Azali Assoumani

Who is Azali Assoumani?

Azali Assoumani was a president of the Comoros. He became leader of the country on 30 April 1999 after leading a coup to depose acting president Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde, who he saw as pandering to the independence movement on Anjouan. He won multi-party elections in 2002, prior to which he was constitutionally required to temporarily step down in order to run as a candidate.

Azali was born in 1959 at Mitsoudjé in south-western Grande Comore. Until he overthrew the civilian government in 1999, he pursued a military career for two decades. Between 1977 and 1980 he trained at the Royal Military Academy in Morocco and qualified as a parachutist. On his return to Comoros, he joined the FAC