Chairperson of the African Union

Chairperson 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
Formation9 July 2002
First holderThabo Mbeki
DeputyBureau
Websiteau.int/en/cpau

The Chairperson of the African Union is the ceremonial head of the African Union (AU) elected by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government for a one-year term. It rotates among the continent's five regions.

A candidate must be selected by consensus or at least two-thirds majority vote by member states. The chairperson is expected to complete the term without interruption; hence countries with impending elections may be ineligible.

The current Chairperson is Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani. Angola is seeking the post in 2025.

History

In 2002, South African President Thabo Mbeki served as the inaugural chairman of the union. The post rotates annually amongst the five geographic regions of Africa; and over the years it has assumed the following order: East, North, Southern, Central and West Africa.

In January 2007, the assembly elected Ghanaian President John Kufuor over Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir due to the ongoing conflict in Darfur. Amnesty International said it would undermine African Union's credibility and Chad threatened to withdraw its membership. Western governments also lobbied against Sudan and 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.

Gaddafi holding the ceremonial baton after taking over as Chair from Tanzania's Jakaya Kikwete.

In January 2010, Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi unsuccessfully tried to extend his tenure by an additional year, 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. Malawi was chosen instead.

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.

Congolese Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe have both led the AU and its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity during the terms 1986–88 and 2006–07, and 1997–98 and 2015–16 respectively.

In 2023, both Kenya and Comoros were vying for the position. Comorian President Azali Assoumani thanked Kenyan President William Ruto for his country's withdrawal. In 2024, Both Algeria and Morocco were interested in the position in 2024. Mauritania was elected instead.

Role

The incumbent chairs the biannual summit meetings of the assembly and represents the continent in various international fora such as G7, TICAD, FOCAC and G20 summits.

They also assist in resolving crises on the continent as an elder statesman. It has been suggested that liaison offices be established to prevent friction between the incumbent and the Commission Chairperson at the headquarters in Addis Ababa.

Elder Statesman

In 2008, following Kenya's post-election crisis, AU Chairman Jakaya Kikwete was instrumental in facilitating the opposing sides to agree to a Government of National Unity. Kikwete also backed the invasion of Anjouan by sending an AU Force to assist the Comoros federal government to remove renegade leader Mohamed Bacar.

List of Chairpersons

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

Bureau

The Chairperson is assisted by a bureau of four vice chairpersons including a rapporteur.

Portrait Incumbent Country Region Title
João Lourenço  Angola Southern Africa First Vice Chairperson
Congo[clarification needed] Central Africa Second Vice Chairperson
Nana Akufo-Addo  Ghana West Africa Third Vice Chairperson
Azali Assoumani  Comoros East Africa Fourth Vice Chairperson (Rapporteur)

This page was last updated at 2024-02-29 11:23 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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