Political Leaders: African Union

Leaders of the Organization of African Unity (OAU)
and the African Union (AU)

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Note: the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was constitued on May 25, 1963. It was replaced by the new African Union (AU) on July 9, 2002.

Look for biographies of the leaders (in Spanish) at CIDOB website.

Chairmen-in-office

Haile Selassie          25 May 1963 - 17 Jul 1964 (†1975) Ethiopia 
Gamal Abdel Nasser      17 Jul 1964 - 21 Oct 1965 (†1970) Egypt  
Kwame Nkrumah           21 Oct 1965 - 24 Feb 1966 (†1972) Ghana
Haile Selassie           5 Nov 1966 - 11 Sep 1967 (†1975) Ethiopia  
Joseph-Désiré Mobutu    11 Sep 1967 - 13 Sep 1968 (†1997) Congo-Kinshasa
Houari Boumedienne      13 Sep 1968 -  6 Sep 1969 (†1978) Algeria
Ahmadou Ahidjo           6 Sep 1969 -  1 Sep 1970 (†1989) Cameroon
Kenneth Kaunda           1 Sep 1970 - 21 Jun 1971 (†2021) Zambia
Moktar Ould Daddah      21 Jun 1971 - 12 Jun 1972 (†2003) Mauritania
Hasan II                12 Jun 1972 - 27 May 1973 (†1999) Morocco
Yakubu Gowon            27 May 1973 - 12 Jun 1974         Nigeria
Muhammad Siyad Barre    12 Jun 1974 - 28 Jul 1975 (†1995) Somalia
Idi Amin Dada           28 Jul 1975 -  2 Jul 1976 (†2003) Uganda
Seewoosagur Ramgoolam    2 Jul 1976 -  2 Jul 1977 (†1985) Mauritius
Omar Bongo               2 Jul 1977 - 18 Jul 1978 (†2009) Gabon
Jaafar an-Numeiry       18 Jul 1978 - 12 Jul 1979 (†2009) Sudan
William Tolbert         12 Jul 1979 - 12 Apr 1980 (†1980) Liberia
Léopold Sédar Senghor   28 Apr 1980 -  1 Jul 1980 (†2001) Senegal (acting)
Siaka Stevens            1 Jul 1980 - 24 Jun 1981 (†1988) Sierra Leone
Daniel arap Moi         24 Jun 1981 -  6 Jun 1983 (†2020) Kenya
Mengistu Haile Mariam    6 Jun 1983 - 12 Nov 1984         Ethiopia
Julius Nyerere          12 Nov 1984 - 18 Jul 1985 (†1999) Tanzania
Abdou Diouf             18 Jul 1985 - 28 Jul 1986         Senegal 
Denis Sassou Nguesso    28 Jul 1986 - 27 Jul 1987         Congo-Brazzaville
Kenneth Kaunda          27 Jul 1987 - 25 May 1988 (†2021) Zambia
Moussa Traoré           25 May 1988 - 24 Jul 1989 (†2020) Mali
Hosni Mubarak           24 Jul 1989 -  9 Jul 1990 (†2020) Egypt
Yoweri Museveni          9 Jul 1990 -  3 Jun 1991         Uganda
Ibrahim Babangida        3 Jun 1991 - 29 Jun 1992         Nigeria
Abdou Diouf             29 Jun 1992 - 28 Jun 1993         Senegal 
Hosni Mubarak           28 Jun 1993 - 13 Jun 1994 (†2020) Egypt
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali 13 Jun 1994 - 26 Jun 1995 (†2019)  Tunisia
Meles Zenawi            26 Jun 1995 -  8 Jul 1996 (†2012) Ethiopia
Paul Biya                8 Jul 1996 -  2 Jun 1997         Cameroon
Robert Mugabe            2 Jun 1997 -  8 Jun 1998 (†2012) Zimbabwe
Blaise Compaoré          8 Jun 1998 - 12 Jul 1999         Burkina Faso
Abdelaziz Bouteflika    12 Jul 1999 - 10 Jul 2000 (†2021) Algeria
Gnassingbe Eyadéma      10 Jul 2000 -  9 Jul 2001 (†2005) Togo
Frederick Chiluba        9 Jul 2001 -  2 Jan 2002 (†2011) Zambia
Levy Mwanawasa           2 Jan 2002 -  9 Jul 2002 (†2008) Zambia
Thabo Mbeki              9 Jul 2002 - 10 Jul 2003         South Africa 
Joaquim Chissano        10 Jul 2003 -  6 Jul 2004         Mozambique
Olusegun Obasanjo        6 Jul 2004 - 24 Jan 2006         Nigeria
Denis Sassou Nguesso    24 Jan 2006 - 29 Jan 2007         Congo-Brazzaville
John Kufuor             29 Jan 2007 - 31 Jan 2008         Ghana
Jakaya Kikwete          31 Jan 2008 -  2 Feb 2009         Tanzania
Muammar al-Gaddafi       2 Feb 2009 - 31 Jan 2010 (†2011) Libya
Bingu wa Mutharika      31 Jan 2010 - 30 Jan 2011 (†2012) Malawi
Teodoro Obiang          30 Jan 2011 - 29 Jan 2012         Equatorial Guinea
Yayi Boni               29 Jan 2012 - 27 Jan 2013         Benin
Hailemariam Desalegn    27 Jan 2013 - 30 Jan 2014         Ethiopia
Mohammed Ould Abdelaziz 30 Jan 2014 - 30 Jan 2015         Mauritania
Robert Mugabe           30 Jan 2015 - 30 Jan 2016 (†2019) Zimbabwe        
Idriss Déby Itno        30 Jan 2016 - 30 Jan 2017 (†2021) Chad
Alpha Condé             30 Jan 2017 - 28 Jan 2018         Guinea
Paul Kagame             28 Jan 2018 - 10 Feb 2019         Rwanda 
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi    10 Feb 2019 -  9 Feb 2020         Egypt
Cyril Ramaphosa          9 Feb 2020 -  6 Feb 2021         South Africa
Félix Tshisekedi         6 Feb 2021 -  5 Feb 2022         Congo-Kinshasa
Macky Sall               5 Feb 2022 - 18 Feb 2023         Senegal
Azali Assoumani         18 Feb 2023 - 17 Feb 2024         Comoros
Mohammed Ould Ghazouani 17 Feb 2024 -                     Mauritania

Secretaries-general of the OAU

Ato Kifle Wodajo        22 May 1963 - 21 Jul 1964 (†2004) Ethiopia (acting)
Diallo Telli            21 Jul 1964 - 15 Jun 1972 (†1977) Guinea
Nzo Ekangaki            15 Jun 1972 - 16 Jun 1974 (†2005) Cameroon
William Eteki           16 Jun 1974 - 21 Jul 1978 (†2016) Cameroon
Edem Kodjo              21 Jul 1978 - 12 Jun 1983 (†2020) Togo
Peter Onu               12 Jun 1983 - 20 Jul 1985 (†1997) Nigeria (acting) 
Ide Oumarou             20 Jul 1985 - 19 Sep 1989 (†2002) Niger
Salim Ahmed Salim       19 Sep 1989 - 17 Sep 2001         Tanzania
Amara Essy              17 Sep 2001 -  9 Jul 2002         Côte d'Ivoire

Chairpersons of the African Union Commission

Amara Essy               9 Jul 2002 - 16 Sep 2003         Côte d'Ivoire (interim)
Alpha Oumar Konaré      16 Sep 2003 - 28 Abr 2008         Mali
Jean Ping               28 Apr 2008 - 15 Oct 2012         Gabon
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma  15 Oct 2012 - 14 Mar 2017         South Africa
Moussa Faki Mahamat     14 Mar 2017 -                     Chad

Presidents of the Pan-African Parliament

Gertrude Ibengwe Mongella 18 Mar 2004 - 29 May 2009         Tanzania
Idriss Ndele Moussa       29 May 2009 - 28 May 2012 (†2013) Chad
Bethel Nnaemeka Amadi     28 May 2012 - 29 May 2015 (†2019) Nigeria
Roger Nkodo Dang          29 May 2015 -  1 Apr 2020         Cameroon
Bouras Djamel              1 Apr 2020 -  1 Mar 2021         Algeria (acting)
Fortune Charumbira         1 Mar 2021 -                     Zimbabwe (acting to 29 Jun 2022)

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