Hassan Gouled Aptidon

Hassan Gouled Aptidon (born 1916), was the President of Djibouti (1977 - 1999) and Prime Minister between May and July, 1977.

In 1981, he turned the country into a one party state by declaring that his party, the Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès (RPP) (People's Rally for Progress), was the sole legal one. After the breakout of a civil war in 1991 he allowed for partially free elections in 1992; just four parties were allowed to participate, excluding the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD), which had started the war. The RPP won 72% of the vote, and Aptidon was reelected for a fourth term in 1993.

He stepped down in 1999, at the age of 83, after being elected to a fifth term in 1997. His successor was his nephew, Ismail Omar Guelleh.