Djibouti

The struggle

French Somaliland guarded the Red Sea approach and the railway to Addis Ababa, and Paris manipulated two earlier referendums — deporting voters and rigging rolls — to keep it. Protest and repression followed each vote, and the LPAI built a movement across Issa and Afar communities. A 1977 referendum returned almost unanimous support and independence came on 27 June.

Key people

• Hassan Gouled Aptidon

  1916–2006

  Led the LPAI; first president

• Mahmoud Harbi

  1921–1960

  Independence leader killed in a 1960 plane crash

• Ali Aref Bourhan

  1934–2023

  Head of government during the transition