Deposition of Mahamane Ousmane

Date: January 27, 1996 • Location: Rome, Italy

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1996–1999.

Mahamane Ousmane, the first democratically elected president of Niger, was deposed by Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara in a military coup d'état.

Mahamane Ousmane is a Nigerien politician. Elected as the fourth President of Niger at 43 years old, he is the youngest elected president in Africa. He was also the first democratically elected president of his country, serving from 16 April 1993 until he was deposed in a military coup d'état on 27 January 1996. He has continued to run for president in each election since his ouster, and he was president of the National Assembly from December 1999 to May 2009. Since April 2020, he is the president of the Democratic and Republican Renewal, a major political party that is currently in opposition. RDR Tchanji formed an alliance with Ousmane's other political vehicle, MNRD Hankuri, on 16 December 2018.