Chairperson of the African Union

Chairperson of the
African Union
Flag of the African Union
Incumbent
Mohamed Ould Ghazouani
since 17 February 2024
StyleExcellency
AbbreviationCPAU
Appointerthe Assembly
Term lengthOne year
Constituting instrumentConstitutive Act of the AU (article 6)
PrecursorChairperson of the OAU
Inaugural holderThabo Mbeki
Formation9 July 2002
DeputyBureau
Websiteau.int/en/cpau

The Chairperson of the African Union is the ceremonial head of the African Union elected by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government for a one-year term.[1]

A candidate must be supported by at least two-thirds of the member states or by consensus. The chairperson is expected to complete the term without resignations or impeachment.

List of Chairpersons[change | change source]

No. Portrait Chairperson Took office Left office Country Region
1 Thabo Mbeki[2] 9 July 2002 10 July 2003  South Africa Southern Africa
2 Joaquim Chissano[3] 10 July 2003 11 July 2004  Mozambique Southern Africa
3 Olusegun Obasanjo[4] 11 July 2004 24 January 2006  Nigeria West Africa
4 Denis Sassou Nguesso[5] 24 January 2006 24 January 2007  Republic of Congo Central Africa
5 John Kufuor[6] 30 January 2007 31 January 2008  Ghana West Africa
6 Jakaya Kikwete[7] 31 January 2008 2 February 2009  Tanzania East Africa
7 Muammar Gaddafi[8] 2 February 2009 31 January 2010 Libya North Africa
8 Bingu wa Mutharika[9] 31 January 2010 31 January 2011  Malawi Southern Africa
9 Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo[10] 31 January 2011 29 January 2012  Equatorial Guinea Central Africa
10 Yayi Boni[11] 29 January 2012 27 January 2013  Benin West Africa
11 Hailemariam Desalegn[12] 27 January 2013 30 January 2014  Ethiopia East Africa
12 Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz[13] 30 January 2014 30 January 2015  Mauritania North Africa
13 Robert Mugabe[14] 30 January 2015 30 January 2016  Zimbabwe Southern Africa
14 Idriss Déby[15] 30 January 2016 30 January 2017  Chad Central Africa
15 Alpha Condé[16] 30 January 2017 28 January 2018  Guinea West Africa
16 Paul Kagame[17] 28 January 2018 10 February 2019  Rwanda East Africa
17 Abdel Fattah el-Sisi[18] 10 February 2019 10 February 2020  Egypt North Africa
18 Cyril Ramaphosa[19] 10 February 2020 6 February 2021  South Africa Southern Africa
19 Félix Tshisekedi[20] 6 February 2021 5 February 2022  Democratic Republic of Congo Central Africa
20 Macky Sall 5 February 2022 18 February 2023  Senegal West Africa
21 Azali Assoumani 18 February 2023 17 Febuary 2024  Comoros East Africa
22 Mohamed Ould Ghazouani 17 February 2024 Incumbent  Mauritania West Africa

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "African Union Handbook" (PDF). African Union. 2014. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  2. ↑ Babarinde, Olufemi (April 2007). "The EU as a Model for the African Union: the Limits of Imitation" (PDF). miami.edu.
  3. ↑ "High hopes for AU Maputo Assembly". ANC Today. 4–10 July 2003. Archived from the original on 9 October 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "Obasanjo Elected AU Chairman". Addis Ababa: Vanguard. 12 July 2004. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  5. ↑ "CONGO: Profile of Denis Sassou-Nguesso, new AU head". Brazzaville: IRIN. 24 January 2006. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  6. ↑ "President Kufuor elected Chairman of AU". ghanaweb.com. Accra: Ghana News Agency. 29 January 2007. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  7. ↑ Appel, Michael (2 February 2008). "Kikwete takes over AU Chair". Pambazuka News. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  8. ↑ "Gaddafi vows to push Africa unity". BBC News. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  9. ↑ "Malawi president takes over as AU president". AFP. 31 January 2010. Archived from the original on 2011. Retrieved 2014-01-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help)
  10. ↑ Hennig, Rainer Chr. (1 February 2011). "New AU leader Obiang calls criticism un-African". Afrol News. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  11. ↑ "President Thomas Yayi Boni elected as Chairperson of the African Union for 2012" (PDF) (Press release). Addis Ababa: Directorate of Information and Communication, African Union Commission. 29 January 2012.
  12. ↑ Stainburn, Samantha (28 January 2013). "Hailemariam Desalegn, Ethiopia's PM, is new African Union Assembly chairman". GlobalPost. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  13. ↑ "President Abdel Aziz of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania elected African Union Chairperson". Addis Ababa: African Union. 30 January 2014. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  14. ↑ "Zimbabwe's Mugabe, 90, becomes African Union chairman". Reuters. 30 January 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  15. ↑ African Union [@_AfricanUnion] (30 January 2016). "Prez Idriss Itno Déby of #Chad takes over as #AU Chairperson" (Tweet). Retrieved 30 January 2016 – via Twitter.
  16. ↑ "President Alpha Conde of Guinea Has Been Elected New Chairperson of the African Union (AU)". African Union. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  17. ↑ "President Paul Kagame, Elected as New Chairperson of the African Union for the year 2018". African Union. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  18. ↑ "The 32ND African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government Summit Kicks Off". African Union. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  19. ↑ Simon (February 10, 2020). "South African President Cyril Ramaphosa elected African Union Chairperson as continent vows to "silence the guns," boost trade and close gender gap". Today News Africa. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  20. ↑ "President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo Elected Chair Of The AU For The Year 2021". African Union. 22 February 2021.


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