Pierre Buyoya
His Excellency Pierre Buyoya | |
---|---|
3rd & 7th President of Burundi | |
In office 25 July 1996 – 30 April 2003[a] | |
Prime Minister | Pascal-Firmin Ndimira |
Vice President |
|
Preceded by | Sylvestre Ntibantunganya |
Succeeded by | Domitien Ndayizeye |
In office 9 September 1987 – 10 July 1993 | |
Prime Minister | Adrien Sibomana |
Preceded by | Jean-Baptiste Bagaza |
Succeeded by | Melchior Ndadaye |
Personal details | |
Born | Rutovu, Ruanda-Urundi (modern-day Burundi) | 24 November 1949
Died | 17 December 2020 Bonneuil-en-France, France | (aged 71)
Resting place | Bamako |
Political party | UPRONA |
Spouse | Sophie Ntaraka[1] |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater | Royal Military Academy |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Burundi |
a. ^ Acting: 25 July 1996 – 11 June 1998 | |
| ||
---|---|---|
President of Burundi 1987-1993,1996-2003
Government
Later activities |
||
Pierre Buyoya (24 November 1949 – 17 December 2020) was a Burundian army officer and politician who served two terms as President of Burundi in 1987 to 1993 and 1996 to 2003. He was the second-longest-serving president in Burundian history.
An ethnic
Ndadaye was assassinated during another attempted coup after only three months in office, leading to a series of retaliatory killings that culminated in the Burundian Civil War. During the war, Buyoya returned to power in another coup d'état in 1996. During his second presidency, he created an ethnically inclusive government by establishing a partnership with FROBEDU. This led to the 2000 Arusha Accords which introduced ethnic power sharing. He selected Domitien Ndayizeye, a Hutu as his vice-president, who succeeded him as president in 2003. The war ended two years later.
Following the end of the war, Buyoya became a senator for life under the terms of the 2004 constitution. During his post-presidency, he was also sent as an African Union envoy during peace missions in Chad and Mali. In November 2020, he was sentenced to life in prison in absentia by a Burundinan court for his suspected role in the 1993 coup attempt that assassinated Ndadaye. He died of COVID-19 two months later.
Early life
Pierre Buyoya was born in
Buyoya married Sophie Ntaraka in 1978, and the couple had four children.[5] He entered the long-term single party, Union for National Progress (Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA), and acquired a position on its Central Committee (Comité central) in 1979.[4] He renewed his party membership in 1984. Buyoya joined the General Staff of the Army in 1982 and was made responsible for training.[6] His rapid rise through the military hierarchy earned him the nickname "Old Man",[1] and he was well-respected by his fellow soldiers.[5] The New York Times reported in 1996 that "[n]o one could recall his ever telling a joke. He is often seen at soccer games and reads a lot. He eschews a uniform, though his leisure suits recall French summer khakis."[1]
Presidency
Coup d'état and first term, 1987–1993
In September 1987, Buyoya led a
This commission created a new constitution that Buyoya approved in 1992. This constitution called for a non-ethnic government with a president and a parliament. Democratic
Coup d'état and second term, 1996–2003
On 25 July 1996, with strong support and backup from the army, Buyoya returned to power in a
Later activities
In the aftermath of the Civil War, Buyoya became a
In his 2007 book From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi, the former US Ambassador Robert Krueger accuses Buyoya of orchestrating the 1993 putsch that led to the murder of President Ndadaye.[17]
Buyoya was appointed by the African Union to lead a peace mission in Chad in 2008. He was subsequently appointed to another mission in Mali.[2] On 19 October 2020 the Supreme Court of Burundi sentenced Buyoya in absentia to life in prison for the murder of Ndadaye in 1993.[18]
In December 2020 he contracted COVID-19 in Mali during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mali. At first, he was hospitalised in Bamako but was later transferred to France and died on 17 December in Bonneuil-en-France, in an ambulance on his way to a hospital in Paris.[19][20][21] He was buried in Bamako on 29 December 2020.[22]
References
- ^ a b c McNeil, Donald G. Jr (30 July 1996). "New Leader of Burundi: Authoritarian Democrat". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- ^ a b Reports, News Services and Staff (18 December 2020). "Pierre Buyoya, Burundian president who led two coups, dies at 71". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ a b c Akyeampong & Gates 2012, p. 17.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Biographie de Pierre Buyoya". Le Monde (in French). 18 April 2001. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ a b c d Akyeampong & Gates 2012, p. 18.
- ^ Akyeampong & Gates 2012, pp. 17–18.
- ^ a b "Pierre Buyoya, Burundi Leader Who Led Two Coups, Dies at 71". Bloomberg. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- ^ Davies, Kevin (13 August 1996). "Buyoya: Condemned for Coup, Praised for Politics". Associated Press. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ^ "Secrets and splits". Africa Confidential. Vol. 39, no. 8. 17 April 1998.
- ^ Daley 2008, p. 84.
- ^ "Decision on transitional leadership "fixed", Mandela says". The New Humanitarian. 11 July 2001. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- ^ "Buyoya sworn in as Burundi president". The Irish Times. Agence France-Presse. 1 November 2001. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- ^ a b "Burundi: President Buyoya transfers power to Ndayizeye". ReliefWeb. 30 April 2003. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- ^ "POST TRANSITION SENATORS' LIST", Burundian Senate website (in French).
- ^ "The Senate composition" Archived 6 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Burundian Senate website (in French).
- ^ Akyeampong & Gates 2012, p. 19.
- ISBN 978-0-292-71486-1.
- ^ "Ex-Burundi president gets prison term for 1993 killing of victorious election opponent". Reuters. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "Pierre Buyoya Yigeze Kuyobora Uburundi Yitavye Imana". Ijwi ry'Amerika. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
- ^ "Burundi's Pierre Buyoya dies from Covid-19". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
- ^ "Burundi ex-president Buyoya dies from Covid-19". Yahoo News. 18 December 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
- ^ "L'ancien président du Burundi Pierre Buyoya inhumé à Bamako". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
Works cited
- Akyeampong, Emmanuel Kwaku; Gates, Henry Louis, eds. (2012). Dictionary of African Biography. Vol. 2. Oxford University Press USA. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.
- ISBN 978-0-253-35171-5.