Ahmadou Ahidjo

Uncommon card · No. 107623

Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 1924 – 30 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first president of Cameroon from 1960 until 1982. He was previously the first Prime Minister from the country's independence in January 1960 until May of that same year following the creation of the presidency. Ahidjo played a major role in the establishment of Cameroon as an independent state in 1960 as well as integrating the French and English-speaking parts of the country. During Ahidjo's time in office, he established a centralised political system. In foreign affairs, Ahidjo pursued a pro-France policy, and benefitted from French support when defeating the pro-communist rebellion of the Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC) in 1970. Ahidjo established a single-party state under the Cameroon National Union (CNU) in 1966. In 1972, Ahidjo abolished the federation in favor of a unitary state. Ahidjo resigned from the presidency in 1982, and Paul Biya assumed the presidency. This was...

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