Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council
In office 22 July 1994 – 6 November 1996
Deputy
Capt. Sanna B Sabally
Preceded by
Position established
Succeeded by
Capt. Edward Singateh
Personal details
Born
Yahya Abdul-Aziz James Junku Jammeh
(1965-05-25) 25 May 1965 (age 58) Kanilai Village, The Gambia
Political party
Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction
Spouses
Tuti Faal
(m. 1994; div. 1999)
Alima Sallah
(m. 2010; div. 2012)
Zeinab Soumah
(m. 1999)
Children
2
Parent
Asombi Bojang (Mother) (? - 2018)
Military service
Allegiance
The Gambia
Branch/service
National Gendarmerie
National Army
Years of service
1984–1996
Rank
Colonel
Commands
National Gendarmerie
Status
Claimed for the charges of murder of 59 migrants.[1]
Forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and arbitrary detentions.[2][full citation needed]
This article is part of a series about Yahya Jammeh
APRC
1996
2001
2006
2011
2016
President of the Gambia
1996-2017
Government
1994 coup
AFPRC
SIS
1996 constitutional referendum
LGBT rights
Gambia–Taiwan relations
2000 student massacre
TRRC
2014 coup attempt
Islamic republic
2016-2017 crisis
Operation Restore Democracy
parliamentary election
1997
2002
2007
2012
local elections
2002
2008
2013
others
JFP
Family
Zeinab Jammeh
v
t
e
Yahya Abdul-Aziz James Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former military officer, who served as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017, as well as Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council from 1994 to 1996.
Jammeh was born in Kanilai, in the Gambia, and is a Muslim of the Jola ethnic group. He attended Gambia High School in Banjul from 1978 to 1983 and served in the Gambian National Gendarmerie from 1984 to 1989. He was then commissioned as an officer of the Gambian National Army, commanding the Military Police from 1992 to 1994. In July 1994, he came to power by leading a bloodless coup d'etat that overthrew the elected government of Sir Dawda Jawara. At first ruling by decree, he was elected president in the 1996 election. Jammeh was re-elected as president in 2001, 2006 and 2011, but lost to Adama Barrow in 2016.
His presidency oversaw a shift towards authoritarianism, demonstrated in particular by his policies towards anti-government journalists, LGBT+ people and opposition parties. His foreign policy led to constant difficulties with the country's sole neighbour, Senegal. In 2013, Jammeh withdrew the Gambia from the Commonwealth of Nations and in 2016 he began the process of withdrawing the country from the International Criminal Court, one year after he declared the nation an Islamic republic. All three decisions were later rescinded by successor government, despite Jammeh's supporters arguing that his foreign policy encouraged self-sufficiency and anti-colonialism.
Jammeh has been accused of serious human rights violations, such as murder, rape and torture, as highlighted in the final report of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, he is now living in exile in Equatorial Guinea. His assets around the world have been frozen by many countries amidst additional accusations of stealing millions of dollars from his country to fund a life of luxury. Jammeh has denied the allegations against him.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^"Gambia: Ex-President Tied to Killing of 59 Migrants". Human Rights Watch. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
Yahya Abdul-Aziz James Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former military officer, who served as President of the Gambia from...
leadership of Dawda Jawara. Jawara ruled until YahyaJammeh seized power in a bloodless 1994 coup, with Jammeh ruling until 2017. Adama Barrow became The...
Suma Jammeh (born (1977-10-05)October 5, 1977) is the former First Lady of the Gambia and the main wife of the former President of the Gambia, Yahya Jammeh...
election with 43.34% of the vote, defeating long-time incumbent YahyaJammeh. Jammeh initially accepted the result, but later reneged on this, and Barrow...
result, opposition candidate Adama Barrow defeated long-term incumbent YahyaJammeh. The election marked the first change of presidency in The Gambia since...
entered The Gambia in January 2017 following long-time Gambian President YahyaJammeh's refusal to step down after his loss in the 2016 presidential election...
of YahyaJammeh. and has denied the responsibility for her prosecutions and the cases of torture under the regime she was a part of. YahyaJammeh's former...
Faal Jammeh (born c. 1953 in Kembujeh [de]) is a former First Lady of the West African country of Gambia. As the first wife of President YahyaJammeh, she...
previously highest denomination. All of the notes feature a portrait of YahyaJammeh. In February 2018, a new series of banknotes believed to be a reprinting...
from 1996 to 2016 under President YahyaJammeh. The APRC was formed in 1996 to support coup organiser YahyaJammeh's successful campaign in the 1996 presidential...
Stjernfeldt Jammeh (born 1974), Swedish politician Ken Jammeh (born 1987), Gambian football player Ousman Jammeh (born 1953), Gambian politician YahyaJammeh (born...
which collapsed. In 1994, Jawara was overthrown in a coup d'état led by YahyaJammeh, who ruled as a military dictator for two years through the AFPRC. He...
1989. Jawara continued to rule until 1994 when a coup d'état led by YahyaJammeh seized power. Following this, he went into exile, but returned in 2002...
elections were held in the Gambia on 24 November 2011. Incumbent President YahyaJammeh, in office since seizing power in a 1994 coup, faced Ousainou Darboe...
ruled from 1970 until 1994, YahyaJammeh, who seized power in a bloodless coup that year and Adama Barrow, who defeated Jammeh in elections held in December...
He was chosen as the National Assembly Majority Leader by President YahyaJammeh following the 2007 election. In 2010, Jatta was the principal nominator...
president. Status Denotes Vice-President acting as President Colonel YahyaJammeh led a coup d'état which overthrew President Jawara and his government...
presidential election took place in September 1996, in which retired Col. Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh won 56% of the vote. The legislative elections held in January 1997...
West Africa. The foundation was founded in 1999 by Gambian president YahyaJammeh. The mission of the foundation is to implement substantial and sustainable...
onwards. In December 2015, the then-president YahyaJammeh declared The Gambia to be an Islamic republic. Jammeh said that the move was designed to distance...
Gambia, near the border with Senegal. The former president of The Gambia, YahyaJammeh, was born in this village and expanded it after coming to power. Previously...
committee declared Adama Barrow winner of the elections. Incumbent president YahyaJammeh accepted defeat on December 2. For presidential elections, electors drop...
as Interior Minister between 2006 and 2016 under the Gambian dictator YahyaJammeh. During this period he is suspected of taking part in acts of torture...
boyhood". He went on to work for Faure Gnassingbé, President of Togo, and YahyaJammeh, President of the Gambia, from whom he hope to gain protection in return...
Barrow in December, then supporting YahyaJammeh in January, though later saying that his troops will not fight for Jammeh against ECOWAS forces. "Gambia's...
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