Chairperson of the African Union
Encyclopedia
The African Union
(and formerly Organisation of African Unity) Chairman is chosen by the Assembly, which consists of the heads of state of member countries, to serve a 1-year term.
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
(and formerly Organisation of African Unity) Chairman is chosen by the Assembly, which consists of the heads of state of member countries, to serve a 1-year term.
List of Chairmen
| Organization of African Unity | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Beginning of term | End of term | Country |
| Haile Selassie I | 25 May 1963 | 17 July 1964 |  Ethiopia |
| Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of... |
17 July 1964 | 21 October 1965 |  Egypt |
| Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana... |
21 October 1965 | 24 February 1966 |  Ghana |
| Joseph Arthur Ankrah Joseph Arthur Ankrah Lieutenant General Joseph Arthur Ankrah served as the first commander of the Army of Ghana and from 1966 and 1969 as the second head of state.-Early life:... |
24 February 1966 | 5 November 1966 | Ghana |
| Haile Selassie I | 5 November 1966 | 11 September 1967 | Ethiopia |
| Joseph-Désiré Mobutu Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997... |
11 September 1967 | 13 September 1968 | |
| Houari Boumedienne | 13 September 1968 | 6 September 1969 |  Algeria |
| Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo was the first President of Cameroon from 1960 until 1982.-Early life:Ahidjo was born in Garoua, a major river port along the Benue River in northern Cameroun, which was at the time a French mandate territory... |
6 September 1969 | 1 September 1970 |  Cameroon |
| Kenneth Kaunda Kenneth Kaunda Kenneth David Kaunda, known as KK, served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991.-Early life:Kaunda was the youngest of eight children. He was born at Lubwa Mission in Chinsali, Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia... |
1 September 1970 | 21 June 1971 |  Zambia |
| Moktar Ould Daddah Moktar Ould Daddah Moktar Ould Daddah was the President of Mauritania from 1960, when his country gained its independence from France, to 1978, when he was deposed in a military coup d'etat.- Background :... |
21 June 1971 | 12 June 1972 |  Mauritania |
| Hassan II | 12 June 1972 | 27 May 1973 |  Morocco |
| Yakubu Gowon Yakubu Gowon General Yakubu "Jack" Dan-Yumma Gowon was the head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. He took power after one military coup d'etat and was overthrown in another... |
27 May 1973 | 12 June 1974 |  Nigeria |
| Muhammad Siad Barre | 12 June 1974 | 28 July 1975 |  Somalia |
| Idi Amin Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military... |
28 July 1975 | 2 July 1976 |  Uganda |
| Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam KT,GCMG,KCMG,LRCP, MRCS is the first Chief Minister, Prime Minister and sixth Governor General of Mauritius.... |
2 July 1976 | 2 July 1977 |  Mauritius |
| Omar Bongo Omar Bongo El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba , born as Albert-Bernard Bongo, was a Gabonese politician who was President of Gabon for 42 years from 1967 until his death in office in 2009.... |
2 July 1977 | 18 July 1978 |  Gabon |
| Gaafar Nimeiry Gaafar Nimeiry Gaafar Muhammad an-Nimeiry was the Nubian President of Sudan from 1969 to 1985... |
18 July 1978 | 12 July 1979 |  Sudan |
| William R. Tolbert, Jr. William R. Tolbert, Jr. William Richard Tolbert, Jr. was the 20th President of Liberia from 1971 to 1980.Trained as a civil servant, he entered the country's House of Representatives in 1955 for the True Whig Party, then the only established party in the country... |
12 July 1979 | 12 April 1980 |  Liberia |
| Léopold Sédar Senghor Léopold Sédar Senghor Léopold Sédar Senghor was a Senegalese poet, politician, and cultural theorist who for two decades served as the first president of Senegal . Senghor was the first African elected as a member of the Académie française. Before independence, he founded the political party called the Senegalese... (acting) |
28 April 1980 | 1 July 1980 |  Senegal |
| Siaka Stevens Siaka Stevens Siaka Probyn Stevens was the 3rd prime minister of Sierra Leone from 1967–1971 and the 1st president of Sierra Leone from 1971–1985. Stevens is generally criticised for dictatorial methods of government in which many of his political opponents were executed, as well as for mismanaging... |
1 July 1980 | 24 June 1981 |  Sierra Leone |
| Daniel arap Moi Daniel arap Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi was the President of Kenya from 1978 until 2002.Daniel arap Moi is popularly known to Kenyans as 'Nyayo', a Swahili word for 'footsteps'... |
24 June 1981 | 6 June 1983 |  Kenya |
| Mengistu Haile Mariam Mengistu Haile Mariam Mengistu Haile Mariam is a politician who was formerly the most prominent officer of the Derg, the Communist military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and the President of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991... |
6 June 1983 | 12 November 1984 |  Ethiopia |
| Julius Nyerere Julius Nyerere Julius Kambarage Nyerere was a Tanzanian politician who served as the first President of Tanzania and previously Tanganyika, from the country's founding in 1961 until his retirement in 1985.... |
12 November 1984 | 18 July 1985 |  Tanzania |
| Abdou Diouf Abdou Diouf Abdou Diouf was the second President of Senegal, serving from 1981 to 2000. Diouf is notable both for coming to power by peaceful succession, and leaving willingly after losing the 2000 presidential election to Abdoulaye Wade... |
18 July 1985 | 28 July 1986 | Senegal |
| Denis Sassou-Nguesso | 28 July 1986 | 27 July 1987 | |
| Kenneth Kaunda Kenneth Kaunda Kenneth David Kaunda, known as KK, served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991.-Early life:Kaunda was the youngest of eight children. He was born at Lubwa Mission in Chinsali, Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia... |
27 July 1987 | 25 May 1988 | Zambia |
| Moussa Traoré Moussa Traoré General Moussa Traoré is a Malian soldier and politician. As a Lieutenant, he led the military ouster of President Modibo Keïta in 1968. Thereafter he served as Head of State from 1968-1979, and President of Mali from 1979 to 1991, when he was overthrown by popular protests and military coup... |
25 May 1988 | 24 July 1989 |  Mali |
| Hosni Mubarak Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011.... |
24 July 1989 | 9 July 1990 |  Egypt |
| Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a Ugandan politician and statesman. He has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986.Museveni was involved in the war that deposed Idi Amin Dada, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985... |
9 July 1990 | 3 June 1991 | Uganda |
| Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Babangida General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida CFR DSS mni , popularly known as IBB, was a Nigerian Army officer and military ruler of Nigeria... |
3 June 1991 | 29 June 1992 | Nigeria |
| Abdou Diouf Abdou Diouf Abdou Diouf was the second President of Senegal, serving from 1981 to 2000. Diouf is notable both for coming to power by peaceful succession, and leaving willingly after losing the 2000 presidential election to Abdoulaye Wade... |
29 June 1992 | 28 June 1993 | Senegal |
| Hosni Mubarak Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011.... |
28 June 1993 | 13 June 1994 | Egypt |
| Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is a Tunisian political figure who was the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. Ben Ali was appointed Prime Minister in October 1987, and he assumed the Presidency on 7 November 1987 in a bloodless coup d'état that ousted President Habib Bourguiba, who was... |
13 June 1994 | 26 June 1995 |  Tunisia |
| Meles Zenawi Meles Zenawi Meles Zenawi Asres is the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Since 1985, he has been chairman of the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front , and is currently head of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front .Meles was born in Adwa, Tigray in Northern Ethiopia, to an Ethiopian father from... |
26 June 1995 | 8 July 1996 |  Ethiopia |
| Paul Biya Paul Biya Paul Biya is a Cameroonian politician who has been the President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982. A native of Cameroon's south, Biya rose rapidly as a bureaucrat under President Ahmadou Ahidjo in the 1960s, serving as Secretary-General of the Presidency from 1968 to 1975 and then as Prime... |
8 July 1996 | 2 June 1997 |  Cameroon |
| Robert Mugabe Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980... |
2 June 1997 | 8 June 1998 |  Zimbabwe |
| Blaise Compaoré Blaise Compaoré Blaise Compaoré has been the President of Burkina Faso since 1987 following a coup d'état that ousted then-President Thomas Sankara. In 2011, a mutiny by soldiers over unpaid housing allowances forced him to flee the capital for his hometown... |
8 June 1998 | 12 July 1999 |  Burkina Faso |
| Abdelaziz Bouteflika Abdelaziz Bouteflika Abdelaziz Bouteflika is the ninth President of Algeria. He has been in office since 1999. He continued emergency rule until 24 February 2011, and presided over the end of the bloody Algerian Civil War in 2002... |
12 July 1999 | 10 July 2000 | Algeria |
| Gnassingbé Eyadéma Gnassingbé Eyadéma General Gnassingbé Eyadéma , was the President of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005. He participated in two successful military coups, in January 1963 and January 1967, and became President on April 14, 1967... |
10 July 2000 | 9 July 2001 |  Togo |
| Frederick Chiluba Frederick Chiluba Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba was a Zambian politician who was the second President of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as the candidate of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy , defeating long-time President... |
9 July 2001 | 2 January 2002 |  Zambia |
| Levy Mwanawasa Levy Mwanawasa Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was the third President of Zambia. He ruled the country from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. He is credited for having initiated a campaign to rid the country of corruption... |
2 January 2002 | 9 July 2002 | Zambia |
| African Union | |||
| Name | Beginning of term | End of term | Country |
| Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki... |
9 July 2002 | 10 July 2003 |  South Africa |
| Joaquim Chissano Joaquim Chissano Joaquim Alberto Chissano served as the second President of Mozambique for nineteen years from 6 November 1986 until 2 February 2005. Since stepping down as president, Chissano has become an elder statesman and is called upon by international bodies, such as the United Nations, to be an envoy or... |
10 July 2003 | 6 July 2004 |  Mozambique |
| Olusegun Obasanjo | 6 July 2004 | 24 January 2006 | Nigeria |
| Denis Sassou-Nguesso | 24 January 2006 | 24 January 2007 | |
| John Kufuor John Kufuor John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor was the second president of the 4th Republic of Ghana and Chairperson of the African Union... |
30 January 2007 | 31 January 2008 | Ghana |
| Jakaya Kikwete Jakaya Kikwete Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete is the 4th and current President of the United Republic of Tanzania. Kikwete was born in Msoga, Bagamoyo District, Tanganyika in present day Tanzania... |
31 January 2008 | 2 February 2009 | Tanzania |
| Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a... |
2 February 2009 | 31 January 2010 |  Libya |
| Bingu wa Mutharika Bingu wa Mutharika Bingu wa Mutharika is a Malawi economist who is President of Malawi. He took office on 24 May 2004 after winning a disputed presidential election... |
31 January 2010 | 31 January 2011 |  Malawi |
| Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is an Equatoguinean politician who has been President of Equatorial Guinea since 1979. He ousted his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, in an August 1979 military coup and has overseen Equatorial Guinea's emergence as an important oil producer, beginning in the 1990s... |
31 January 2011 | Incumbent |  Equatorial Guinea |