Early activities and FRODEBU In the 1970s Ntibantunganya was a member of the Movement of Progressive Barundi Students (Mouvement des Etudiants Progressistes Barundi). He cofounded the
Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi (FRODEBU) in 1986 and for a time edited its official newspaper, ''L'Aube de la Démocratie'' (), and in 1993 served on the party's central committee.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the National Assembly In Burundi's
legislative elections held on 29 June 1993, Ntibantunganya was elected to a seat in the
National Assembly representing Gitega. President Ndadaye was ultimately killed in the coup, as were the other officials in the presidential line of succession. Ntibantunganya later recalled the night of the coup as his saddest memory.
President of Burundi On 6 April 1994 President Ntaryamira was traveling on a Rwandan plane with
Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana. The aircraft was
shot down by unknown assailants over Kigali, killing all aboard. The shootdown triggered the
Rwandan genocide. Following the crash, Ntibantunganya made a broadcast on Burundi television, flanked by the minister of defence and the army chief of staff, appealing for calm. He attributed Ntaryamira's death to "the facts of circumstance" and believed that he was not the target of the assassination. In accordance with the constitution Ntibantunganya, as President of the National Assembly, became the interim President of Burundi. Prime Minister
Anatole Kanyenkiko and his government officially resigned but
stayed in power pending the confirmation of a new executive. Ntibantunganya and Kanyenkiko enjoyed a good working relationship. Faced with the spillover of the
Rwandan Civil War, Ntibantunganya's government pursued a strict policy of neutrality, denying officials of the former Habyarimana regime residency in Bujumbura and refusing to allow French troops to use Burundi as a staging area for
Opération Turquoise. In May Ntibantunganya met with RPF leader
Pasteur Bizimungu. The genocide created a refugee crisis; an estimated 300,000 Rwandans ultimately fled to Burundi, while approximately 180,000 Burundian exiles who had fled to Rwanda in October 1993 also returned. With international assistance, Ntibantunganya's government opened new refugee camps to house them. Over the course of 1994 the political and security situation in Burundi continued to deteriorate. Moderates in both UPRONA and FRODEBU were marginalised as radicals gained increasing influence and ethnic violence permeated the countryside. By the middle of the year Ntibantunganya was the only original member of the FRODEBU central committee still actively engaged with the party and the civil political process, with the others having been killed or having fled into exile. Later that month, UPRONA extremists—displeased with the coalition government—forced out Prime Minister Kanyenkiko and replaced him with
Antoine Nduwayo. Nduwayo actively undermined the president's policies. In 1995 Ntibantunganya married his second wife, Pascasie Minani. In the summer of 1995 the Burundian Army purchased heavy weapons from China. Fearful of the implications of their arrival, Ntibantunganya quietly persuaded the Tanzanian government to delay the shipment on its soil. Under pressure from UN and domestically, Ntibantunganya was forced to let the arms be delivered. At the behest of Tutsi extremists he also convinced the National Assembly to grant the army and gendarmerie emergency powers to restrict freedom of movement and speech. With the civil war worsening and ethnic violence increasing, on 25 June 1996 Ntibantunganya participated in regional security talks in
Mwanza, Tanzania. As a consequence of the meeting, the president and Nduwayo both agreed to appeal for "international military assistance". The Burundian Army feared this would mean its usurpation by foreign intervention, and UPRONA immediately denounced the proposal. Nduwayo then accused Ntibantunganya of subverting the military, and joined the thousands of others in the capital in marching against an intervention. On 20 July 300 Tutsis at a displaced persons camp were massacred, presumably by Hutu rebels. When Ntibantunganya attempted to attend a funeral for them three days later the crowd of mourners attacked him with stones, forcing him to evacuate via helicopter. Ntibantunganya then obtained intelligence which suggested his life was threatened. He refused to resign but asked for refuge at the United States Ambassador's residence, which was granted. On 25 July he went to the residence, while Nduwayo announced his government's resignation. Major
Pierre Buyoya subsequently took power in
a military coup. He announced the suspension of the constitution, the dissolution of the National Assembly, and the banning of political parties, but declared that he would guarantee Ntibantunganya's safety. Ntibantunganya later entered negotiations with Buyoya, who agreed to provide him with a home in the Bujumbura suburb of Kiriri. He left the United States Embassy on 8 June 1997, saying, "I reaffirm that I shall not yield on the principle for a search for a negotiated solution for all problems that face our country." == Later life ==