Abdoulaye Wade

I

Introduction

Abdoulaye Wade, born in 1926, president of Senegal (2000- ), whose election brought the first democratic transfer of power in Senegal since the country gained independence from France in 1960.

Born in Kébèmer, a small town in northwestern Senegal, Wade attended school in Dakar before studying abroad in France. He received a doctorate in law and economics from the University of Grenoble in 1959. After returning to newly independent Senegal in 1960, Wade taught law at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar (also known as the University of Dakar). He became dean of the university’s College of Law and Economics in 1970.

II

Years in Opposition Politics

In 1974 Wade founded the liberal Parti Démocratique Sénégalais (PDS; Senegalese Democratic Party). The PDS became one of the few parties to be officially recognized in 1976, when constitutional amendments introduced a multiparty system in Senegal. In 1978 the ruling Parti Socialiste (PS; Socialist Party) of Senegalese president Léopold Sédar Senghor held onto power in the parliamentary elections, while Senghor overwhelmingly defeated Wade in the presidential election. As leader of the PDS, Wade became a deputy to the National Assembly.

In 1981 Senghor retired and appointed Abdou Diouf, his prime minister, to succeed him as president. Diouf removed all restrictions on political activity, allowing the official registration of many previously unrecognized parties. Wade lost to Diouf in the 1983 and the 1988 presidential elections. Constitutional amendments in 1991 allowed opposition parties to participate in government, and Wade was one of four PDS politicians appointed to government posts. However, all four resigned in October 1992 over their objections to lack of any real power sharing. Wade was the PDS candidate in the 1993 presidential election, but he lost to Diouf a third time.

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An opposition demonstration in Dakar in February 1994 ended in riots and violence, and Wade was included among those who were detained and charged with attacks on state security. All charges against them were subsequently dismissed for lack of evidence. In 1995 a new council of ministers was formed to include several PDS members, including Wade, in government. Wade continued to be a vocal and active member of opposition politics, calling for an independent electoral commission among other opposition demands. As a sign of protest, he resigned from his ministerial position in March 1998.

III

President of Senegal

Competing in his fifth consecutive presidential election in 2000, Wade built a coalition around the PDS called Sopi (Wolof for “change”). It included some 40 opposition parties and movements. Wade defeated Diouf in a runoff election with 58.5 percent of the vote. Wade’s position was strengthened following parliamentary elections in May 2001, when the Sopi coalition took control of the National Assembly, winning 89 of 120 seats. These successes marked the first time the Socialist Party had lost power since Senegal gained independence from France in 1960. Senegal’s peaceful and democratic change of leadership was lauded internationally.

After assuming office, one of Wade’s top priorities was to resolve a separatist movement that had erupted in the 1980s in Casamance (the region of Senegal south of The Gambia). He met personally with rebel leaders of the Mouvement des Forces Démocratiques de la Casamance (MFDC; Movement of Democratic Forces of the Casamance). At the end of 2004 a peace accord was signed between the Senegalese government and the main faction of the MFDC.

A self-described pan-Africanist, Wade became an influential figure in West Africa and across the continent. Along with other major African leaders, Wade was an advocate for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), established in 2001 to tackle African poverty at an international level. Wade’s diplomatic efforts led to much-improved relations between Senegal and its neighbors Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, and The Gambia. Wade also sought to strengthen ties with the United States.

A new Senegalese constitution, approved by public referendum in January 2001, reduced the presidential term to five years (from seven). In the 2007 presidential election, Wade won nearly 56 percent of the vote in the first round of voting, making a runoff election unnecessary.

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