| Mohamed Ben Omar | |
| Office: | Minister of Employment, Labor and Social Protection |
| Term Start: | 27 April 2017 |
| Term End: | 3 May 2020 |
| Successor: | TBD |
| Primeminister: | Brigi Rafini |
| President: | Mahamadou Issoufou |
| Office2: | Minister of Higher Education |
| Term Start2: | 15 April 2016 |
| Term End2: | April 2017 |
| Predecessor2: | Asmane Abdou |
| Successor2: | ? |
| Primeminister2: | Brigi Rafini |
| President2: | Mahamadou Issoufou |
| Office3: | Fourth Vice-President of the National Assembly of the 6th Republic |
| Term Start3: | March 2011 |
| Term End3: | April 2016 |
| Office4: | Fourth Vice-President of the National Assembly of the 4th Republic |
| Term Start4: | 14 November 2009 |
| Term End4: | 18 February 2010 |
| Office5: | Minister of Communications |
| Term Start5: | 2007 |
| Term End5: | 2009 |
| Primeminister5: | Seyni Oumarou |
| President5: | Mamadou Tandja |
| Birth Date: | 1965 1, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Tesker, Niger |
| Death Place: | Niamey, Niger |
| Party: | Nigerien Social Democratic Party (2015–2020) Rally for Democracy and Progress (before 2015) |
| Profession: | Teacher Politician |
Mohamed Ben Omar (1 January 1965 – 3 May 2020) was a Nigerien educator and politician. Omar served as a government minister in several cabinets, most recently as Minister of Employment, Labor and Social Protection from April 2017 until his death on 3 May 2020. Omar also founded the Nigerien Social Democratic Party (PSD) in 2015.[1]
Mohamed Ben Omar was born on 1 January 1965 in Tesker, Niger, located in the country's Zinder Region.[1] [2]
From 2000 to 2004, Omar was a professor of geography at the Lycée Franco-arabe LFA de Niamey.
From 2004 to 2007, he was a minister who was responsible for relations among higher-learning institutions. He served as Niger's Minister of Communication from 2007 to 2009, and was simultaneously a spokesperson for the government.[3] Omar supported a constitutional amendment to let then-President Mamadou Tandja extend his second term in office by three years, but Tandja was overthrown by the military in February 2010 during the 2010 Nigerien coup d'état.[2]
From 14 November 2009 to 18 February 2010, Omar was the Fourth Vice-President of the National Assembly of the 6th Republic. From March 2011 to April 2016, he was Fourth Vice-President of the National Assembly of the 7th Republic.[4]
From April 15, 2016, to April 2017, Omar served as Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.[5] [6] Most recently, Omar served as Minister of Employment, Labor and Social Protection from 27 April 2017 until his death on 3 May 2020.[7]
Additionally, Mohamed Ben Omar served President of the Nigerien Social Democratic Party (PSD), which he founded in 2015.[1] [2] Omar allied the PSD with President Mahamadou Issoufou's Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism party.[2] Prior to establishing the PDS, Omar was a member of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP).[2] [1]
Omar died on 3 May 2020 at National Hospital in Niamey at the age of 55.[2] [8] On 5 May 2020, Télé Sahel, the national television broadcaster of Niger, announced that Mohamed Ben Omar had died as a result of COVID-19.[1] [2] [9] His Social Democratic Party (PSD) also confirmed that Omar suffered from COVID-19 via WhatsApp.[1] [2] Omar was buried in a cemetery in Niamey.
Omar died shortly after the death of another prominent Nigerien politician from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Niger, Mahamane Jean Padonou, a 2016 presidential candidate who became a special advisor to President Mahamadou Issoufou.[10]