African leaders on Saturday elected Djibouti’s foreign minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf as the new chair of the African Union Commission to replace Chadian diplomat Moussa Faki Mahamat who has been at the helm of the organ that runs the continental bloc since 2017.
Youssouf beat former Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga and ex-Madagascar foreign minister Richard Randriamandrato after several rounds of voting.
He received 33 votes during an annual African Union leaders’ summit In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Voting was conducted by secret ballot.
Youssouf will serve a maximum of two four-year terms and faces a raft of challenges that include how to tackle the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Djibouti’s president Ismail Omar Guelleh congratulated Youssouf on the win, calling it a “proud moment for Djibouti and Africa”.
“I extend my sincere gratitude to the heads of state for their trust and support. His leadership will serve Africa with dedication and vision,” the president said on the social media site X.
Kenyan president William Ruto, who vigorously campaigned for Odinga, also extended his “sincere congratulations” to the incoming African Union Commission chair, pledging Nairobi’s “full support to you as you steer the Africa Union Commission to the next level”.
“This election was not about individuals or nations, it was about Africa’s future. That future remains bright and, together, we will continue working for a united, prosperous, and influential Africa on the global stage,” Ruto said.
Tanzanian leader Samia Suluhu said on her official X account that she was looking forward to working with Youssouf “in our collective pursuit for a more prosperous, united and peaceful Africa”.
Polyglot and long-time diplomat
Born in 1965, Youssouf studied foreign languages, management and other subjects at the Lumière University Lyon, the University of Liverpool and Université Laval in Canada.
In the 1990s, he headed the Arab affairs department of Djibouti’s foreign ministry and also worked as his nation’s ambassador to Egypt between 1997 and 2001.
Youssouf became the Djiboutian minister of foreign affairs in 2005.He is fluent in Somali, Arabic, English and French
