# Juvénal Habyarimana

_2nd President of Rwanda (1937–1994)_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/juvenal-habyarimana
Last updated: 2026-11-01

> Juvénal Habyarimana (Kinyarwanda: [hɑβɟɑːɾímɑ̂ːnɑ]; French: [ʒyvenal abjaʁimana]; 8 March 1937 – 6 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military dictator who was the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until his assassination in 1994.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 8 March 1937 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272580#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Gisenyi Province ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272580#P19))
- **Died:** 6 April 1994 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272580#P570))
- **Place of death:** Kigali ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272580#P20))
- **Citizenship:** Rwanda ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272580#P27))
- **Occupation:** politician ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272580#P106))
- **Political party:** National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272580#P102))
- **Education:** Lovanium University ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272580#P69))
- **Spouse:** Agathe Habyarimana ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272580#P26))
- **Positions held:** President of Rwanda (5 July 1973 – 6 April 1994); Minister of Defence (1965–1991) ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272580#P39))
- **Awards:** Order of the National Flag ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272580#P166))

## About

An ethnic Hutu, Habyarimana served in several security positions in the First Rwandese republic including minister of defense under Rwanda's second president, Grégoire Kayibanda. After overthrowing Kayibanda in a coup in 1973, he became the country's new president of the Second Rwandese Republic. Habyarimana later continued his predecessor's pro-Hutu policies. He was nicknamed Kinani, a Kinyarwanda word meaning "invincible".

Habyarimana led an authoritarian government, and electoral fraud was suspected for his unopposed re-elections:  98.99% of the vote on 24 December 1978, 99.97% of the vote on 19 December 1983, and 99.98% of the vote on 19 December 1988. During his rule, Rwanda became a totalitarian, one-party state in which his MRND-party enforcers required people to chant and dance in adulation of the president at mass pageants of political "animation". While the country as a whole had become slightly less impoverished during Habyarimana's tenure, the great majority of Rwandans remained in circumstances of extreme poverty.

In 1990, the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) launched the Rwandan Civil War against his government. After three years of war, Habyarimana signed the Arusha Accords in 1993 with the RPF as a peace agreement. The following year, he died under mysterious circumstances when his plane, also carrying the President of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira, was shot down by a missile near Kigali. His assassination ignited ethnic tensions in the region and helped spark the Rwandan genocide.

## Questions

**When was Juvénal Habyarimana born?**  
Juvénal Habyarimana was born on 8 March 1937 in Gisenyi Province.

**What positions has Juvénal Habyarimana held?**  
Positions held by Juvénal Habyarimana include: President of Rwanda (1973–1994); Minister of Defence (1965–1991).

**Where did Juvénal Habyarimana study?**  
Juvénal Habyarimana was educated at Lovanium University.

## Related

- [Pasteur Bizimungu](https://diginpl.com/people/pasteur-bizimungu)
- [Grégoire Kayibanda](https://diginpl.com/people/gregoire-kayibanda)
- [Paul Kagame](https://diginpl.com/people/paul-kagame)
- [Théodore Sindikubwabo](https://diginpl.com/people/theodore-sindikubwabo)
- [Dominique Mbonyumutwa](https://diginpl.com/people/dominique-mbonyumutwa)
- [Jean-Paul Akayesu](https://diginpl.com/people/jean-paul-akayesu)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Juvénal Habyarimana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juv%C3%A9nal_Habyarimana) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q272580](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272580) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Juvénal Habyarimana (1980).jpg by DF-SC-83-02204.jpg : Templeton derivative work: César ( talk ) (Public domain)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Juv%C3%A9nal_Habyarimana_(1980).jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Juvénal Habyarimana, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Juvénal Habyarimana (1980).jpg — DF-SC-83-02204.jpg : Templeton derivative work: César ( talk ), Public domain.

## Cite this page

"Juvénal Habyarimana". DigiNepal. Last updated 1 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/juvenal-habyarimana. Retrieved 8 November 2026.