Obasanjo, Olusegun (1937– )

Nigerian politician and soldier; head of state 1976–79 and president 1999–2007. When Murtala Muhammad's brief military rule of 1975–76 ended in his death during a coup, Obasanjo succeeded as head of state, and oversaw the transfer of control back to civilian rule. After that, he played an important role internationally, especially within the Commonwealth and as founder and leader of the African Leadership Forum. In 1998 he announced that he would be a candidate in the Nigerian presidential elections, and in March 1999 Obasanjo was elected president, ending 15 years of military rule. In April, the Court of Appeal ruled that the February 1999 presidential elections had been unfair, but the result stood. He started his term in May, pledging to put an end to corruption and atrocities.

Obasanjo joined the Nigerian army in 1958, training in both the UK and India and specializing in engineering. He served with the Nigerian unit in the UN Congo operations and was military commander of the federal forces during the Biafran civil war 1967–70. In 1975 he was made federal commissioner of works and housing, and chief of staff. During secret military treason trials in 1995, he was imprisoned, and released into house arrest in June 1998.

He was educated at Abeokuta Baptist High School and Mons Officers' School. His publications include the autobiographical My Command (1980), and the Challenge of Agricultural Production and Food Security in Africa (1992).