Mohamed_Ben_Omar

Mohamed Ben Omar

Mohamed Ben Omar

Nigerien educator and politician (1965–2020)

Mohamed Ben Omar (1 January 1965 – 3 May 2020) was a Nigerien educator and politician. Omar served as a government minister in several cabinets, most recently as Minister of Employment, Labor and Social Protection from April 2017 until his death on 3 May 2020. Omar also founded the Nigerien Social Democratic Party (PSD) in 2015.[2]

Quick Facts Minister of Employment, Labor and Social Protection, President ...

Biography

Mohamed Ben Omar was born on 1 January 1965 in Tesker, Niger, located in the country's Zinder Region.[2][3]

From 2000 to 2004, Omar was a professor of geography at the Lycée Franco-arabe LFA de Niamey.

From 2004 to 2007, he was a minister who was responsible for relations among higher-learning institutions. He served as Niger's Minister of Communication from 2007 to 2009, and was simultaneously a spokesperson for the government.[4] Omar supported a constitutional amendment to let then-President Mamadou Tandja extend his second term in office by three years, but Tandja was overthrown by the military in February 2010 during the 2010 Nigerien coup d'état.[3]

From 14 November 2009 to 18 February 2010, Omar was the Fourth Vice-President of the National Assembly of the 6th Republic. From March 2011 to April 2016, he was Fourth Vice-President of the National Assembly of the 7th Republic.[5]

From April 15, 2016,[1] to April 2017, Omar served as Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.[1][6] Most recently, Omar served as Minister of Employment, Labor and Social Protection from 27 April 2017 until his death on 3 May 2020.[7]

Additionally, Mohamed Ben Omar served President of the Nigerien Social Democratic Party (PSD), which he founded in 2015.[2][3] Omar allied the PSD with President Mahamadou Issoufou's Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism party.[3] Prior to establishing the PDS, Omar was a member of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP).[3][2]

Omar died on 3 May 2020 at National Hospital in Niamey at the age of 55.[3][8] On 5 May 2020, Télé Sahel, the national television broadcaster of Niger, announced that Mohamed Ben Omar had died as a result of COVID-19.[2][3][9] His Social Democratic Party (PSD) also confirmed that Omar suffered from COVID-19 via WhatsApp.[2][3] Omar was buried in a cemetery in Niamey.[10]

Omar died shortly after the death of another prominent Nigerien politician from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Niger, Mahamane Jean Padonou, a 2016 presidential candidate who became a special advisor to President Mahamadou Issoufou.[10]

References

  1. [1]
    "Ben Omar aux commandes de l'Enseignement supérieur". Niger Inter. 2016-04-15. Archived from the original on 2019-08-14. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  2. [2]
    "Niger: le ministre du Travail est mort du coronavirus". Le Figaro. 2020-05-05. Archived from the original on 2020-05-05. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  3. [3]
    "Sahel: Niger labor minister succumbs from Covid-19". Agence France-Presse. North Africa Journal. 2020-05-05. Archived from the original on 2020-05-07. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  4. [4]
    "Niger: disparition d'un responsable canadien de l'ONU". LaDepeche.fr (in French). 27 October 2008.
  5. [5]
    "Boko Haram: le Parlement du Niger vote à l'unanimité l'envoi de troupes au Nigeria". Le Figaro (in French). 9 February 2015.
  6. [6]
    "Mohamed Ben Omar". Niger Inter (in French). Archived from the original on 2021-06-11. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  7. [7]
    "Fête du travail : allocution de Mohamed Ben Omar, ministre de l'Emploi et du Travail". ActuNiger (in French). 30 April 2019.
  8. [8]
    "Niger: décès du ministre du Travail". Le Figaro. 2020-05-03. Archived from the original on 2020-05-05. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  9. [9]
    Olivier, Mathieu (2020-05-04). "Niger: Mohamed Ben Omar, le ministre de l'Emploi et du Travail, est décédé du Covid-19". Jeune Afrique. Archived from the original on 2020-05-05. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  10. [10]
    "Niger: le chef de l'Etat assiste à la levée du corps du ministre de l'Emploi". Sahelien.com. 2020-05-04. Archived from the original on 2020-05-06. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
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