Idriss Déby
President

(pronounced "IH-driss DEH-bee")

"I am the president of all Chadians…any development effort is only possible in national unity."

The Republic of Chad became independent from the French Equatorial African Federation in 1960. It has a land area of 1,284,000 sq km (495,800 sq mi) and is bordered by Libya, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Sudan. The country's official languages are Arabic and French, but more than 100 languages are spoken within the country. The largest ethno-linguistic group is the Sara peoples, accounting for about a quarter of the population. They are concentrated in the central parts of the southern river basins. Speakers of Niger-Congo languages live to the west of the Sara peoples. Saharan language speakers are concentrated in the Lake Chad region and Arabic speakers, divided among themselves by tribal rather than...