Tweet
Africa pushes for greater democracy, crisis resolution
African leaders ended their 19th biannual summit that saw the election of the first female head of the African Union Commission and a renewed pledge to push democracy and fast-track resolution of crises in the continent’s hotspots, including Mali, the Sudans, Guinea Bissau and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Held in the shining Chinese-built new headquarters here, the July 15-16 summit’s attention-drawing event that overshadowed other issues was the election of South African Home Affairs Minister Nkosozana Dlamini-Zuma as the new chairperson of the African Union Commission, the executive body which manages day-to-day affairs of the 54-nation African Union.
Dlamini-Zuma, a veteran anti-apartheid activist and a former wife of South African President Jacob Zuma, broke the glass ceiling by becoming the first woman head of the AU Commission. She was sworn in past midnight Monday by Benin’s President Boni Yayi, the chair of the AU, signaling the end of the leadership stalemate that has plagued the AU since a deadlocked election in January this year.
Jean Ping, a former Gabon’s foreign minister who helmed the AU for the last four years, graciously accepted defeat and congratulated Dlamini-Zuma.
African leaders ended their 19th biannual summit that saw the election of the first female head of the African Union Commission and a renewed pledge to push democracy and fast-track resolution of crises in the continent’s hotspots, including Mali, the Sudans, Guinea Bissau and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Held in the shining Chinese-built new headquarters here, the July 15-16 summit’s attention-drawing event that overshadowed other issues was the election of South African Home Affairs Minister Nkosozana Dlamini-Zuma as the new chairperson of the African Union Commission, the executive body which manages day-to-day affairs of the 54-nation African Union.
Dlamini-Zuma, a veteran anti-apartheid activist and a former wife of South African President Jacob Zuma, broke the glass ceiling by becoming the first woman head of the AU Commission. She was sworn in past midnight Monday by Benin’s President Boni Yayi, the chair of the AU, signaling the end of the leadership stalemate that has plagued the AU since a deadlocked election in January this year.
Jean Ping, a former Gabon’s foreign minister who helmed the AU for the last four years, graciously accepted defeat and congratulated Dlamini-Zuma.
