Abdou Diouf

Abdou Diouf was born on September 7, 1935, in Louga, Senegal, to a devout Muslim father and a Hal ‘Pulaar’ mother. His father worked as a postman, and belonged to the Serer ethnoreligious group.

He received his primary and secondary education from the Lycée Faidherbe in Saint-Louis. Later, he attended the Dakar University and then studied law at Sorbonne, Paris, graduating in 1959.

After completing his graduation, Abdou Diouf returned to Senegal and was appointed the Director of International Technical Cooperation in September 1960.

In December 1960, he became the assistant of the Secretary-General of the Government, and was later appointed the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Defense in June 1961.

In 1961, he joined the Senegalese Progressive Union party, which was later re-formed into the Socialist Party of Senegal. Subsequently, he became Governor of the Sine-Saloum Region, a post he served in until December 1962, following which he was appointed as the Director of the Cabinet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In May 1963, he was shifted to the position of Director of the Cabinet of the President Léopold Senghor, which he retained until December 1965.

In January 1964, he was also appointed the Secretary-General of the Presidency, a post he served until March 1968. After that, he served as the Minister of Planning and Industry until February 1970.

In 1986, Abdou Diouf initiated an anti-AIDS program in Senegal, promoted safe-sex messages and appealed to the prostitutes to get registered. He also encouraged civic organizations as well as religious leaders to spread awareness regarding the disease. As a result, despite the high rate of prevalence of AIDS in most of the African countries, it remained below 2 per cent in Senegal.