On December 1, 1990, Idriss Déby ascended to the supreme office following a coup that overthrew Hissène Habré in power for eight years.
A date synonymous with the wind of freedom in this country marked by violence and human rights abuses.
Idriss Déby has been at the head of the Republic of Chad as president for 30 years to the day.
Raised to the rank of marshal last August, Idriss Déby, leader of the Patriotic Salvation Movement, is the man who helped to bring Chad out of several years of dictatorship.
President Idriss Déby undertook many reforms to introduce a form of opening through institutions.
Ruling a country in a chronically unstable region, the 68-year-old leader has shown spectacular resilience, surviving coups, rebel attacks and foreign invasions.
Thanks to his powerful Zaghawa tribe, Déby has managed to survive the complex geopolitics of Central Africa, where tribes control resources such as water, land and minerals.
Field Marshal Idriss Deby was elected for one year in January 2016, as rotating president of the African Union.
During his reign at the head of the Pan-African Institute, he demonstrated his support for Burkina Faso and for President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré during the attacks on Splendid Hotel and the Cappuccino Restaurant in 2016.
Endowed with a powerful army, Chad is considered as an important force for stability in Central Africa, in the region of Lake Chad and in the Sahel.
Chad has so far been spared the militant violence that has rocked Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
Idriss Deby’s forces have also been credited with dealing a blow to the terrorist group Boko Haram.
Worth noting is the fact that he is credited to have also mastered international relations, keeping the former colonial master France, the United States and China close.
