Former Cameroonian minister Amadou Ali dies at 79
A leading politician, minister from 1985 to 2019, Cameroonian Amadou Ali died on Tuesday September 27, 2022 in Yaoundé.
AFP - PIUS UTOMI EKPEI
Text by: RFI Follow
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Amadou Ali died on Tuesday September 27 in Yaoundé.
Sick for several years, he had gradually withdrawn from political life.
He was to be buried this Wednesday in Kolofata, in the Far North.
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Like Paul Biya, to whom he has always been close, Amadou Ali had a career of exceptional longevity, with 34 years without interruption spent in government.
A record.
General delegate for tourism when Paul Biya came to power in 1982, he was first transferred to the general delegation of the gendarmerie, before entering the government in August 1985. He will remain there until January 2019.
Secretary General to the Presidency, Minister of Defence, of Justice, Deputy Prime Minister, Amadou Ali has held almost all strategic positions and managed highly sensitive files.
Proof of the confidence placed in him by President Biya.
Amadou Ali was in charge of the anti-corruption operation Epervier, becoming a particularly feared minister.
He also led the territorial dispute with Nigeria concerning the Bakassi peninsula.
It was he who notably followed the talks.
Finally, he was in charge of the fight against Boko Haram.
Again, Amadou Ali himself participated in the negotiations to free hostages.
A file that has become personal, particularly sensitive in the Far North of the country, his region of origin.
His own wife was even kidnapped, before being released four months later.
In withdrawal for a few years, he had remained close until the end of President Biya who consulted him regularly.
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