Hamadou Moustapha

Hamadou Moustapha (born 11 May 1945 ) is a Cameroonian politician, currently serving as Minister in Charge of Special Duties at the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon. He served in the government from 1975 to 1983, again from 1992 to 1997, and he has held his current position at the Presidency since December 2004. Additionally, Moustapha is the National President of the National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), a small party that supports President Paul Biya.

Political career Moustapha was born in Maroua, located in the Diamaré Division of the Far North Province. He was the First Deputy Prefect of Yagoua from 1971 to 1972

When multiparty politics was introduced in 1990, Moustapha was a founding member of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP), an opposition party, and he became that party's National Vice-President. After Paul Biya won the October 1992 presidential election, he appointed Moustapha to the government as Deputy Prime Minister for Urban Planning and Housing on 27 November 1992. This appointment, which Moustapha accepted, was made without the approval of the UNDP's leadership and was denounced by UNDP President Maigari Bello Bouba, but Moustapha was not expelled from the party at that time.

After Moustapha and Issa Tchiroma again accepted positions in the government as part of a July 1994 cabinet reshuffle, Bello Bouba said on 23 July 1994 that this would mean the end of their membership in the UNDP. Subsequently, while visiting Maroua on 30 July 1994, Moustapha's car was attacked at the Makabaye bridge by people throwing stones at it. As a result, the car went off the road, with one person being killed and a number of others being injured. 28 UNDP members were arrested for the attack. The UNDP denied responsibility and blamed the government for the attack, saying that it was used as a pretext for a crackdown on the UNDP.

Following their expulsion, Moustapha and Tchiroma established their own "authentic" faction of the UNDP, rejecting Bello Bouba's leadership. This faction then became the National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), a new party featuring a slight alteration of the UNDP's name, Moustapha became the ANDP's National President. Moustapha remained in his post as Deputy Prime Minister until December 1997, when he was dismissed from the government by Biya. He also joined other northern politicians in signing a September 2002 memo decrying the government's alleged marginalization and neglect of the north and urging that more attention be paid to addressing the north's problems.

The ANDP Executive Bureau met on 18 September 2004 and decided to support Paul Biya's candidacy in the October 2004 presidential election. Speaking on this occasion, Moustapha said that Biya "incarnates national cohesion and stability" and "is the architect of the peace, stability and economic growth we are enjoying in Cameroon".

At the Second Ordinary Congress of the ANDP in July 2008, Moustapha was re-elected as President of the ANDP for another four years.