Macky Sall

Macky Sall is a Senegalese geological engineer turned politician, born in 1961 in Fatick. He held several portfolios under President Abdoulaye Wade, including Minister of Mines and Energy, Prime Minister (2004–2007), and President of the National Assembly, before breaking with Wade and founding the Alliance pour la République (APR) party in 2008.

Sall won the Senegalese presidency in a 2012 runoff against Wade, taking roughly 65% of the second-round vote, and was re-elected in the first round in February 2019. His tenure emphasized infrastructure investment under the Plan Sénégal Émergent (PSE), including the Diamniadio new city, the Blaise Diagne International Airport, and a regional express train (TER) linking Dakar to Diamniadio. Senegal also began offshore oil and gas production at the Sangomar field during the final stretch of his presidency.

In February 2022 he assumed the rotating chairmanship of the African Union, in which capacity he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi in June 2022 to press for the release of Ukrainian grain and Russian fertilizer exports affected by the war. He used the AU platform to advocate for African permanent representation on the UN Security Council and for a G20 seat for the AU, which was granted in September 2023.

His later years in office were politically turbulent. Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko's prosecutions triggered deadly protests in 2021 and 2023. In July 2023 Sall announced he would not seek a contested third term. His February 2024 decree postponing the scheduled presidential election was struck down by the Constitutional Council, forcing a rescheduled vote on 24 March 2024 that was won by opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Sall left office on 2 April 2024 and subsequently relocated to Morocco. In 2024 he was appointed Special Envoy of the Pacte de Paris pour les peuples et la planète (4P).