Yahya Jammeh is a former politician who served as the President of The Gambia from 1994 to 2017. He came to power through a military coup and ruled the country for over two decades. His presidency was marked by allegations of human rights abuses, suppression of dissent, and a lack of press freedom. In December 2016, Jammeh lost the presidential election to Adama Barrow but initially refused to step down, leading to a political crisis. Eventually, he left The Gambia in January 2017 after regional pressure and military intervention from ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States.