Chairperson of the African Union

Chairperson of the African Union
Emblem
Incumbent Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz since 30 January 2014
Appointer	the Assembly
Term length	One year
Inaugural holder	Thabo Mbeki
Formation	9 July 2002
Website	/en.int.auwww

The Chairperson of the African Union is the ceremonial head of the African Union elected by the Assembly of Heads of State for one year. It rotates among the continent's five regions.

History

In 2002, South African President Organisation of African Unity during the term 1986–87.

In January 2007, the assembly elected Ghanaian President John Kufuor over Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir due to the ongoing Conflict in Darfur.^[1] The government of Chad threatened to withdraw its membership if Sudan assumed the chair. Some had suggested Tanzania as a compromise candidate from the East African region. By consensus, Ghana was elected instead as it was celebrating its 50th independence anniversary that year.^[2]

In January 2010, Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi unsuccessfully tried to extend his tenure by an additional year,^[3] saying more time was needed in order to implement his vision for a United States of Africa - of which he was a strong proponent. Libya was at the time one of the largest financial supporters of the AU.^[4]

The election of Equatoguinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in January 2011 was criticized by human rights activists as it undermined the AU's commitment to democracy.^[5] Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is most likely to be the next chair as he is at present the first vice-chairperson of the African Union Bureau.^[6][7]

Role

The incumbent is the ceremonial head of the AU and in this capacity, chairs the biannual summits and represents the continent in various international fora such as TICAD, FOCAC, G8 and G20 summits.

List

#	Portrait	Chairperson	Took Office	Left Office	Country	Region
1		Thabo Mbeki[8]	9 July 2002	10 July 2003	South Africa	Southern Africa
2		Joaquim Chissano[9]	10 July 2003	6 July 2004	Mozambique	Southern Africa
3		Olusegun Obasanjo[10]	6 July 2004	24 January 2006	Nigeria	West Africa
4		Denis Sassou Nguesso[11]	24 January 2006	24 January 2007	Republic of Congo	Central Africa
5		John Kufuor[12]	30 January 2007	31 January 2008	Ghana	West Africa
6		Jakaya Kikwete[13]	31 January 2008	2 February 2009	Tanzania	East Africa
7		Muammar Gaddafi[14]	2 February 2009	31 January 2010	Libya	North Africa
8		Bingu wa Mutharika[15]	31 January 2010	31 January 2011	Malawi	Southern Africa
9		Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo[16]	31 January 2011	29 January 2012	Equatorial Guinea	Central Africa
10		Yayi Boni[17]	29 January 2012	27 January 2013	Benin	West Africa
11		Hailemariam Desalegn[18]	27 January 2013	30 January 2014	Ethiopia	East Africa
12		Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz[19]	30 January 2014	Incumbent	Mauritania	North Africa

References

External links

• Official website

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