African Union/Chair

African Union/Chair  (Chairperson)
South African president Thabo Mbeki was the inaugural chairman. Like many of the AU chairmen, he was dramatically deposed, in his case partly because his refusal to bow to the official narrative on AIDS.
Start	9 July 2002
Leader of	African Union
Website	http://www.au.int/en
The ceremonial head of the African Union.

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.

History

In 2002, South African President Thabo Mbeki became 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 after lobbying from the US and European governments.

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.

 

Office Holders on Wikispooks

Name	From	To
Paul Kagame	28 January 2018	10 February 2019
Alpha Condé	30 January 2017	28 January 2018
Idriss Déby	30 January 2016	30 January 2017
Robert Mugabe	30 January 2015	30 January 2016
Muammar Gaddafi	2 February 2009	31 January 2010

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