Abdou Diouf

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Abdou Diouf
2nd President of Senegal
In office January 1, 1981 – April 1, 2000
Preceded by	Léopold Sédar Senghor
Succeeded by	Abdoulaye Wade

Born	September 7, 1935 Saint-Louis, Senegal
Political party	Socialist Party of Senegal

Abdou Diouf (Wolof: Abdu Juuf) (born September 7, 1935) was the second president of Senegal, serving from 1981 to 2000.

[edit] Biography

Diouf was born in Louga, Senegal, a child of an Hal Pulaar mother and a Serere father. He went to primary and secondary school in Saint-Louis, and studied law in Dakar and then in Paris. He received his degree at the École nationale de la France d'Outre-mer (ENFOM) in 1960. As soon as he graduated, he immediately moved to upper-level administrative posts, becoming director of the Cabinet of President Léopold Sédar Senghor in 1963, and Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republique in 1964. From 1968 to 1970, Diouf was Minister of Planning and Industry. He then became prime minister of Senegal on February 26, 1970.

Abdou Diouf with Lionel Jospin

On January 1, 1981, he became president of the Republic of Senegal following the resignation of Senghor. Diouf held his post as president through the 1983, 1988, and 1993 elections. He was confirmed in the office in the elections of February 1983, and in February 1988 he was reelected with 73% of the vote.^[1]

Under Diouf, Senegal agreed to form a confederation called Senegambia with neighboring the Gambia on December 12, 1981; this union took place on February 1, 1982. In April 1989, a clash along the border with neighboring Mauritania led to an outbreak of ethnic violence and the severing of diplomatic relations (restored in 1992), and on September 30 of that year Senegambia was dissolved.

Diouf was reelected in February 1993 with 58% of the vote^[1] to a 7-year term; presidential term lengths had been extended by two years in 1991.^[2] In the first round of the 2000 elections, on February 27, he took 41.3% of the vote against 30.1% for the long-time opposition leader Abdoulaye Wade, but in the second round on March 19 he received only 41.5% against 58.5% for Wade.^[1] After this defeat, Diouf handed power to Wade on April 1.

He worked just as ardently towards making a voice for Senegal by way of a number of international summits, and fought for a greater African unity. Diouf has also been active in international organizations, both during and after his presidency. He was chairman of the Organization of African Unity twice, from 1985 to 1986 and from 1992 until 1993. Since 2003, he has been the secretary-general of La Francophonie. He was re-elected to that post for another four years at the organization's summit in Bucharest in September 2006.^[3]

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[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c Elections in Senegal, African Elections Database.
^ Human Rights in Developing Countries Yearbook 1997, page 276.
^ "Diouf re-elected OIF Secretary General for four years", Angola Press, September 30, 2006.

Preceded by Post Abolished	Prime Minister of Senegal 26 February 1970 – 31 December 1980	Succeeded by Habib Thiam
Preceded by Léopold Sédar Senghor	President of Senegal 1 January 1981 – 1 April 2000	Succeeded by Abdoulaye Wade