Abdou Diouf (born 7 September 1935) was Prime Minister of Senegal from 26 February 1970 to 31 December 1980, succeeding Mamadou Dia and preceding Habib Thiam, and President of Senegal from 1 January 1981 to 9 April 2000, succeeding Leopold Sedar Senghor and preceding Abdoulaye Wade. He was a member of the Socialist Party of Senegal.
Biography[]
Abdou Diouf was born in Louga, Senegal in 1935, and he was educated at the University of Dakar, graduating in law from the University of Paris. Upon his return to Senegal, he became the protégé of President Leopold Sedar Senghor, and he became secretary-general of the President's office in 1964. He was made Prime Minister in 1970, and he succeeded Senghor to the presidency in 1981. While being less of an ideologue than his predecessor, he was a much better and more efficient administrator. He also liberalized political life. In 1981, he responded to the call of his Gambian colleague, Dawda Jawara, for military assistance against a coup, and subsequently became engaged in the formation of a union between the two countries, Senegambia. In 1985, he became head of the OAU. Economic difficulties as a result of falling prices for Senegal's main exports and the failure of the union with the Gambia in 1989 gave rise to a serious opposition movement, though he continued to be sufficiently popular to be re-elected in 1993. He finally retired in 2000.