The Republic of Niger has had seven constitutions, two substantial constitutional revisions, and two periods of rule by decree since its independence from French colonial rule in 1960. The "''Seventh Republic''" operated under the Constitution of 2010 until its dissolution in 2023 by General

Abdourahamane Tchiani Abdourahamane Tchiani (; born early 1960s) is a Nigerien military officer who has served as the 11th president of Niger since 2025 and the president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, the military junta of Niger, since 2 ...

in a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

. The junta declared a five-year transitional charter in 2025.

Constitution of 25 February 1959

The Constituent Assembly of Niger, a body created from the Territorial Assembly of Niger elected in December 1958, ratified the Constitution of 1959 by a vote of 44 to 8. The Constitution provided a parliamentary system with limited internal self-government within the

French Community The French Community () was the constitutional organization set up in October 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial em ...

. The former Governor of Niger, Don-Jean Colombani, remained the head of state, now titled

High Commissioner of Niger High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

. Powers including defense, foreign affairs, and currency were retained by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. On 12 March 1959 the Constituent Assembly became the Legislative Assembly of Niger, with the head of government,

Hamani Diori Hamani Diori (6 June 1916 – 23 April 1989) was the first President of the Republic of Niger. He was appointed to that office in 1960, when Niger gained independence from France. Although corruption was a common feature of his administration, ...

, retaining the title of President of the Council. Executive powers were vested in the Assembly. The new Assembly was to have 60 deputies elected for 5-year terms. The constitution established elements, such as the

Flag of Niger A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have ...

, the National anthem of Niger and the Coat of Arms of Niger, along with language on the naming of political bodies, rights and powers which have been retained in subsequent texts.

Constitution of 8 November 1960 (First Republic)

The Constitution of 8 November 1960 marks the first fully independent constitutional system of the Republic of Niger: the Nigerien First Republic. With a constitutional revision in 1965, the system remained in place until the

1974 Nigerien coup d'état The 1974 Nigerien coup d'état was a largely bloodless military insurrection which overthrew the first postcolonial government of Niger. The government that followed, while plagued by coup attempts of its own, survived until 1991. Background Th ...

. This constitution was revised on 7 September 1965.

1974 Military Rule

Following the

, a military council governed the nation without recourse to a Constitution until 1989, or a defined civilian element until 1982. The leader of the 1974 coup, General

Seyni Kountché Seyni Kountché (1 July 1931 – 10 November 1987) was a Nigerien military officer who led a 1974 Nigerien coup d'état, 1974 coup d'état that deposed the government of Niger's first Heads of State of Niger, president, Hamani Diori. He ruled th ...

ruled as head of state and President of the Supreme Military Council (CSM), an advisory body which after 1982, contained elements of a Council of Ministers, with an appointed Prime Minister, holding limited powers. A consultative National Council for Development (CND) replaced the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. Political parties were illegal. Following the General's death on 10 November 1987, General Ali Saïbou became President of the CSM and began a series of reforms which led to the Second Republic.

Constitution of September 1989 (Second Republic)

The Constitution of September 1989 established a single political party and a consultative assembly in place of a National Assembly.

Constitution of December 1992 (Third Republic)

The constitution of December 1992 was created over more than a year, following the formation of the civilian National Conference to supersede semi-Military rule. Ratified on 26 December 1992, approved by

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

and enacted 22 January 1993, the Constitution created a dual executive system. The President, as Head of State, was popularly elected to a five-year term, limited to two terms, and named the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister, as Head of Government, was chosen by an 83-person National Assembly, elected by proportional representation. Consequently, by 1994 Niger faced a President who was a political rival of his own Prime Minister. The National Conference also inserted strong constitutional provisions guarding

Human Rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

, a commission meant to guard freedom of the press, and explicitly tasked the Supreme Court with protecting these rights.

Constitution of May 1996 (Fourth Republic)

The constitution of December 1992 was suspended by a military coup led by

Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara (9 May 1949 – 9 April 1999) was a Nigerien military officer and diplomat who ruled Niger from 1996 until his assassination. He seized and lost power in military coups. Baré Maïnassara, a Maouri, a subgro ...

in January 1996. The Constitution of 12 May 1996 was approved by referendum as the ''Fourth Republic''. Following an election disputed nationally and internationally, Maïnassara declared himself winner in the first round of presidential elections. The 1996 constitution was marked by a very strong executive and the ability to rule by decree. When less than three years later Maïnassara was himself killed in the coup of 9 April 1999, the military reappointed

Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki Ibrahim Assane Mayaki (born 24 September 1951) is a Nigerien politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Niger from 27 November 1997 to 1 January 2000. Fourth Republic Under President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, who seized power in a January ...

as prime minister for a transition government and a transitional cabinet consisting of 20 members, most of whom were civilian to create a new constitution. Coup leader and head of the

National Reconciliation Council The National Reconciliation Council () is a North Korean organization whose purpose is to facilitate visits from South Korea to North Korea. Founded on 8 June 1998, its chairman is Kim Yong-dae. The first visit organized by the body was a 2001 v ...

(CRN) Major

Daouda Malam Wanké Daouda Malam Wanké (May 6, 1946 – September 15, 2004) was a military and political leader in Niger. He was a member of the Hausa ethnic group. Wanké's year of birth is disputed. Many sources claim it is 1954 while others suggest 1946. He h ...

quickly announced its intention to promulgate a new constitution and institute a return to civilian rule. The interim government also replaced 7 of Niger's regional military leaders. Wanké announced that he would not run for the presidency and disqualified all military and security personnel, as well as all members of the transitional government from standing for election. Wanké named a 60-member independent national election commission to oversee the establishment of the election roles and the polling. The CRN renounced any form of remuneration during the transition period and moved to reduce by half the salaries of future members of government. A new constitution designed to spread power among the president, prime minister, and legislature was approved by referendum despite an extremely low voter turnout in July 1999.

Constitution of 18 July 1999 (Fifth Republic)

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

's 1999 constitution restores the semi-presidential system of government of the December 1992 constitution (Third Republic) in which the President of the Republic is elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term, and a

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, named by the president, share executive power. As a reflection of Niger's increasing population, the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

was expanded in 2004 to 113 deputies elected for a 5-year term under a majority system of representation. Political parties must attain at least 5% of the vote in order to gain a seat in the legislature.

Constitution of 18 August 2009 (Sixth Republic)

In 2009, President

Mamadou Tandja Mamadou Tandja (1938 – 24 November 2020) was a Nigerien politician who was List of heads of state of Niger, President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD) from 1991 to 1999 ...

organised a constitutional referendum. It offered a Sixth Republic, with a fully

presidential system A presidential, strong-president, or single-executive system (sometimes also congressional system) is a form of government in which a head of government (usually titled " president") heads an executive branch that derives its authority and l ...

, the suspension of the 1999 Constitution and a 3 years interim government with Tandja for president. It was declared illegal by the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

but Tandja dissolved the Court and assumed emergency powers. The opposition boycotted the referendum and the new constitution was adopted with 92.5% of voters and a 68% turnout, according to official results.

Constitution of 2010 (Seventh Republic)

President

was ousted on 18 February 2010 by a

military coup d'état A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

. The junta, called "

Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy The Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy ( French: ''Conseil suprême pour la Restauration de la Démocratie'', or CSRD), led by Salou Djibo, was a military junta that staged a coup in Niger on 18 February 2010, deposing President M ...

" and led by Salou Djibo, organised the transition. On 31 October 2010, a new constitution was adopted by referendum with 90.19% in favor and a 52.02% turnout (official results of 25 November).

2025 transitional charter

On 26 March 2025, a transitional charter replaced the constitution which declared junta leader Abdourahmane Tchiani President of Niger for a period of five years.

References

External links

*
Constitution of Niger

{{Constitutions of Africa Politics of Niger