Abdulsalami Abubakar (13 June 1942-) was Head of State of Nigeria from 9 June 1998 to 29 May 1999, succeeding Sani Abacha and preceding Olusegun Obasanjo.
Biography[]
Abdulsalami Abubakar was born on 13 June 1942 in Minna, Niger State, Nigeria to a Muslim family. He served as a general in the Nigerian Army and led the Nigerian contingent in the United Nations peacekeeping force to Lebanon in the 1980s, and in 1998 General Abubakar was nominated as the new President of Nigeria after dictator Sani Abacha died of poisoning. Abubakar promised to restore democracy, and he kept his promise; in 1999, he handed over power to democratically-elected Olusegun Obasanjo, and he received multiple honors.