Chairperson of the African Union | |
---|---|
Style | Excellency |
Abbreviation | CPAU |
Appointer | the Assembly |
Term length | One year |
Constituting instrument | Constitutive Act of the AU (article 6) |
Precursor | Chairperson of the OAU |
Formation | 9 July 2002 |
First holder | Thabo Mbeki |
Deputy | Bureau |
Website | au |
The Chairperson of the African Union is the ceremonial head of the African Union (AU) elected by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government for a one-year term. [1] It rotates among the continent's five regions.
A candidate must be selected by consensus or at least two-thirds majority vote by member states. The chairperson is expected to complete the term without interruption; hence countries with impending elections may be ineligible. [2]
The current Chairperson is Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani. Angola is seeking the post in 2025. [3]
In 2002, South African President Thabo Mbeki served as the inaugural chairman of the union. The post rotates annually amongst the five geographic regions of Africa; and over the years it has assumed the following order: East, North, Southern, Central and West Africa.
In January 2007, the assembly elected Ghanaian President John Kufuor over Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir due to the ongoing conflict in Darfur. [2] [4] Amnesty International said it would undermine African Union's credibility and Chad threatened to withdraw its membership. Western governments also lobbied against Sudan and suggested Tanzania as a compromise candidate from the East African region. By consensus, Ghana was elected instead as it was celebrating its 50th independence anniversary that year. [5]
In January 2010, Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi unsuccessfully tried to extend his tenure by an additional year, [6] saying more time was needed in order to implement his vision for a United States of Africa - of which he was a strong proponent. Libya was at the time one of the largest financial supporters of the AU. Malawi was chosen instead. [7]
The election of Equatoguinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in January 2011 was criticized by human rights activists as it undermined the AU's commitment to democracy. [8]
Congolese Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe have both led the AU and its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity during the terms 1986–88 and 2006–07, and 1997–98 and 2015–16 respectively. [9] [10]
In 2023, both Kenya and Comoros were vying for the position. [11] Comorian President Azali Assoumani thanked Kenyan President William Ruto for his country's withdrawal. [12] In 2024, Both Algeria and Morocco were interested in the position in 2024. [13] Mauritania was elected instead.
The incumbent chairs the biannual summit meetings of the assembly and represents the continent in various international fora such as G7, TICAD, FOCAC and G20 summits. [1]
They also assist in resolving crises on the continent as an elder statesman. It has been suggested that liaison offices be established to prevent friction between the incumbent and the Commission Chairperson at the headquarters in Addis Ababa. [14]
In 2008, following Kenya's post-election crisis, AU Chairman Jakaya Kikwete was instrumental in facilitating the opposing sides to agree to a Government of National Unity. [15] Kikwete also backed the invasion of Anjouan by sending an AU Force to assist the Comoros federal government to remove renegade leader Mohamed Bacar.
The Chairperson is assisted by a bureau of four vice chairpersons including a rapporteur. [37]
Portrait | Incumbent | Country | Region | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
João Lourenço | Angola | Southern Africa | First Vice Chairperson | |
Congo[ clarification needed ] | Central Africa | Second Vice Chairperson | ||
Nana Akufo-Addo | Ghana | West Africa | Third Vice Chairperson | |
Azali Assoumani | Comoros | East Africa | Fourth Vice Chairperson (Rapporteur) |
The Union of the Comoros consists of the three islands Njazidja, Mwali (Moheli) and Nzwani (Anjouan) while the island of Mayotte remains under French administration. The Politics of the Union of the Comoros take place in a framework of a unitary presidential republic, whereby the President of the Comoros is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The precolonial legacies of the sultanates linger while the political situation in Comoros has been extremely fluid since the country's independence in 1975, subject to the volatility of coups and political insurrection.
Addis Ababa is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. In the 2007 census, the city's population was estimated to be 2,739,551 inhabitants. Addis Ababa is a highly developed and important cultural, artistic, financial and administrative centre of Ethiopia. It also serves as the capital of the Oromia Region.
Azali Assoumani is a Comorian politician and military officer who has served as President of the Comoros from 2002 to 2006 and again since 2016, except for a brief period in 2019. He became head of state after staging a coup d'état in 1999 and was elected president in 2002, 2016, 2019 and 2024. He also served as Chairperson of the African Union February 2023 to February 2024.
John Agyekum Kufuor is a Ghanaian politician who served as the President of Ghana from 7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009. He also became the Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008 and his victory over John Evans Atta Mills at the end of Jerry Rawlings' second term marked the first transition of power in Ghana from a democratic government to another democratic government.
Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete is a Tanzanian politician who was the fourth president of Tanzania, in office from 2005 to 2015.
The current flag of the African Union was adopted at its 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, which took place in Addis Ababa on 31 January 2010.
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission is the head of the African Union Commission.
The United States of Africa is a concept of a federation of some or all of the 54 sovereign states and two disputed states on the continent of Africa. The concept takes its origin from Marcus Garvey's 1924 poem "Hail, United States of Africa".
Bernard Kamilius Membe was a Tanzanian politician. He served as a Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tanzania from 2007 to 2015. He also served as a Member of Parliament for Mtama constituency from 2000 to 2015.
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The bloc was founded on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and launched on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa. The intention of the AU was to replace the Organization of African Unity (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments; the OAU was disbanded on 9 July 2002. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states.
Ali Abdussalam Treki was a Libyan diplomat in Muammar Gaddafi's regime. Treki served as one of Libya's top diplomats beginning in the 1970s and ending with the 2011 Libyan Civil War. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1976 to 1982 and again from 1984 to 1986, and he was later the permanent representative to the United Nations on several occasions. He was the president of the United Nations General Assembly from September 2009 to September 2010.
The India–Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) is the official platform for the African-Indian relations. IAFS will be held once in every three years. It was first held from April 4 to April 8, 2008 in New Delhi, India. It was the first such meeting between the heads of state and government of India and 14 countries of Africa chosen by the African Union. Libya and Egypt's heads of state did not attend.
The African Union Conference Center and Office Complex (AUCC) is a building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the headquarters of the African Union and plays host to the biannual AU summits. It also serves as a conference center for African and diaspora businesses. The main building is 99.9 m (328 ft) tall and it is the second tallest building in Addis Ababa. Its cost was US$200 million, and it was mainly funded by the Chinese government.
The Chama Cha Mapinduzi is the dominant ruling party in Tanzania and the second longest-ruling party in Africa, only after the True Whig Party of Liberia. It was formed in 1977, following the merger of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) and the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), which were the sole operating parties in mainland Tanzania and the semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar, respectively.
Hakim Ben Hammouda is a Tunisian economist and was appointed the interim Finance Minister of Tunisia by the Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa. He has previously worked with the African Development Bank.
Amani Abou-Zeid is an Egyptian development aid expert. She became the Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, African Union, Addis Ababa - African Union Commission in 2017. She worked for international organizations such as the African Development Bank (AFDB), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).