Chad Foreign Minister Replaced by Former Intelligence Chief Ahmat Kogri
Chad · Politics
Key Facts
- —What happened A decree signed on 21 September 2026 named General Ahmat Kogri as Chad’s foreign minister, replacing Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul.
- —Who he is A former head of ANSE, Chad’s state security and intelligence agency, and a presidential adviser on foreign affairs since July 2025.
- —His full title Minister of state, minister of foreign affairs, African integration and Chadians abroad, under decree No. 2201.
- —The catch The decree gives no reason for Fadoul’s removal, Tchadinfos reported.
- —The back story Fadoul told senators in June that diplomats’ living and pay conditions would change only when the budget law outweighed the finance minister.
- —Why it matters A security insider takes over diplomacy as Chad rebuilds ties with France after ending their defence pact in 2024.
President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno has handed his country’s diplomacy to a long-time security insider. The outgoing minister had openly criticised the finance minister in June.
Chad’s foreign minister has been replaced by a former intelligence chief. A decree signed on Monday 21 September 2026 put General Ahmat Kogri in charge of diplomacy, succeeding Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul.
Chad is a landlocked Sahel country bordering Sudan, Libya, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic. Its president, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, appoints ministers by decree.
The change moves one of the president’s closest security aides into the most visible job in foreign policy. It also removes a minister who had publicly questioned how the government pays its diplomats.
What the decree says
Decree No. 2201 was signed by the head of state, the Chadian news site Tchadinfos reported on Monday afternoon. It names Kogri minister of state, minister of foreign affairs, African integration and Chadians abroad.
Minister of state is a senior rank in Chad’s cabinet. Fadoul held the same title, according to Tchadinfos.
“The decree gives no reason for his dismissal,” Tchadinfos wrote of Fadoul. Alwihda Info, another Chadian news site, also reported the appointment, dated 21 September.
Who Ahmat Kogri is
Kogri has spent most of the past decade at the top of Chad’s security apparatus. He was appointed in July 2017 to run the National Security Agency, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.
That service, Chad’s intelligence agency, was later renamed the National Agency for State Security, known by its French initials ANSE. Alwihda Info describes it as the country’s secret service.
In 2023 he was raised to général d’armée, one of the highest ranks in Chad’s army, Tchadinfos reported. In February 2024 decree 0129 also made him minister and private secretary to Déby, then transitional president.
On 14 July 2025, decree No. 1421/PR/2025 named him the presidency’s adviser for African and international affairs, Alwihda Info reported. He replaced Abdelkerim Idriss Déby in that post.
He has now moved from advising the president on foreign affairs to running them.
A minister who spoke out
Fadoul had held the job for about 19 months. He was appointed on 6 February 2025 in Prime Minister Allamaye Halina’s second government, replacing Abderaman Koulamallah.
He is a veteran of Chadian cabinets, with earlier spells as minister of justice, finance and health. He also briefly headed Déby’s office at the presidency in 2022.
On 15 June 2026 he faced the Senate, the upper house of parliament, over the poor conditions of Chadian diplomats posted abroad. Senator Mariam Ahmat Djemil had called the session, Tchadinfos reported.
His answer was blunt. Conditions would begin to change “the day the finance law has more force than the finance minister,” he told senators.
The finance law is the annual budget voted by parliament. Fadoul declined to go into detail, citing government solidarity.
Jeune Afrique, the Paris-based news magazine, read the remark as open criticism of Finance Minister Tahir Hamid Nguilin. It wrote on 19 June 2026 that Fadoul implied budget choices made at the top were not being applied.
The magazine added that a crisis was brewing inside the government.
On Monday Tchadinfos asked whether Fadoul was paying for that outburst. The decree itself is silent on motives, and no authority has accused either minister of wrongdoing.
How Fadoul took the news
Fadoul responded on social media, Alwihda Info reported. “Praise be to Allah for all his blessings, down to the last one,” he wrote.
He thanked the head of state and wished his successor well. The change, he wrote, was “the best decision that could have happened for our diplomacy.”
It was also the right call “for the President and for the country,” he added.
What it means for the Chad foreign minister’s agenda
Kogri inherits a difficult neighbourhood. Several of Chad’s six neighbours are struggling with armed conflict or insurgency, starting with Sudan to the east.
Relations with France have also been redrawn. On 28 November 2024 Chad announced the end of its defence cooperation agreement with its former colonial ruler.
The foreign ministry said the move would let Chad redefine its strategic partnerships, Voice of America reported.
France handed over its last base in the country, Adji Kossei in the capital N’Djamena, on 30 January 2025, according to Africanews.
Since then the two governments have moved closer again. On 29 January 2026 French President Emmanuel Macron and Déby met at the Élysée Palace in Paris.
Their joint communiqué announced the ambition of a “revitalised partnership,” built on mutual respect and shared interests, particularly economic ones.
On 12 May 2026 Macron went further in an interview with France 24 and RFI. Déby, he said, had himself asked to rebuild a defence relationship with France.
“Ask Mr Déby,” Macron said, as quoted by Alwihda Info. Kogri will now handle that rapprochement from the foreign ministry.
One unfinished task is a conference of Chad’s ambassadors. Fadoul told senators in June that he planned to hold one before the end of 2026, the first since 2019.
Whether Kogri keeps that plan will be an early signal. So will his first trips abroad, and whether his security background reshapes the ministry’s priorities.
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Who is Chad’s new foreign minister?
General Ahmat Kogri, a former director general of the National Agency for State Security (ANSE), Chad’s intelligence service. He was named by decree No. 2201, signed on 21 September 2026. Since July 2025 he had been the presidency’s adviser for African and international affairs.
Why was Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul replaced?
The decree gives no reason for Fadoul’s removal, Tchadinfos reported. In June 2026 Fadoul told senators that diplomats’ living and pay conditions would begin to change only when the budget law carried more weight than the finance minister. Tchadinfos has asked whether the two are linked.
What is the exact title of the new post?
In French it is “ministre d’État, ministre des Affaires étrangères, de l’Intégration africaine et des Tchadiens de l’étranger.” In English that is minister of state, minister of foreign affairs, African integration and Chadians abroad.
What is ANSE?
The Agence nationale de sécurité de l’État is Chad’s state security and intelligence service. It was formerly called the National Security Agency, or ANS. Kogri was appointed to run it in July 2017.
Sources: Tchadinfos on decree No. 2201, Alwihda Info on the appointment and Fadoul’s reaction, Alwihda Info on the July 2025 adviser decree, Xinhua on the February 2024 appointment, Tchadinfos on decree 0129 of February 2024, Tchadinfos on the Senate session of 15 June 2026, Jeune Afrique on the dispute with the finance minister, Wikipédia on Fadoul’s career, VOA on the end of the defence pact with France, Africanews on the handover of the last French base, Élysée joint communiqué of 29 January 2026, Alwihda Info on Macron’s France 24 and RFI interview
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