Governments-in -exile: What do you know about them?

HAKIZIMANA Maurice

More and more governments in exile are being born around the world. You have probably heard of the Luxembourg government in exile, the “Gabonese government in exile”, the Malian government in exile, the Rwandan government in exile, the “Serbian government in exile“, the “Burmese government in exile“, the “gouvernement tibétain en exil ” and so on. But what exactly is “a government in exile”? This is what I explain in this story.

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(1) What is a government-in-exile?

A government-in-exile is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a country, but for various reasons is unable to exercise its power and resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile are usually established with the aim of regaining power in the country they claim to be.

 Initially, a government-in-exile is formed by the legal government that has fled, or part of it. However, if the situation is prolonged, it can be renewed by elections — this is the case, for example, of the Tibetan government in exile.

A government-in-exile may not be recognized by other states. Its importance is measured mainly by the support it enjoys from its nationals or foreign states. While some will have a purely symbolic role, others are able to federate expatriate communities, organize political events and influence states and public opinion.

(2) Governments-in-exile in contemporary history

  1. The “Chinese government in exile” becomes an independent state-The Republic of China: In 1949, Mr. Chiang Kai-shek retreated to the island of Taiwan after his defeat by the communists in the Chinese Civil War. Still aiming to reconquer mainland China, he has formed a “government-in-exile” recognized by many countries as legitimate, a member of the United Nations Security Council. Since 1971, the Republic of China (Taiwan) has seen itself less and less as a government in exile and more as that of an independent country.
  2. The “Polish Government in Exile”, officially named the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile, is a Polish government which, together with the President of the Republic of Poland, after the 1939 campaign, established itself first in Angers in France, then, after the defeat of the France in June 1940, in London in the United Kingdom, to continue, in the name of the Polish people, the fight against the aggressor. This government was dissolved on 22 December 1990.
  3. The “Saharawi Arab Government in Exile” becomes an independent state-The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic: In 1976 it was founded by the Polisario Front following Spain’s withdrawal from Western Sahara. This government in “exile” is run from the Tindouf refugee camp in Algeria, where a significant part of the Saharawi people live. It is recognized by about fifty countries in the world, as well as by the African Union.
  4. The “Iranian Government in Exile” (The Iranian National Council): Founded in 2003 by the Coalition of political parties gathered around the figure of Reza Pahlavi, heir to the throne of Iran.
  5. The “Afghan Government in Exile” (The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan): Created in 2021. It is a government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, ousted from power on August 15, 2021 by the Taliban who proclaimed the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan; Amrullah Saleh, Ashraf Ghani’s resigned vice-president, proclaimed himself president of the Republic.
  6. The “Russian Government in Exile” (Congress of Russian People’s Deputies): Created in 2022 in Poland, bringing together various Russian dissidents, this government-in-exile aims to draft a new constitution and serve as a transitional parliament until a change of regime in Russia.
  7. The “Malian government in exile”: A civilian transitional government in exile for Mali was announced on May 25, 2024 by the “Panel of Malian Democrats”, which brings together Malian opposition figures who have fled Mali and who contest the legitimacy of the current transitional government. This Panel also formed a “Citizens’ Assembly”, based in Switzerland. 
  8. The “Rwandan government in exile”: Its founder, Abbé Thomas Nahimana, leader of a Rwandan opposition party based abroad, says that after being twice prevented from returning to Rwanda to contest the August 2017 presidential elections, he decided to create a Rwandan government-in-exile headquartered in France. Even though Abbé Nahimana has repeatedly called on the international community to recognize his government, no sovereign state has recognized it to date.
  9. The “Belarusian Government-in-Exile” (the Rada (Council) of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, founded in 1919, is the oldest government-in-exile. The Rada condemns the so-called “truncated” results of the presidential election in Belarus on 9 August 2020 and strongly supports the demonstrations against President Lukashenko.
  10. The “Tibetan government in exile”: Created on April 28, 1959, it is based in India. His mission is to take care of Tibetan refugees and to “restore freedom to Tibet”. To date, no country has officially recognized the Tibetan government in exile, including India, even though the latter had taken the decision to recognize the Tibetan government in exile in 1966. India, which in 1959 granted asylum to the 14th Dalai Lama, members of its government and thousands of Tibetan refugees, quickly granted the government facilities to take care of Tibetan refugees.The Indian government gave Tibetans a large degree of autonomy in the conduct of their internal affairs, allowing the Tibetan government-in-exile to manage social programs, voluntary taxation, schools, employment opportunities, and other aspects. This Tibetan government-in-exile has managed to send foreign representations, known as the Tibet Bureau, to 11 countries, operating as official agencies in New Delhi, Kathmandu, Geneva, New York, Tokyo, London, Moscow, Brussels, Canberra, Pretoria and Taipei.

Ivonka Survilla, President of the Belarusian Government-in-Exile.

 Penpa Tsering, the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamsala, India.

Padiri Thomas Nahimana, the president of the Rwandan government in exile, installed in France.

Cheick Mohamed Chérif Koné, the head of the “Malian government in exile” created on May 25, 2024

The youngest government-in-exile is the two-day-old Malian government-in-exile (created on May 25, 2024) and the oldest of all is the 105-year-old “Belarusian government-in-exile”, founded in 1919. The most active is the “Tibetan government-in-exile”.

This world,

HAKIZIMANA Maurice: II To follow my Whatsapp https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCyM5ILdQejDYwQ2b2u II To follow my facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/professormaurice/

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