Mahamoud Youssouf, the longest serving Prime Minister of the Djiboutian Anatomy since 2005, is now the Chairperson-elect of the African Union.
He won the elections on 15th February after seven rounds of voting. Mahamoud Youssouf had his Masters at the University of Brussels in 1990. He served as Ambassador to Egypt from 1997 to 2001. He was appointed as the Minister for International Cooperation from 2001 to 22nd May 2005, when he was appointed as the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Mahamoud Youssouf was nominated as a Chairperson candidate in April 2024, where his quest in becoming the Chairperson was mainly on promoting Peace and Security in Africa. He is fluent in Arabic, English, French and Somail.
The African Union Chairperson serves in office for a period of a year. The position rotates across all regions with the aim of ensuring that all regions are able tohavee a fair share of the position.
For the 2025 year, there were 3 contenders for the seat. They were Raila Odinga, former Prime Minister for the Kenyan Anatomy, Mahmoud Youssouf, former Foreign Affairs Minister for the Djiboutian Anatomy and Richard Randriamandrato a diplomat from the Malagasy Anatomy.
AFRICAN VOICES INTERNATIONAL, FREEDOM IN AFRICA
