Juvénal Habyarimana: Difference between revisions

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In 1963 Habyarimana, due to his educated status and attractive personality, was appointed head of the Rwanda National Guard. That January he was promoted to the rank of major general. Two years later he was made Minister of the National Guard and Police.

On July 5, 1973, while serving as Army Chief of Staff, Habyarimana seized power in a ''coup d'état'' against the incumbent President Grégoire Kayibanda and ousting Kayibanda's ruling [[Parmehutu]] party. In 1975, he created the [[MRND]] as the country's only legal party. The government stayed almost entirely in military hands until 1978, when a new constitution was approved in a referendum. At the same time, Habyarimana was elected to a five-year term as president. He was reelected in single-candidate elections in 1983 and 1988.

On July 5, 1973, while serving as Army Chief of Staff, Habyarimana seized power in a ''coup d'état'' against the incumbent President [[Grégoire Kayibanda]] and ousting Kayibanda's ruling [[Parmehutu]] party. In 1975, he created the [[MRND]] as the country's only legal party. The government stayed almost entirely in military hands until 1978, when a new constitution was approved in a referendum. At the same time, Habyarimana was elected to a five-year term as president. He was reelected in single-candidate elections in 1983 and 1988.

Habyarimana was a dictator, and electoral fraud was suspected for his unopposed re-elections: 98.99% of the vote on 24 December 1978, 99.97% of the vote on 19 December 1983, and 99.98% of the vote on 19 December 1988. During his rule, Rwanda became a [[fascist]] totalitarian order in which his MRND-party enforcers required people to chant and dance in adulation of the President at mass pageants of political "animation". While the country as a whole had become slightly less impoverished during Habyarimana's tenure, the great majority of Rwandans remained in circumstances of extreme poverty.

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 In 1963 Habyarimana, due to his educated status and attractive personality, was appointed head of the Rwanda National Guard. That January he was promoted to the rank of major general. Two years later he was made Minister of the National Guard and Police.
-On July 5, 1973, while serving as Army Chief of Staff, Habyarimana seized power in a ''coup d'état'' against the incumbent President Grégoire Kayibanda and ousting Kayibanda's ruling [[Parmehutu]] party. In 1975, he created the [[MRND]] as the country's only legal party. The government stayed almost entirely in military hands until 1978, when a new constitution was approved in a referendum. At the same time, Habyarimana was elected to a five-year term as president. He was reelected in single-candidate elections in 1983 and 1988.
+On July 5, 1973, while serving as Army Chief of Staff, Habyarimana seized power in a ''coup d'état'' against the incumbent President [[Grégoire Kayibanda]] and ousting Kayibanda's ruling [[Parmehutu]] party. In 1975, he created the [[MRND]] as the country's only legal party. The government stayed almost entirely in military hands until 1978, when a new constitution was approved in a referendum. At the same time, Habyarimana was elected to a five-year term as president. He was reelected in single-candidate elections in 1983 and 1988.
 Habyarimana was a dictator, and electoral fraud was suspected for his unopposed re-elections: 98.99% of the vote on 24 December 1978, 99.97% of the vote on 19 December 1983, and 99.98% of the vote on 19 December 1988. During his rule, Rwanda became a [[fascist]] totalitarian order in which his MRND-party enforcers required people to chant and dance in adulation of the President at mass pageants of political "animation". While the country as a whole had become slightly less impoverished during Habyarimana's tenure, the great majority of Rwandans remained in circumstances of extreme poverty.