Djibouti Timeline -- Part 2: Independence to Present Day
A Chronology of Key Events in Djibouti
By Alistair Boddy-Evans, About.com
| 27 June 1977 | Territoire français des Afars et des Issas achieves independence from France. County's name is changed to the République de Djibouti (Republic of Djibouti). Hassan Gouled Aptidon, an Issa representing the Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès (RPP, People's Rally for Progress), becomes president. |
| 12 July 1977 | Ahmed Dini, an Afar, becomes Prime Minister. |
| 5 February 1978 | Abdallah Mohamed Kamil takes over as Prime Minister. |
| 2 October 1978 | Barkat Gourad Hamadou, an Afar, becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1979 | The Mouvement Populaire de Libération Afar (MPLA, Afar Popular Liberation Movement) is banned. |
| 1981 | Hassan Gouled Aptidon is re-elected president (he was the only candidate) with 84% of the vote. The election result is rejected by the Front Démocratique de Libération de Djibouti (FDLD, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Djibouti) who also demand the release of political prisoners. Ahmed Dini forms a new opposition party, the Parti Populaire Djiboutien (PPD, Djibouti People's Party). |
| September 1981 | The leadership of the opposition PPD, amongst others, is arrested and the party banned. |
| October1981 | Hassan Gouled Aptidon introduces legislation for a one-party state with the RPP as sole party. PPD leaders are released. |
| September 1982 | FDLD leadership returns to Djibouti under an amnesty. |
| January 1986 | RPP headquarters are bombed, two people are killed. Police respond by arresting 1,000 opposition supporters. |
| May 1986 | Former minister Aden Robleh Awaleh is charged with campaigning against the RPP. He flees Djibouti for Ethiopia, and then France, where he forms the Mouvement National Djiboutien pour l'Instauration de la Démocratie (MNDID, Djibouti National Movement for the Establishment of Democracy) with the aim of removing Djibouti's one-party government. He is given a life sentence in absentia for "attempting to destabilize the government and murder senior officials". |
| 1887 | French President François Mitterrand makes a state visit. |
| April 1987 | Hassan Gouled Aptidon elected for a second term as president. |
| April 1988 | Djibouti's borders officially recognized by Ethiopia and Somalia -- both coutry's withdrawn troops from the border. |
| April 1989 | Conflict rising between Afars and Issas in Djibouti city. |
| May 1989 | Conflict spreads from Djibouti city to the Tadjourah region. |
| November 1991 | Afar nationalists, Front pour la Restoration de l'Unité et de la Démocratie (FRUD, Front for Restoration of Unity and Democracy), launch armed insurrection against Issa dominated government. |
| January 1992 | FRUD in control of most of northern Djibouti. |
| February 1992 | FRUD agree to a ceasefire following mediation by the French government. |
| June 1992 | Ahmed Dini takes over leadership of FRUD. Hostilities resume. |
| 4 September 1992 | Introduction of a multi-party constitution by President Hassan Gouled Aptidon supposedly brings an end to one-Party State. However the new constitution gives the president significantly more executive power over the government. |
| October 1993 | Another ceasefire is signed by FRUD and the government. |
| 7 May 1993 | Five candidates contest new multi-party elections for president. Hassan Gouled Aptidon is reelected with 61% of vote (only half of the country's eligible voters turned up). |
| December 1994 | Peace agreement signed between Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès (RPP, People's Rally for Progress) and FRUD. Power sharing agreement follows. Radical faction of FRUD continues to fight. |
| June 1995 | Two members of FRUD are appointed to the cabinet. |
| 1996 | Political opponents of President Hassan Gouled Aptidon in exile in Addis Ababa are kidnapped. |
| February 1999 | President Hassan Gouled Aptidon announces he will not seek re-election. Ismail OmaGuelleh is his choice for successor. |
| 8 May 1999 | Ismail OmaGuelleh elected president (representing the RPP). |
| February 2000 | Radical faction of FRUD signs peace agreement with government finally ending the civil war. |
| March 2000 | Ahmed Dini, the leader of the radial faction of FRUD, returns to Djibouti after nine years in exile. |
| December 2000 | Ex-police chief General Yacin Yabeh Galab fails in his attempted coup. Two people are killed and 39 wounded. He is sentenced to 15 years of prison for 'rebellion'. (He dies in July 2002 whilst under house arrest.) |
| 7 March 2001 | Dileita Mohamed Dileita (representing the RPP) becomes Prime Minister. |
| January 2002 | German warships arrive in Djibouti to patrol Red Sea shipping lanes (as part of the war against terror). |
| September 2002 | US base developed as part of war against Terror. Government says it won't be used as a base for attacks. |
| 2002 | Ismail Guelleh wins second term as president. |
| January 2003 | First multi-party elections since independence held. The Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle (UPM, Union for the Presidential Majority), a coalition of four pro-Gelleh parties, wins. |
| April 2005 | Presidential elections, Ismail Omar Guelleh is sole candidate. |
| November 2006 | UN report accuses Djibouti of providing arms to Islamic rebels in Somalia. |
| February 2008 | Union pour l’Alternance Démocratique (UAD, Union for a Democratic Change), the opposition coalition of four parties, boycotts the parliamentary election. UPM wins all 65 seats. |
| June 2008 | Fighting reported on disputed border area of Ras Doumeira with Eritrea. |
| April 2009 | UN Security Council condemns Eritrea for failing to withdraw troops from disputed border area. |
| April 2011 | Ismail Omar Guelleh elected for third term in office. Election once again boycotted by opposition. |
More on the History of Djibouti
• Djibouti Timeline -- Part 1: Prehistory to Independence
Ethnic Groups in Djibouti
• Afar People of Djibouti
• Issa People of Djibouti
Djibouti in Mediaeval Times
• The Adal Sultanate
• Ahmad Grāñ
• Zeila
