Ahmadou Ahidjo
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Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 1924 - 30 November 1989) was the president of Cameroon from 1960 until 1982.
He entered the politics of French Cameroun during the 1940s. He was elected president of that country when it gained independence in 1960, and persuaded part of British Cameroon to join his country. He was reelected in 1965, 1970, 1975 and 1980, gradually establishing the complete dominance of his own party and outlawing all others in 1976.
He experienced a rebellion in the 1960s from a group known as the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon, but defeated it by 1970. In the early 1970s he created an unpopular constitution which ended the autonomy of British Cameroon and established unitary rule. Though many of his actions were dictatorial, his country became one of the most stable in Africa.
Ahidjo resigned, ostensibly for health reasons, on 6 November 1982 (there are many theories surrounding the resignation). In 1983 he had a major feud with his successor, Paul Biya, and by 1984 he had fled the country and been sentenced to death in absentia for participation in a plot against Biya. He divided his time between France and Senegal. He died in Dakar, the capital of Senegal.
| Preceded by: (none) | President of Cameroon 1960–1982 | Succeeded by: Paul Biya |