Abdoulaye Wade

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
This article or section needs to be updated.
Parts of this article or section have been identified as no longer being up to date.
Please update the article to reflect recent events, and remove this template when finished.
This article documents a current event.
Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.
Abdoulaye Wade
Abdoulaye Wade

President Wade on July 8, 2003
Incumbent
Assumed office 
April 1, 2000
Preceded by Abdou Diouf
Succeeded by Incumbent
Born May 29, 1926 (age 80)
Kébémer, Senegal Flag of Senegal
Political party Senegalese Democratic Party
Spouse Viviane Wade[1]

Abdoulaye Wade (born May 29, 1926[2]) is the third and current President of Senegal, in office since 2000. He is also the leader of the Senegalese Democratic Party, a liberal party that is a member of the Liberal International. He led the opposition for decades and was at times exiled and imprisoned at Besançon prison for his political activities.

[edit] Life before politics

Wade was born in Kébémer, Senegal.[2] He studied and taught law at the lycée Condorcet in France. He holds two doctorates in law and economics. He was also dean of the law and economics faculty at the University of Dakar in Senegal.

[edit] Political career

Wade first ran for president in February 1978 against Senegal's first president, Léopold Sédar Senghor, taking 17.38% and losing to Senghor. Subsequently he ran in the presidential elections of 1983, 1988, and 1993, taking second place each time, behind Senghor's successor Abdou Diouf. In February 2000, he again received second place with 31%, but Diouf did not receive a majority and a second round was held on March 19. Wade won this round with 58.49% of the vote,[3] having received the support of candidates from the first round, including third place candidate Moustapha Niasse. Wade became president on April 1, 2000 and appointed Niasse as his prime minister shortly afterwards.[4] Wade was forced to cohabit with the former ruling party (the Socialists), which held a majority in the legislature until the Democratic Party's victory in the 2001 parliamentary elections.

Wade with U.S. President George W. Bush in July 2003
Wade with U.S. President George W. Bush in July 2003

A new constitution (in French) was written in 2001, under the terms of which future presidents of Senegal will be limited to 5-year terms after the completion of Wade's 7-year term in 2007. Wade announced in April 2006 that the following elections would be held on February 25, 2007.[5]

Wade was nominated as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party in October 2006.[6] One of Wade's opponents in this election was his former prime minister Idrissa Seck, who was once considered Wade's protégé, but was arrested in 2005.[7] Final results released on March 11, 2007, showed Wade winning in the first round with 55.9% of the vote, far ahead of his nearest opponents, Seck with about 15% and Socialist Party leader Ousmane Tanor Dieng with about 13.6%. Dieng and another opposition candidate, Abdoulaye Bathily, filed appeals regarding the election, but these were rejected by the Constitutional Council.[8] Wade was sworn in for his second term on April 3 at the Leopold Sedar Senghor Stadium in Dakar, with many African leaders and about 60,000 spectators in attendance.[9][10]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Laura Bush hosts Viviane Wade The White House, 6 December 2004
  2. ^ a b World Leaders 2003: Senegal: Personal Background, Encyclopedia of the Nations.
  3. ^ Elections in Senegal, African Elections Database.
  4. ^ "Senegal's Wade names prime minister", Reuters, April 2, 2000.
  5. ^ "Senegal elections set for 25 February 2007", Liberal International, Issue 35.
  6. ^ "Wade nominated for February 2007 presidential elections", African Press Agency, October 16, 2006.
  7. ^ "President’s onetime protégé to run for election", IRIN, April 5, 2006.
  8. ^ "Le texte intégral de la décision du Conseil constitutionnel", Agence de Presse Sénégalaise (Seneweb.com), March 11, 2007 (French).
  9. ^ "Senegal's president is inaugurated, as dictators, statesmen look on", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), April 3, 2007.
  10. ^ "Wade sworn in for second term", AFP (IOL), April 3, 2007.
Preceded by
Abdou Diouf		 President of Senegal
1 April 2000 – present		 Succeeded by
—
v • d • e
Presidents of Senegal Flag of Senegal

Léopold Sédar Senghor • Abdou Diouf • Abdoulaye Wade

v • d • e
Candidates in the 2007 Senegalese presidential election Flag of Senegal

Abdoulaye Wade • Abdoulaye Bathily • Modou Dia • Mamadou Lamine Diallo • Ousmane Tanor Dieng • Cheikh Bamba Dieye • Mama Adama Guèye • Alioune Mbaye • Doudou Ndoye • Moustapha Niasse • Robert Sagna • Landing Savané • Idrissa Seck • Louis Jacques Senghor • Talla Sylla


 This Senegalese biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
 This article about an African politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Persondata
NAME Wade, Abdoulaye
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION 3rd President of Senegal
DATE OF BIRTH May 29, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Kébémer, Senegal
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../a/b/d/Abdoulaye_Wade_ac0a.html"