Background and career
Mamadou Tandja (1938 – 24 November 2020) was a Nigerien politician who was President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD) from 1991 to 1999 and unsuccessfully ran as the MNSD's presidential candidate in 1993 and 1996 before being elected to his first term in 1999. While serving as President of Niger, he was also Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States from 2005 to 2007.
Tandja was reported to be the son of a Peul (Fulani) father from Mauritania and a Kanuri mother. The United States Department of State also described Tandja as being half Peul and half Kanuri. He was the first president of Niger who was not ethnically Hausa or Djerma.
Following a constitutional crisis in 2009, which was caused by Tandja's efforts to remain in office beyond his term, he was ousted by the military in a coup d'état on 18 February 2010.
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