N’DJAMENA, Chad (SCANS) — President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno held a high-level audience Monday with three Chadian women recently appointed to pivotal international roles, signaling a strategic push for female leadership within the nation’s diplomatic corps.
The meeting at the presidential palace comes as Chad looks to solidify its influence in regional and European spheres following the country’s return to constitutional order.
Among the officials received was Mariam Mahamat Nour, a veteran economist and diplomat who was elected Vice-President of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) Commission on Jan. 24. Nour, who brings over 30 years of experience in development and macroeconomics, is the first Chadian to hold the post since the commission’s recent institutional reforms.
The President also met with two newly designated ambassadors:
Amina Priscille Longoh, the former Minister of Gender and Social Solidarity, who has been named Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the French Republic. Longoh, widely recognized for her advocacy for women’s rights, takes the helm of Chad’s most sensitive diplomatic mission at a time of shifting relations between Paris and its former African colonies.
Mariam Ali Moussa, who will serve as Chad’s envoy to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union. Moussa previously served as Chad’s ambassador to France and is expected to leverage her experience to navigate complex trade and security partnerships with the EU.
“These appointments reflect our commitment to excellence and the promotion of Chadian expertise on the world stage,” Deby said during the audience, according to a statement from the presidency.
Context and Analysis
The move appears aimed at addressing long-standing domestic criticism regarding the representation of women in government. Following the May 2024 elections, several civil rights groups and female activists in N’Djamena protested what they called “negligible representation” in the first post-transition cabinet.
While Chad is a signatory to the Maputo Protocol, which mandates gender equality in political decision-making, the country has no domestic law enforcing gender quotas for executive appointments. Observers suggest that by placing high-profile women in “Grade A” diplomatic posts like Paris and Brussels, Deby is attempting to balance international optics with local political dem
The envoys are expected to depart for their respective capitals later this month after receiving final briefings on Chad’s “military diplomacy” strategy—a policy established by the late Idriss Deby Itno that positions Chadian security contributions as a primary tool for international leverage.
