François Tombalbaye (June 15, 1918 – April 13, 1975), also called N'Garta Tombalbaye from 1973 until his death, was a teacher and a trade union activist who served as the first president of Chad. The head of Chad's colonial government and its ruling party, the Chadian Progressive Party, after 1959, Tombalbaye was appointed the nation's head of government after its independence on August 11, 1960. He ruled as a dictator until his deposition and assassination by members of the Chadian military in 1975.