Azali Assoumani

Azali Assoumani (Arabic: غزالي عثماني; born 1 January 1959) is a Comorian politician and military officer who has served as the seventh President of the Comoros from 2002 to 2006 and again since 2016, except for a brief period in 2019. He became head of state after staging a coup d'état in 1999 and was elected president in 2002, 2016, 2019 and 2024. He also served as Chairperson of the African Union from February 2023 to February 2024. Assoumani's current presidency has been described as increasingly authoritarian.

== Early life ==

Born in 1959 in Mitsoudjé, French Comoros, Assoumani trained at the Meknes Royal Military Academy in Morocco and the École de Guerre in Paris.

== Political career ==

Assoumani became the President of the Council of State of the Comoros in 1999 after overthrowing interim president Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde in a coup d'état. His troops justified the coup on the basis of protecting territorial integrity after Massounde had begun negotiations with representatives of the island of Anjouan for greater autonomy or independence. This was despite the fact that an international conference in Antananarivo had resulted in a settlement on the matter between the three...