The father of independence

                                                   Ahmed Abdallah Abderemane, the father of independence

This year, we commemorate the 30^th anniversary of the death of the father of the Comorian independence. Ahmed Abdallah Abderemane was born on June 12, 1919 in Domoni, on the island of Anjouan. He was the son of a vanilla and cloves merchant. After his primary and middle school studies, he began participating in the government in the 1940s, while the archipelagos of Comoros and Madagascar were still part of France. He was the President of the General Council from 1949 until 1953 and represented Comoros in France. After the independence of Madagascar on June 26, 1960, the Comoros earned its internal autonomy under the presidency of Said Mohamed Cheikh. After the death of Said Mohamed Cheikh on 16 March 1970, Abdallah became the chairman of the local Assembly during the 1970s when prince Said Ibrahim was dismissed by his political opponents.   

First presidency

Abdallah founded in 1972 his political party, the Comoros Democratic Union (UDC). He became president of the Comorian local government under the French administration. He served in that position until 6 July 1975, when the four islands became independent from France after a vote in the local Parliament. Nevertheless, the members who represented the island of Mayotte in the local Assembly decided to vote against the independence. And the French authorities in Paris seized the opportunity offered by the representatives of Mayotte to consider the island as part of France. Abdallah became the first president of the independent islands, but was overthrown by a young political socialist leader named Ali Soilih in a coup d’Etat on August 3, 1975.

Second presidency

Abdallah had been living in exile in Paris, during the revolutionary period of President Ali Soilih. He staged a coup against Soilih on 13 May, 1978 with the help of the French mercenary Bob Denard. “The government of Ali Soilih has fallen” said on a radio broadcast, Said Athoumani who had served as "Chairman of the Politico-Military Directorate" for ten days.  Abdallah and Mohamed Ahmed, both from Anjouan assumed the titles of "Co-Chairmen of the Politico-Military Directorate." After the assassination of Soilih on 29 May 1978, their titles were changed to "Co-Chairmen of the Directorate". After the new constitution of 1^st October 1978 that created the Islamic and Federal Republic of Comoros, Abdallah became the lone chair.  

On 25 October, Abdallah was elected president and remained in office for two terms, despite three separate coup attempts against him. In 1982, Abdallah had the UDC and all other parties abolished, and a new party, the Comorian Union for Progress (UCP) known as UDZIMA in Comorian language, was set up. The country became a one-party state, with the UDZIMA being the only legal party.   

Political achievements

Abdallah has founded the Fishing Technical School in Anjouan, the Agricultural School in Moheli and the National School of Higher Education and the Medical School in Grande Comore to train the cadres the country and its administration needed for its development. He also sent many students abroad to study in the best schools and universities of Africa, Europe, America and the Middle East. All the Comorian students were granted and had got scholarships. Abdallah has never ceased to reclaim the island of Mayotte as part of Comoros. 

Abdallah was re-elected unopposed in 1984. On 26 November 1989, he was shot dead in his Itsandra office during a coup led by Bob Denard who took control of the country the next day until December 15^th, 1989. The French mercenaries were obliged to leave the country after a student’s demonstration in Moroni followed by the military intervention of France.  

Chami Mouzawar 

Contributing writer