Chairperson of the African Union

Chairperson of the African Union
Emblem
Incumbent Hailemariam Desalegn since 27 January 2013
Appointer	the Assembly
Term length	One year
Inaugural holder	Haile Selassie I
Formation	25 May 1963
Website	www.au.int/en

The chairperson of the African Union (and formerly Organisation of African Unity) is elected by the Assembly, which consists of the heads of state of member countries, to serve a 1-year term.

List of chairpersons

Organization of African Unity
Name	Beginning of term	End of term	Country
Haile Selassie I	25 May 1963	17 July 1964	Ethiopia
Gamal Abdel Nasser	17 July 1964	21 October 1965	Egypt
Kwame Nkrumah	21 October 1965	24 February 1966	Ghana
Joseph Arthur Ankrah	24 February 1966	5 November 1966	Ghana
Haile Selassie I	5 November 1966	11 September 1967	Ethiopia
Joseph-Désiré Mobutu	11 September 1967	13 September 1968	Congo (Kinshasa)
Houari Boumedienne	13 September 1968	6 September 1969	Algeria
Ahmadou Ahidjo	6 September 1969	1 September 1970	Cameroon
Kenneth Kaunda	1 September 1970	21 June 1971	Zambia
Moktar Ould Daddah	21 June 1971	12 June 1972	Mauritania
Hassan II	12 June 1972	27 May 1973	Morocco
Yakubu Gowon	27 May 1973	12 June 1974	Nigeria
Muhammad Siad Barre	12 June 1974	28 July 1975	Somalia
Idi Amin	28 July 1975	2 July 1976	Uganda
Seewoosagur Ramgoolam	2 July 1976	2 July 1977	Mauritius
Omar Bongo	2 July 1977	18 July 1978	Gabon
Gaafar Nimeiry	18 July 1978	12 July 1979	Sudan
William R. Tolbert, Jr.	12 July 1979	12 April 1980	Liberia
Léopold Sédar Senghor (acting)	28 April 1980	1 July 1980	Senegal
Siaka Stevens	1 July 1980	24 June 1981	Sierra Leone
Daniel arap Moi	24 June 1981	6 June 1983	Kenya
Mengistu Haile Mariam	6 June 1983	12 November 1984	Ethiopia
Julius Nyerere	12 November 1984	18 July 1985	Tanzania
Abdou Diouf	18 July 1985	28 July 1986	Senegal
Denis Sassou-Nguesso	28 July 1986	27 July 1987	PR Congo
Kenneth Kaunda	27 July 1987	25 May 1988	Zambia
Moussa Traoré	25 May 1988	24 July 1989	Mali
Hosni Mubarak	24 July 1989	9 July 1990	Egypt
Yoweri Museveni	9 July 1990	3 June 1991	Uganda
Ibrahim Babangida	3 June 1991	29 June 1992	Nigeria
Abdou Diouf	29 June 1992	28 June 1993	Senegal
Hosni Mubarak	28 June 1993	13 June 1994	Egypt
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali	13 June 1994	26 June 1995	Tunisia
Meles Zenawi	26 June 1995	8 July 1996	Ethiopia
Paul Biya	8 July 1996	2 June 1997	Cameroon
Robert Mugabe	2 June 1997	8 June 1998	Zimbabwe
Blaise Compaoré	8 June 1998	12 July 1999	Burkina Faso
Abdelaziz Bouteflika	12 July 1999	10 July 2000	Algeria
Gnassingbé Eyadéma	10 July 2000	9 July 2001	Togo
Frederick Chiluba	9 July 2001	2 January 2002	Zambia
Levy Mwanawasa	2 January 2002	9 July 2002	Zambia
African Union
Name	Beginning of term	End of term	Country
Thabo Mbeki	9 July 2002	10 July 2003	South Africa
Joaquim Chissano	10 July 2003	6 July 2004	Mozambique
Olusegun Obasanjo	6 July 2004	24 January 2006	Nigeria
Denis Sassou-Nguesso	24 January 2006	24 January 2007	Congo (Brazzaville)
John Kufuor	30 January 2007	31 January 2008	Ghana
Jakaya Kikwete	31 January 2008	2 February 2009	Tanzania
Muammar Gaddafi	2 February 2009	31 January 2010	Libya
Bingu wa Mutharika	31 January 2010	31 January 2011	Malawi
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo	31 January 2011	29 January 2012	Equatorial Guinea
Yayi Boni	29 January 2012	27 January 2013	Benin
Hailemariam Desalegn	27 January 2013	Incumbent	Ethiopia