Simon Achidi Achu

Simon Achidi Achu(5 November 1934 – 4 May 2021) was aCameroonianpoliticianwho served as theprime minister of Cameroonfrom 1992 to 1996. Previously he wasMinister of Justicefrom 1972 to 1975. A leading member of theCameroon People's Democratic Movement(CPDM), Achidi Achu was appointed Chairman of the National Investment Corporation in 2003, and he was elected to theSenate of Cameroonin 2013.
Achidi Achu was born inBamendaand grew up inSanta, located in theNorthwest Provinceof Cameroon. He completed primary education in Santa and then continued to Cameroon Protestant College, where he had his GCE Ordinary Level. Pa Achu later continued to theUniversity of Yaoundé, where he participated in the creation of the Student Association, which still exists. He also served as the association's first president. He continued his studies inMarseille,France.
Achidi Achu was a state magistrate from October 1965 to October 1966.Later, he was appointed Minister Delegate at the State Federal Inspectorate in late October 1971.He was subsequently appointedMinister of Justiceby Cameroonian PresidentAhmadou Ahidjoon 3 July 1972,remaining in that position until 1975.Pa Simon then returned to Santa and started the Rock Farm Ranch as a farmer.
He stayed out of politics for several years, then he was elected as a member of theNational Assembly. PresidentPaul Biyalater appointed him Prime Minister on 9 April 1992,following the March 1992 parliamentary election. He was the firstAnglophonePrime Minister of Cameroon.
On 10 October 1992, the day before the1992 presidential election, Achidi Achu appeared on Cameroon Radio and Television and addressed the people inFrench, his second language. In this address, he accused the opposition, led bySocial Democratic Front(SDF) candidateJohn Fru Ndi, of having a "diabolical plan" (plan diabolique) to prosecute and execute the leading figures of the state, government, and military if it won the election, and he urged the people to reject the opposition in order to avert potential violence and instability.
Following Biya's victory in the 1992 election, Achidi Achu remained Prime Minister until 19 September 1996, when he was replaced byPeter Mafany Musonge.Achidi Achu was later appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Investment Corporation (Société nationale des Investissements) on 3 March 2003.
Achidi Achu was a member of the Central Committee of the ruling CPDM.He was also a member of the National Commission for the coordination of Biya's election campaign in the2004 presidential electionand was the president of the campaign's support and follow up committee in theNorthwest Province.He has also headed the discipline commission of the CPDM.During the campaign for theJuly 2007 parliamentary and municipal elections, Achidi Achu was a member of the CPDM's Central Campaign Committee; he was also President of the CPDM Provincial Campaign Committee in the Northwest Province.
In 2009, Achidi Achu became one of three members of the CPDM North West Section's newly established Council of the Wise, which was intended to formulate strategy and tactics to enable the CPDM to attain dominance in the North West Province, where the oppositionSocial Democratic Front(SDF) has been traditionally dominant.
In the April 2013 Senate election, Achidi Achu was elected to the Senate as the top candidate on the CPDM's list for Northwest Province.When the Bureau of the Senate was elected on 12 June 2013, Achidi Achu received the post of Vice-President of the Senate.
He died on 4 May 2021, at the age of 86, after recovering from an illness in theUnited States.