Goukouni. The former president reportedly demanded a new constitution and liberalization of political party activity, which Habré did not accede to.
In October 1986, Libyan police arrested Oueddei, and in the process they shot him in the stomach. He then broke with the Libyans and went into exile in Algiers instead in February 1987. However, some questioned whether he had truly broken with the Libyans, and in July 1987 Oueddei said that he was on good terms with them. Goukouni returned to Chad on July 30, 2007, along with about twenty other exiled opponents of the regime, for a discussion with Déby regarding the rebellion and how to resolve the situation. Goukouni and the others left Chad and returned to Libreville later on the same day.
Chad has been plagued over the years by political unrest and civil war. Tombalbaye, Chad's first president was assassinated in a military coup in 1975, which resulted in Félix Malloum N'Gakoutou is presidency. Malloum, in turn, fled the country in 1979 to be replaced by Goukouni Oueddei (who led a successful military coup against Malloum with aid from Libya).
Abba Siddick
President