Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) Mamadou Tandja (born 1938) is a Nigerien politician who was President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement of the Development 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 is of mixed Fula and Kanuri ancestry. He was the first President of Niger who is not ethnically Hausa or Djerma.
Following a constitutional crisis in 2009, which was caused by Tandja's efforts to remain in office beyond the originally scheduled end of his term, he was ousted by the military in a coup d'etat in February 2010.
Read more about Mamadou Tandja: 1974 Coup, The Kountché Regime and The MNSD, 1993 Election and Subsequent Events, 1996 Election, 1999 Election and First Term, 2004 Election and Second Term, 2009 Constitutional Crisis, February 2010 Coup