Pascal Yoadimnadji, Chad’s PM

PARIS – Pascal Yoadimnadji, the Chadian prime minister named to the post by the country’s powerful president, has died at a Paris hospital following a brain haemorrhage.

He was 56. Yoadimnadji, who was appointed in 2005, had been evacuated to France after falling ill and slipping into a coma in his home country, Moukhtar Wawa Dahab, Chad’s ambassador to France, told The Associated Press.Yoadimnadji, though a senior figure in the government, was not a major player in Chadian politics.Chad’s president, Idriss Deby, wields much of the power in the poor central African country, including directing Yoadimnadji’s work.Deby seized power in a 1990 coup.Chadian rebels aiming to topple him have clashed sporadically with government forces since 2005.The competition for power in Chad has become more intense since Chad began exporting oil in 2003.In April 2006, a rebel group reached the capital, N’Djamena, before it was crushed by government forces.There are fears Chad’s conflict is being worsened by a spillover of violence from Sudan’s western region of Darfur.Yoadimnadji, a lawyer, had served in several government posts, including as agriculture minister.In 1996, he directed the Independent National Electoral Commission for the country’s first multi-party elections.He also presided over the country’s Constitutional Council, which judges whether laws are constitutional.”Pascal was a statesman, a nationalist able to overcome all obstacles,” Deby said in a statement.”With his departure, the entire country has lost one of its worthy and grand sons.”Deby appointed Infrastructure Minister of State Adoum Younousmi as acting prime minister.Yoadimnadji’s wife was to repatriate his body to Chad.Nampa-APYoadimnadji, who was appointed in 2005, had been evacuated to France after falling ill and slipping into a coma in his home country, Moukhtar Wawa Dahab, Chad’s ambassador to France, told The Associated Press.Yoadimnadji, though a senior figure in the government, was not a major player in Chadian politics.Chad’s president, Idriss Deby, wields much of the power in the poor central African country, including directing Yoadimnadji’s work.Deby seized power in a 1990 coup.Chadian rebels aiming to topple him have clashed sporadically with government forces since 2005.The competition for power in Chad has become more intense since Chad began exporting oil in 2003.In April 2006, a rebel group reached the capital, N’Djamena, before it was crushed by government forces.There are fears Chad’s conflict is being worsened by a spillover of violence from Sudan’s western region of Darfur.Yoadimnadji, a lawyer, had served in several government posts, including as agriculture minister.In 1996, he directed the Independent National Electoral Commission for the country’s first multi-party elections.He also presided over the country’s Constitutional Council, which judges whether laws are constitutional.”Pascal was a statesman, a nationalist able to overcome all obstacles,” Deby said in a statement.”With his departure, the entire country has lost one of its worthy and grand sons.”Deby appointed Infrastructure Minister of State Adoum Younousmi as acting prime minister.Yoadimnadji’s wife was to repatriate his body to Chad.Nampa-AP