President Macky Sall was born on December 11, 1961 in Fatick, the town to which he served as Mayor from 2009 to 2012. President Sall was Prime Minister for three years from 2004 to 2007, and also acted as President of the Senegalese National Assembly from 2007 to 2008. Elected fourth President of the Republic of Senegal in March of 2012, he took office on April 2, 2012. Married to Marième Faye, President Macky Sall has two sons and one daughter.
Youth and Education
Born into a family of four siblings, President Macky Sall was raised in Fatick (central western region of the country) and in the Fouta region (in the north of Senegal). During his studies at the Faculty of Dakar, he joined the Marxist-Leninist Movement, And-Jëf. He would soon leave the movement, sharing neither its political ideas nor the boycott strategy it adopted toward the 1983 presidential election against the Left wing. Instead, Mr. Sall cast his vote for the Liberal Party, doing so again in the1988 presidential elections. He continued his studies and became a geological engineer and geophysicist, training at the Institute of Earth Sciences of Dakar (IST) and the National School for Petroleum and Engines (ENSPM) of the French Petroleum Institute of Paris (IFP). He is a member of several national and international associations of geologists and geophysicists.
Early Political Life
Once graduated, he became part of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) in the late 1980s.
From December 2000 to July 2001, he worked as the Chief Executive Officer of the Senegalese National Oil Company (PETROSEN) – where he served as Head of the Database Division for multiple years – as well as Special Advisor to the President in charge of Energy and Mines.
From May 2001 to November 2002, he held the position of Minister of Mines, Energy and Hydraulics.
From November 2002 to August 2003, he served as Minister of State and Minister of Mines, Energy and Hydraulics in the government led by Mame Madior Boye.
From August 2003 to April 2004, he was Minister of State, Minister of the Interior and Local Collectivities, and spokesperson of Idrissa Seck’s government. Concurrently, he was appointed
In February 2022, President Macky Sall of Senegal took over the baton of command from H.E. Felix- Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as the Chairperson of the African Union for the year 2021.
In his handing over speech, President Felix- Antoine Tshisekedi wished the new AU Chairperson, a successful Chairmanship and thanked the Heads of States of AU Member States as well as the AU outgoing bureau, for their support during the tenure of his mandate which he said, was marked by the prevailing sanitary crisis caused by the COVID19 pandemic.
In his acceptance speech, President Macky Sall said he appreciates the honor coupled with the responsibility and the trust invested in his person, and the members of the new Bureau, to lead the destiny of the Organization for the next one year., “I thank you and assure you of our commitment to work together with all member countries in the exercise of our mandate” indicated the incoming Chair of the Union. “I pay tribute to the founding fathers of the Organization. Six decades later, their luminous vision continues to inspire our living together and to illuminate our united march towards the ideal of African integration” He added.
President Macky Sall further noted that, it is precisely in this pan-African spirit that President Léopold Sédar Senghor had proposed, at the OAU summit of July 1964, to establish “a permanent political and moral authority of the Conference of Heads of State and Government” to give high-level impetus to the management of the affairs of the continent.
He further noted that, “as our Union celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, we can be proud of the progress made under major initiatives such as NEPAD, PIDA, APRM, Vision 2063, institutional reform, the Great Green Wall, the AfCFTA and more recently our coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, our challenges remain numerous and pressing; notably in the areas of peace and security, the fight against terrorism, environmental protection, health and economic and social development…” “I do not forget the resurgence of the phenomenon of coups d’état which constitutes a major attack on democracy and institutional stability on the continent”. Concluded the new AU Chair.
Source: au.int / presidence.sn