Political Career
Abbas was born in Abéché in Ouaddai Region, in the east of Chad. He studied in the Soviet Union and then in France, earning a master's degree in international relations. Back in Chad, he worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as head of the Multilateral Cooperation Division and as Director of International Cooperation from November 20, 1979 to January 30, 1981. He was then diplomatic advisor to Goukouni Oueddei, the President of the Transitional Government of National Unity (GUNT), from June 1, 1981 to December 25, 1981 and Director of the Cabinet of the Head of State from December 6, 1981 until Oueddei's ouster on June 7, 1982. From May 15 to May 31, 1981, he chaired the “Seminaire National des Cadres” the national high level Forum that contributed to avoid a dislocation of the country between politico-military factions and restore national unity in Chad.
Later, Abbas was advisor to the Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from November 20, 1992 to December 15, 1996. He was also Vice-President of the Sovereign National Conference, which was held from January 1993 to April 1993. From December 16, 1996 to August 13, 1997, he was Director-General of the Ministry of Planning and Cooperation. He conducted consultancy work for UNDP and USAID between 1994 and 1997. From August 1997 to December 1999, he was the Director General of the “Agence Tchadienne d’Exécution des Travaux d’Intérêt Public” with the support and cooperation of the Worldbank.
Abbas, in opposition to President Déby, joined the Tibesti-based Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJT), a rebel group led by Youssouf Togoïmi, when it was formed in October 1998, serving from Paris (he lived in exile in France for several years) as the group's External Coordinator. On October 31, 2001, he resigned from the MDJT, along with three other members of the MDJT's External Coordination, due to what he described as Togoïmi's "excesses". After an agreement with the government, he returned to Chad. He joined with Déby in 2006 and became Déby's Advisor for International Relations and Cooperation on December 24, 2006, as well as Déby's Special Representative, with state ministerial rank, to the European Union Force and the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) on November 17, 2007. He remained in his posts as Advisor and Special Representative until his appointment as Prime Minister. He is not member of any political party.
Read more about this topic: Youssouf Saleh Abbas
Famous quotes containing the words political and/or career:
“Political life at Washington is like political life in a suburban vestry.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“Whether lawyer, politician or executive, the American who knows what’s good for his career seeks an institutional rather than an individual identity. He becomes the man from NBC or IBM. The institutional imprint furnishes him with pension, meaning, proofs of existence. A man without a company name is a man without a country.”
—Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)