Azali Assoumani (Arabic: غزالي عثماني; born 1 January 1959) is a Comorian politician and military officer who has served as the President of the Comoros from 2002 to 2006 and again since 2016, except for a brief period in 2019.

[3][4] Born in 1959 in Mitsoudjé,[5] French Comoros, Assoumani trained at the Meknes Royal Military Academy in Morocco and the École de Guerre in Paris.

His troops justified the coup on the basis of protecting territorial integrity after Massounde had begun negotiations with representatives of the island of Anjouan for greater autonomy or independence.

This was despite the fact that an international conference in Antananarivo had resulted in a settlement on the matter between the three islands of the Comoros, although the government of Anjouan had delayed ratifying the agreement.

[8][9] The constitution established a rotating presidency and granted considerable autonomy to the Comorian islands, each of which gained its own basic law, flag and executive branch of government.

Assoumani's presidency was marked by conflicts over jurisdiction and political gridlock due to his refusal to devolve power to the autonomous regions of the Comoros, as mandated by the constitution.

[20] On 7 August 2024, Assoumani granted extensive powers to his son and presumed successor Nour El Fath, allowing him to intervene at several stages of the government decision-making process.