Mahamadou Issoufou (born 1 January 1951) is a Nigerien politician who has been the President of Niger since 7 April 2011. Issoufou was the Prime Minister of Niger from 1993 to 1994, President of the National Assembly from February 1995 to 27 January 1996, and he has been a candidate in each presidential election since 1993. He led the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS-Tarayya), a social democratic party, from its foundation in 1990 until his election as President of Niger in 2011. During the Presidency of Mamadou Tandja (1999–2010), Issoufou was the main opposition leader.