Abdulsalami Abubakar

From Legacyview Dictionary of Biography

(b. June 13, 1942, Minna [now in Niger state], Nigeria), chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council of Nigeria (1998-99). He enlisted into the Nigerian Air Force on Oct. 3, 1963, as an Officer Cadet. In 1964, he was dispatched to Germany for flying training. He returned in 1966 to fight with the federal Nigeria troops against the breakaway Republic of Biafra. Abubakar also trained at the Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna, as an Officer Cadet of Emergency Combatant Short Service Course 2. He was commissioned on Oct. 20, 1967, in the rank of Second Lieutenant and was posted to the Infantry. He received his formal training in the United States. Rising steadily through the ranks of the Nigerian army, he commanded Nigeria's contingent of the UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon in 1981. By the late 1980s he had become a senior officer. He became a major general Oct. 1, 1991. In 1993 he was named defense chief of staff by Gen. Sani Abacha. He was an influential member of Abacha's ruling military council and remained a close confidant of Abacha until the latter's sudden death on June 8, 1998. The following day, Abubakar was sworn in as the country's head of state. Abubakar, who had never before held public office, inherited a host of long-standing problems, including ethnic and regional strife, political corruption, widespread poverty, and mismanagement of the country's oil industry. By July, Abubakar had announced that he would follow a program that would restore the country to democracy. He had freed a number of political prisoners and announced the dissolution of the political parties and structures set up by Abacha. He also addressed economic issues and outlined a plan for multiparty elections, setting May 29, 1999, as the swearing-in date for a new civilian president.

Source: http://www.rulers.org