Tombalbaye, Francois Ngarta (1919-1975)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1975 Apr 17 p. 3

Birth date: 1919

text of obituary:

President of Chad Dies in Rebel Coup

President Francois Ngarta Tombalbaye, leader of the north African republic of Chad since it gained independence from France in 1960, was killed in a coup Sunday, April 13, according to reports received in Paris over Radio Chad.

Although the new rulers were not identified, the reports indicated that rebellious troops and police mounted an early morning machine gun and canon attack on the president's official residence in which Tombalbaye was fatally wounded.

Born into a tribe of converted Protestants, the 56-year-old president was a moderate in politics and tried to mediate between Moslem, Christian and animist factions within the country. He had been the object of previous coup attempts, and on several occasions had called in French troops to restore order.

Chad is one of six countries in the so-called Sahel area of Africa which have been suffering the effects of an eight-year-drought. Rains during the past year in Chad have brought only partial relief to the poverty stricken nation of about four million population.