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1979-1982 - Goukouni Oueddei

In the 1970s the traditional north-and-central versus south split was transformed into an internecine argument among former opposition factions. For many observers, the establishment of the Transitional Government of National Unity (Gouvernement d'Union Nationale de Transition-GUNT) was a watershed, marking the end of southern political domination. It did not, however, bring an end to strife. GUNT's most important leaders were northerners Goukouni Oueddei and Hissein Habre, erstwhile allies in FROLINAT's Second Liberation Army. In command of separate factions, they battled one another for control of the capital, N'Djamena.

Goukouni Oueddei, born 1944, was Head of State of Chad in 1979 and again from 1979 to 1982. Goukouni, an ethnic Teda (also known as Toubou), a branch of the Gorane ethnic group that dominates north-central and north-west Chad, is the son of Oueddei Kichidemi, Derde (traditional chief) of the Teda people. Born in 1944, 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 Francois 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.

Goukouni was installed as interim chadian head of state on 23 March 1979. was succeeded briefly by Lol Mahamat Choua, then was acclaimed President of the Transitional Government of National Unity (GUNT), which sought national reconciliation, on 10 November 1979. Goukouni's Vice President was Wadel Abdelkader Kamougu (later Chad Defense Minister); his Defense Minister was Hisshne Habr. The personal rivalry between erstwhile allies Goukouni and Habre was intensified by Goukouni's agreement to "unify" Chad and Libya under one government. With Libyan armed support, Goukouni evicted Habre's forces at the end of 1980. Under pressure from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and other nations, in 1981 Goukouni asked the Libyan troops to leave; in their place, security was to be maintained by an OAU peacekeeping unit, the Inter-African Force (IAF). Seizing the initiative, Habre's regrouped and resupplied forces attacked from the northeast, and by 1982 his Armed Forces of the North (Forces Armees du Nord-FAN) had entered the capital, without any IAF interference, and sent Goukouni into exile. When his GUNT regime was overthrown by Habr loyalists in June 1982, Goukouni went into exile in Libya. Habre consolidated his own power into a centralized military dictatorship.

Goukouni's defeat was only temporary. With massive Libyan military aid, by mid-1983 he was attacking from northern strongholds Habre's newly formed Chadian National Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nationales Tchadiennes-FANT). Concerned about Libyan leader Muammar al Qadhafi's intentions, France responded by dispatching a large force of troops and advisers. It also began a round-the-clock airlift of military supplies and established forward positions roughly along 16° north latitude. As a result of negotiations with Libya that required a mutual withdrawal of forces, French units were recalled in November 1984. Libya, however, failed to comply with these terms and reinforced its presence, especially in the Aozou Strip.

In 1986 the French redeployed to Chad. Habre's forces, which had also benefited since 1983 from weaponry provided by the United States, launched an offensive against the Libyan positions. In October 1986, the Libyans arrested Oueddei, and in the process was shot and wounded. 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. In late 1986 and early 1987 Habre's forces routed the Libyan troops and captured large amounts of Libyan military equipment. By late 1988, a measure of calm had been restored to Chadian political life.

Under the aegis of then Gabonese President Bongo, Goukouni met with Deby in April 2007 in Libreville to discuss ways to end the current civil war. Saying that Chad was in grave danger, Goukouni at that time expressed a hope that he could use his "moral authority" to save it and assembled a team of collaborators for this purpose. He said that Deby had agreed to Goukouni's desire to be allowed to return to Chad from exile in the future. Goukouni said" "I'll commit myself to go to these Chadians who have taken up arms to propose the idea that they talk with Deby. Those who accept will be heard. Those who refuse, we'll know who they are." Later that month, the leaders of two rebel groups -- Mahamat Nouri of the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD) and Timane Erdimi of the Rally of Democratic Forces (RAFD rejected Goukouni's offer to mediate. Goukouni returned to Chad again in July 2007, along with about twenty other exiled opponents of the regime, for a day of discussions with Dby regarding the rebellion and how to resolve the situation.

Ex-President and long-time opposition figure Goukouni Oueddei returned to Chad 18 August 2009, met with President Deby and PM Abbas, and announced that he would return to Chad "permanently" to continue his efforts towards "national reconciliation" both with internal opposition political parties and external armed rebel groups. Goukouni urged all Chadians to join in the national-reconciliation effort, while specifying that he himself did not plan to enter Chadian politics on an electoral basis. Goukouni's return complements his 2007 meetings with Deby in Libreville and Ndjamena; his formation of a negotiating team; and his failed efforts to conciliate rebel chieftains Mahamat Nouri and Timan Erdimi then.

Goukouni's reconciliation and return strengthened Deby's hand in several ways. It conciliated the frequently "discontented" Teda/Toubou people, for whom Goukouni is a prestigious figure, and by extension, the entire Gorane ethnic group, of which the Teda/Toubou are a part. It brings to the country another "historic figure" whose presence in Chad permits Deby to demonstrate his regime's inclusiveness, including to former foes; in this sense Goukouni replaces the recently deceased ex-President Malloum in the "petit pantheon" of ex-rulers now reconciled with "the power in place." Finally, Goukouni's return adds credibility to Deby's commitment to "national reconciliation" including with Chad rebels in Sudan. It probably also earns Deby points with the Libyans as well.

Goukouni's orientation has generally been pro-Libyan (and skeptical of French intentions in Chad), while Habre and Deby have generally been considered pro-Western (and skeptical of Libyan intentions in Chad. This latest visit may be part of the intensified Libyan effort to end the Chad-Sudan proxy war and enhance stability along its southern and southeastern border.