Mahamadou Issoufou

Mahamadou Issoufou ( born 1952 in Dandaji, township Illela ) is a Nigerien politician and elected since the presidential elections in 2011 president of the country. He belongs to the ethnic group of the Hausa, who are the majority in the country.

Life

Mahamadou Issoufou attended elementary school in his hometown Illela. After that he went to the Collège d' enseignement général at Madaoua, followed by training at the Lycée nationally in Niamey, from which he graduated in 1971 with a baccalauréat in mathematics and physics. Then studied at the Centre d' enseignement supérieur Issoufou de Niamey and at the University of Niamey, where he received his degree in mathematics in 1975. For his membership of a student connection, he was arrested in 1973 and imprisoned for a short time. He completed his further education in France. He received his Master degree in 1976 at the University of Paris VI in 1979 and his engineer in mining engineering at the École nationale supérieure des mines de Saint- Étienne.

After four years of service to the Nigerien uranium mining companies Somaïr and Mahamadou Issoufou Cominak 1980 Director of Mining in Niger's Ministry of Industry and mining. In 1985 he returned to Somaïr, first as Secretary, then as Director of Uranium Mining and finally to 1992 as technical director.

In 1990, the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism arose, Mahamadou Issoufou was elected General Secretary of the Executive Committee of the party and reelected in 1991.

Issoufou ran in the presidential elections of 1993 for the first time for the office of President, but lost in the first round of voting Tandja Mamadou and the subsequent election winner Mahamane Ousmane. When he was elected on March 27, 1993 as President, he was self- appointed Prime Minister by Ousmane on 17 April 1993. This office he held until his replacement by Abdoulaye Souley on 28 September 1994. During the presidential Ousmane he was most recently from 1995 to 1996 President of the National Assembly.

In the presidential elections in July 1996, he ran again for the office of President and was defeated this time Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, who received 52 percent of the vote and who was accused of electoral fraud.

In the presidential elections in October 1999 he reached the final ballot, in which he, however, with 40 percent of the vote in November 1999, Tandja Mamadou also defeated as the next presidential election in November and December 2004. Having been the first round of the presidential elections in 2011 clearly had won, he sat down in the second ballot on 14 March 2011 with nearly 58 percent of the vote against his opponent, former Prime Minister Seini Oumarou through. On 6 April 2011, he has taken office.

Honors

• Grand Cross of the National Order of Niger (2011)