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]
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