Abdou Diouf ( ; Serer: ; born 7 September 1935)Biography at Socialist Party website . is a Senegalese politician who was the second president of Senegal 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 long-time opposition-leader Abdoulaye Wade. He was also the second Secretary-General of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie from January 2003 to December 2014.

Early life Diouf was born into the Joof family in Louga, Senegal, the child of an Helpulaar mother and a Serer father. He attended primary and secondary school at the Lycée Faidherbe in Saint-Louis. He studied law at Dakar University and then at the Sorbonne in Paris. Diouf graduated in 1959.

Political career After graduation, Diouf returned to Senegal, where, in September 1960, he was appointed Director of International Technical Cooperation. In November 1960, he became assistant to the Secretary-General of the Government; in June 1961, he became Secretary-General of the Ministry of Defense.Rake, African Leaders: Guiding the New Millinium, p. 193. Scarecrow Press, Inc, 2001. In 1961 he joined the Senegalese Progressive Union (Union Progressiste Sénégalaise, UPS), which later became the Socialist Party of Senegal. In December 1961 he became Governor of the Sine-Saloum Region, serving in that position until December 1962, when he became Director of the Cabinet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In May 1963, he became Director of the Cabinet of President Léopold Senghor, where he remained until December 1965. In January 1964, he became Secretary-General of the Presidency until March 1968, when he became Minister of Planning and Industry. He remained in the latter position until February 1970, when he was named Prime Minister.

Presidency In 1970, Senghor reinstated the post of prime minister, giving it to Diouf, his protégé. Senghor trusted Diouf, who had administrative experience but no independent power base. This was important, for Senghor's last prime minister, Mamadou Dia, was accused of using the position to launch a coup d'état. On 1 January 1981, Senghor resigned in favor of Diouf, who became president of Senegal.

1983 and 1988 elections

Diouf continued the political liberalization Senghor had begun by holding elections in 1983. He allowed fourteen opposition parties to run instead of the four Senghor had allowed. The practical effect was to fragment the opposition, and Diouf won with 83.5 percent of the vote.Ungar, Africa: The People and Politics of an Emerging Continent, p. 346. Simon and Schusyer, Inc., 1978.

In 1985, opposing parties tried to form a coalition. It was broken up because the national constitution forbade coalitions.Rake, African Leaders: Guiding the New Millinium, p. 194. Scarecrow Press, Inc, 2001. Also in 1985, Abdoulaye Wade, Diouf's main political opponent, was temporarily arrested for unlawful demonstration.Arnold, Africa: A Modern History, p. 688. Atlantic Books, 2005.

In February 1988, elections were held again. Diouf won 72.3 percent of the vote to Wade's 25.8 percent, and opposing parties alleged electoral fraud. Disturbances followed, and Diouf declared a state of emergency, detaining Wade again until May of that year.Rake, African Leaders: Guiding the New Millinium, p. 195. Scarecrow Press, Inc, 2001.

Senegambia Under Diouf, Senegal agreed to form a confederation called Senegambia with neighboring Gambia on 12 December 1981; this union took place on 1 February 1982. In April 1989, the Mauritania-Senegal Border War developed, leading to an outbreak of ethnic violence and the severing of diplomatic relations with Mauritania. As the region destabilized, Senegambia was dissolved.

Response to AIDS In 1986, Diouf began an anti-AIDS program in Senegal before the virus was able to take off in earnest. He used the media and schools to promote safe-sex messages and required prostitutes to be registered. He also encouraged civic organizations and both Christian and Muslim religious leaders to raise awareness about AIDS. The result was that while AIDS was decimating much of Africa, the infection rate for Senegal stayed below 2 percent.

1993 and 2000 elections

Diouf was reelected in February 1993 with 58% of the voteElections in Senegal, African Elections Database. to a 7-year term; presidential term lengths had been extended by two years in 1991.Human Rights in Developing Countries Yearbook 1997, page 276. In the first round of the 2000 elections, on 27 February, he took 41.3% of the vote against 30.1% for the long-time opposition leader Abdoulaye Wade. Still, in the second round on 19 March, he received only 41.5% against 58.5% for Wade. Diouf conceded defeat and left office on 1 April.

One of Diouf's greatest contributions to African peace came from this electoral defeat, for he gracefully surrendered power to Abdoulaye Wade, his long-time rival. When Diouf left office, Wade even said he should receive a Nobel Peace Prize for leaving without violence.Rake, African Leaders: Guiding the New Millinium, p. 196. Scarecrow Press, Inc, 2001.

Socialist Party leadership Diouf was Deputy Secretary-General of the Socialist Party under Senghor. He became Secretary-General in 1981, and when the party was restructured at its Thirteenth Congress in 1996,Page on the PS at party website . he was moved to the position of President of the PS, while Ousmane Tanor Dieng became First Secretary, having been proposed by Diouf.

International organizations

Diouf has been active in international organizations both during and after his presidency. He was President of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) from 1985 to 1986. Soon after his election, he made a personal plea to François Mitterrand, the President of France, resulting in France speaking strongly for sanctions against South Africa. In 1992, he was again reelected President of the OAU for another year-long term. He was also instrumental in establishing the Goree Institute.

After leaving office as President of Senegal, Diouf was unanimously elected as Secretary-General of La Francophonie at that organization's Ninth Summit on 20 October 2002 in Beirut,"Abdou Diouf, premier francophone", Afrik.com, 20 October 2002 ."Biographie de Monsieur Abdou Diouf" , francophonie.org . following the withdrawal of the only other candidate, Henri Lopes of the Republic of the Congo."Francophone summit adopts declaration, elects new OIF head", Radio France Internationale, 20 October 2002. Diouf took office as Secretary-General on 1 January 2003."RAPPORT DU SECRETAIRE GENERAL DE LA FRANCOPHONIE 2002-2004" , francophonie.org . He was reelected as Secretary-General for another four years at the organization's summit in Bucharest in September 2006."Diouf re-elected OIF Secretary General for four years" , Angola Press Agency, 30 September 2006.

Diouf is an Eminent Member of the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation.

Diouf is also a member of the Fondation Chirac's honour committee, ever since the foundation was launched in 2008 by former French president Jacques Chirac in order to promote world peace and on the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT) International Advisory Board. Additionally, he is one of the 25 leading figures on the Information and Democracy Commission launched by Reporters Without Borders.

Honours and decorations

Ribbon bar Country Honour Senegal Grand Cross of the National Order of the Lion Senegal Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit France Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Canada Grand officier of the National Order of Quebec DR Congo Grand Cordon of the Order of the National Heroes Kabila-Lumumba DR Congo Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Leopard Organisation internationale de la Francophonie Grand Cross of the Order of La Pléiade United Kingdom Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire South Africa Grand Cross of the Order of Good Hope Austria Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria Portugal Grand Cross of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword Libya Grand Cordon of the Order of the Grand Conqueror

References

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