Niger: Abdourahamane Tchiani

Abdourahamane Tchiani (: عبد الرحمن تشياني, : ‘Abd ar-Rahman Tshiyānī; born 30 November 1960^[]) is a who is the since 2025 and the president of the , the of Niger, since 2023. He had served as the Chief of the Nigerien Presidential guard (2011–2023). He played a key role in the by detaining President . His coup triggered the , which ended in 2024.

Abdourahamane Tchiani is from the , a main recruitment area for the in the west of the country. He is a member of the . He joined the army in 1984 and studied at the National School of Active Officers in , .

Before becoming Commander of the Presidential guard, he led forces in , , and where he combated drug trafficking. In 1989, he was the first to make it to the site of the crash in the desert, for which he was decorated. He also served in UN peacekeeping missions in the , , and the . He also served in the set up by Niger, , and to fight .

In 2011, Tchiani assumed command of the Presidential guards and was a close ally of then-President , who promoted him to general in 2018. In 2015, Tchiani was accused of involvement in a coup plot against Issoufou but denied the charges in court. He was otherwise seen as keeping his views to himself during that time.

In 2021, Tchiani led the unit that thwarted an ; at the time a military unit tried to seize the Presidential palace two days before Issoufou stepped down to make way for his democratically elected successor, , who retained Tchiani in his post.

On 26 July 2023, Tchiani led the Presidential guards in detaining President Bazoum in the Presidential palace in the capital as part of the . The coup was reportedly led by Tchiani, whom analysts said Bazoum had planned to relieve from his position. Sources close to Bazoum said that he had decided on Tchiani's dismissal at a cabinet meeting on 24 July as their relations had reportedly become strained.

On 28 July, Tchiani revealed himself as the president of the , which took power on 26 July, in an address on . He said the coup was undertaken to avoid "the gradual and inevitable demise" of the country and said that Bazoum had tried to hide "the harsh reality" of the country, which he called "a pile of dead, displaced, humiliation and frustration". He also criticized the Government's security strategy for its purported ineffectiveness. Shortly afterwards, during a meeting with a delegation from , Tchiani proposed a three-year window for a transition to civilian rule.

His coup led to the .

Under Tchiani's leadership, Niger joined and in a new alliance called the . and troops were withdrawn from the country. The country also aligned itself closer to and troops from the were sent to help Niger combat the Jihadist insurgents.

Analysts identified three main objectives of Tchiani's internal policy: modernizing the army, promoting (including a lessened dependence on through investments in , and ), and implementing an agenda.

In December 2024, Tchiani accused France and of colluding with rebel groups to destabilize the Nigerien government, as well as accusing Nigeria of sabotaging to . Nigeria denied these allegations.

In January 2025, according to the , Niger became the first country and the fifth country worldwide to eradicate (a goal it had already been working towards for several years prior to the coup).

Tchiani was formally sworn in as president on 26 March 2025, for the term of five years, and promoted to the rank of general.

Like before the coup d'état the economic system is based upon but accords an important role to private enterprise. The three main policy objectives are the maintenance of national unity, the elevation of the living standards of the population, and the attainment of economic independence. The private sector of the economy consists partly of a multitude of small enterprises and partly of enterprises belonging to large French or international companies.

In October 2023, the sanctions and the suspension of international finance and of aids of the , left as one of the poorest country at that time. Niger's governing junta announced at the start of the month a 40 % cut in the 2023 budget due to "heavy sanctions imposed by international and regional organizations ... exposing the country to a major drop in external and internal revenue." Nigeria, a supplier of 71% of Niger's electricity prior to the coup, contributed to Niamey’s crisis by halting its services. Niger's Nigelec state-owned utility company could in October 2023 meet between a quarter and half of demand across the country, the World Bank said, adding the financial situation was deteriorating.

In February 2024, a new regulation law was issued to secure unrestricted access to state resources. According to which military spending is no longer subject to public procurement regulations, and thus independent control. This has not only paved the way for faster processing of arms purchases or the use of mercenaries, but also for the personal enrichment of the new rulers.

In June 2024, the revoked the operating licence of French nuclear fuel producer Orano at one of the world's biggest uranium mines. Days later, it announced that the Imouraren mine had returned "to the state's public domain".

His and was affilated with the , a party which advocates for liberal economic policies.