The military perpetrators of the coup in Niger announced on August 7th, 2023, the appointment of a Prime Minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, in a press release read on national television, at a time when actors from the international community seek to restore constitutional order since the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum.
In Niger, the junta continues to settle in power, the soldiers who overthrew President Bazoum almost two weeks ago have appointed a Prime Minister. In a press release read on August 7th, 2023, on public television, the putschists announced that Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine was taking over as head of government.
An Economist, Above All
Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine is an economist from Zinder, the second-largest city in the country. At 58 years old, he is a graduate of the National School of Administration in Niamey and the Center for Financial, Economic, and Banking Studies in France. He started his career at the Ministry of Economy in 1991 and later worked for the African Development Bank (AfDB), representing them in Chad, Ivory Coast, and Gabon.
In 2001, when Mamadou Tandja came to power in Niger, he quickly appointed Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine as chief of staff and then finance minister, at a time when the country was undergoing a serious economic crisis. Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine also belongs to the formation of President Tandja, the MNSD-Nassara, the former single party.
Lamine Zeine previously held a post but lost it in 2010 due to a military coup. However, another coup 13 years later resulted in him being appointed as Prime Minister.
The MNSD-Nassara supported President Mohamed Bazoum in the second round of the 2021 presidential election. The putschists, therefore, chose a member of the party of the man they brought down to take the reins of government.
Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine is therefore supposed to replace Prime Minister Mahamadou Ouhoumoudou, who was in Europe during the coup. Mahamadou Ouhoumoudou does not recognize the authority of the junta. But the military has decided to move its agenda forward.