Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who was the President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 2007. He served previously as the governor of Katsina state from 1999 to 2007; and was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In 2009, Yar'Adua left for Saudi Arabia to receive treatment for pericarditis. He returned to Nigeria on 24 February 2010, but died on 5 May. Early life Family Yar'adua was born in Katsina state, Nigeria. His father, Musa Yar'Adua, was a Minister for Lagos in the First Republic and held the chieftaincy title of Matawalle (custodian of the royal treasury) of the Katsina Emirate, a title which Yar'Adua inherited. His paternal grandfather, Malam Umaru, had also held the title of Matawallen Katsina, while his paternal grandmother, Binta, a Fulani from the Sullubawa clan, was a princess of the Katsina Emirate and a sister of Emir Muhammadu Dikko. Alhaji Umaru Yar'Adua married Turai Umaru Yar'Adua of Katsina state in 1975; they had seven children (five daughters and two sons) and several grandchildren. Their daughter, Zainab, is married to the former Kebbi state governor, Usman Saidu Nasamu Dakingari. Another daughter of Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and Turai, Nafisa, is married to Isa Yuguda, a former Governor of Bauchi state. Her sister Maryam is married to Ibrahim Shema, the former Governor of Katsina state. Yar'Adua was also married to Hauwa Umar Radda from 1992 to 1997, and they had two children. Education He started his education at Rafukka Primary School in 1958, and moved to Dutsinma Boarding Primary School in 1962. He attended the Government College at Keffi from 1965 until 1969. In 1971 he received a Higher School Certificate from Barewa College. He attended Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria from 1972 to 1975, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Education and Chemistry, and then returned in 1978 to pursue a master's degree in Analytical Chemistry. Pre–presidency Yar'Adua's first employment was at Holy Child College in Lagos (1975–76). He later served as a lecturer at the College of Arts, Science, and Technology in Zaria, Kaduna state, between 1976 and 1979. In 1979, he began working as a lecturer at College of Art Science, remaining in this position until 1983, when he began working in the