Pierre Buyoya

Pierre Buyoya (24 November 1949 – 17 December 2020) was a Burundian army officer and politician who served two terms as President of Burundi in 1987 to 1993 and 1996 to 2003 as de facto military dictator. He was the second-longest serving president in Burundian history.

His Excellency

Pierre Buyoya
Buyoya, pictured at Chatham House in 2013
3rd President of Burundi
In office
25 July 1996 – 30 April 2003
Acting: 25 July 1996 – 11 June 1998
Prime MinisterPascal-Firmin Ndimira
Vice President
Preceded bySylvestre Ntibantunganya
Succeeded byDomitien Ndayizeye
In office
9 September 1987 – 10 July 1993
Prime MinisterAdrien Sibomana
Preceded byJean-Baptiste Bagaza
Succeeded byMelchior Ndadaye
Personal details
Born(1949-11-24)24 November 1949
Rutovu, Ruanda-Urundi
(modern-day Burundi)
Died17 December 2020(2020-12-17) (aged 71)
Paris, France
Political partyUPRONA
Spouse(s)Sophie Buyoya[1]
Alma materRoyal Military Academy

Early life

Pierre Buyoya was born in Rutovu, Bururi Province on 24 November 1949 under Belgian colonial rule. He came from the Tutsi ethnic group.[2] He received a primary education at a Catholic mission in Rutovu. He enlisted as an officer the Burundian Army and studied at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Belgium, rising to the rank of major.[3] He entered the long-term single party, Union for National Progress (Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA), and acquired a position on its Central Committee (Comité central) in 1979.[3] He joined the General Staff of the Army in 1984.[3] His rapid rise through the military hierarchy earned him the nickname "Old Man".[1] The New York Times reported in 1996 that "[n]o one could recall his ever telling a joke. He is often seen at soccer games and reads a lot. He eschews a uniform, though his leisure suits recall French summer khakis."[1]

Presidency

Coup d'état and first term, 1987–1992
Main article: 1987 Burundian coup d'état

In September 1987, Buyoya led a military coup d'état against the regime of Jean-Baptiste Bagaza who had taken power in another coup in November 1978. Buyoya installed himself as the first president of a new Third Republic. He proclaimed an agenda of economic liberalisation.[3] As in previous regimes, he presided over an oppressive ruling junta consisting primarily of Tutsi. This led to a Hutu uprising in August 1988, which caused approximately 20,000 deaths. After these killings, Buyoya appointed a Commission of National Reconciliation (Commission pour la réconciliation nationale).[3]

This commission created a new constitution that Buyoya approved in 1992. This constitution called for a non-ethnic government with a president and a parliament. Democratic elections were held in June 1993 and were won by the Hutu Melchior Ndadaye, who created a balanced Hutu and Tutsi government. Nevertheless, the army assassinated Ndadaye in October 1993 and Burundi entered an prolonged period of civil war in which 300,000 people were killed and 470,000 displaced.[4] There were numerous attempts to form a government, but even the coalition government under Sylvestre Ntibantunganya was unable to stop the fighting.

Coup d'état and second term, 1996–2003
Main article: 1996 Burundian coup d'état

On 25 July 1996, with strong support and backup from the army, Buyoya returned to power in a military coup, ousting interim President Ntibantunganya who had been contested by the population due to his failure to stop killings perpetrated by rebels. The civil war became less intense but continued. Economic sanctions were also imposed by the international community because of the nature of Buyoya's return to power, but were eased as Buyoya created an ethnically inclusive government. He entered a new "partnership" with the National Assembly in June 1998 which was dominated by the Hutu-backed Front for Democracy in Burundi (Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi, FRODEBU).[3] This paved the way for the Arusha Accords in 2000 which introduced a form of ethnic power-sharing and paved the way for the end of the Civil War.[3] Buyoya selected as his vice-president Domitien Ndayizeye, a Hutu.[5][6] The conditions of the Arusha Accords required Buyoya to hand over power in 2003, which he did.[7] Ndayizeye became the President of Burundi on 30 April,[7] paving the way for the end of the Civil War in 2005.

Later activities

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Buyoya became a senator for life as a former head of state.[8][9]

In his 2007 book From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi, the former US Ambassador Robert Krueger accuses Pierre Buyoya of orchestrating the 1993 putsch which led to the murder of President Ndadaye.[10]

Pierre Buyoya was appointed by the African Union to lead a peace mission in Chad in 2008. He was subsequently appointed to another mission in Mali.[2] On 19 October 2020 the Supreme Court of Burundi sentenced Buyoya in absentia to life in prison for the murder of Ndadaye in 1993.[11]

In December 2020 he contracted COVID-19 in Mali. At first he was hospitalised in Bamako but was later transferred to France and died in an ambulance on his way to a hospital in Paris.[12][13][14]

He was buried in Bamako on 29 December 2020.[15]

References
  1. McNeil, Donald G., Jr (30 July 1996). "New Leader of Burundi: Authoritarian Democrat". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  2. Reports, News Services and Staff (18 December 2020). "Pierre Buyoya, Burundian president who led two coups, dies at 71". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  3. "Biographie de Pierre Buyoya" (in French). Le Monde. 18 April 2001. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  4. "Pierre Buyoya, Burundi Leader Who Led Two Coups, Dies at 71". Bloomberg. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  5. "Decision on transitional leadership "fixed", Mandela says". The New Humanitarian. 11 July 2001. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  6. "Buyoya sworn in as Burundi president". The Irish Times. Agence France-Presse. 1 November 2001. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  7. "Burundi: President Buyoya transfers power to Ndayizeye". ReliefWeb. 30 April 2003. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  8. "POST TRANSITION SENATORS' LIST", Burundian Senate website (in French).
  9. "The Senate composition", Burundian Senate website (in French).
  10. Krueger, Robert; Krueger, Kathleen Tobin (2007). From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi: Our Embassy Years During Genocide. University of Texas Press. p. 266. ISBN 978-0-292-71486-1.
  11. "Ex-Burundi president gets prison term for 1993 killing of victorious election opponent". Reuters. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  12. "Pierre Buyoya Yigeze Kuyobora Uburundi Yitavye Imana". Ijwi ry'Amerika. Retrieved Dec 19, 2020.
  13. "Burundi's Pierre Buyoya dies from Covid-19". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved Dec 19, 2020.
  14. "Burundi ex-president Buyoya dies from Covid-19". Yahoo News. 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  15. [url=https://www.aa.com.tr/fr/afrique/lancien-président-du-burundi-pierre-buyoya-inhumé-à-bamako/2092195]
Political offices
Preceded by
Jean-Baptiste Bagaza		 President of Burundi
1987–1993		 Succeeded by
Melchior Ndadaye
Preceded by
Sylvestre Ntibantunganya		 President of Burundi
1996–2003		 Succeeded by
Domitien Ndayizeye
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