Saturday, June 28, 2025-HAN
Djibouti, Jun 27 (Prensa Latina) Workneh Gebeyehu, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), saluted the people and government of Djibouti on its Independence Day.
Gebeyehu wrote on his X profile, “On this Independence Day, I salute the people and government of Djibouti, a founding IGAD member, our gracious host, and a steadfast champion of peace and diplomacy in the region. Their resilience and leadership continue to shape a stronger and more united IGAD region.”
Djibouti was under French colonial control from 1888. In 1946, it became an overseas territory within the French Union, with its legislature and representation in the French parliament, known as French Somaliland.
It was subsequently renamed the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas until 1967. In 1958, as Somalia’s independence approached, a referendum was held to decide whether the territory should remain with France or join Somalia. The result was a vote in favor of the remaining part of Paris.
A second referendum in 1967 showed similar results, but on May 8, 1977, in a third similar process, 98.8 percent of voters chose independence from France.
On June 27 of that year, Djibouti became the last of France’s African colonies to gain independence, and Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who played a leading role in the Yes campaign in the 1958 referendum, became its first president.
