Chairperson of the African Union

The Chairperson of the African Union is the ceremonial head of the African Union elected by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government for a one-year term.

A candidate must be supported by at least two-thirds of the member states or by consensus. The chairperson is expected to complete the term without resignations or impeachment.

List of Chairpersons
 Portrait  Chairperson Took office Left office  Country Region 1  100px  Thabo Mbeki  9 July 2002  10 July 2003    Southern Africa 2  100px  Joaquim Chissano  10 July 2003  11 July 2004    Southern Africa 3  100px  Olusegun Obasanjo  11 July 2004  24 January 2006    West Africa 4  100px  Denis Sassou Nguesso  24 January 2006  24 January 2007    Central Africa 5  100px  John Kufuor  30 January 2007  31 January 2008    West Africa 6  100px  Jakaya Kikwete  31 January 2008  2 February 2009    East Africa 7  100px  Muammar Gaddafi  2 February 2009  31 January 2010   Libya  North Africa 8  100px  Bingu wa Mutharika  31 January 2010  31 January 2011    Southern Africa 9  100px  Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo  31 January 2011  29 January 2012    Central Africa 10  100px  Yayi Boni  29 January 2012  27 January 2013    West Africa 11  100px  Hailemariam Desalegn  27 January 2013  30 January 2014    East Africa 12  100px  Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz  30 January 2014  30 January 2015    North Africa 13  100px  Robert Mugabe  30 January 2015  30 January 2016    Southern Africa 14  100px  Idriss Déby  30 January 2016  30 January 2017    Central Africa 15  100px  Alpha Condé  30 January 2017  28 January 2018    West Africa 16  100px  Paul Kagame  28 January 2018  10 February 2019    East Africa 17  100px  Abdel Fattah el-Sisi  10 February 2019  10 February 2020    North Africa 18  100px  Cyril Ramaphosa  10 February 2020  6 February 2021    Southern Africa 19  100px  Félix Tshisekedi  6 February 2021  5 February 2022   Central Africa 20  100px  Macky Sall  5 February 2022  18 February 2023    West Africa 21  100px  Azali Assoumani  18 February 2023  17 February 2024    East Africa 22  100px  Mohamed Ould Ghazouani  17 February 2024  15 February 2025    West Africa   23  100px  João Lourenço  15 February 2025  Incumbent    Southern Africa  

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