Assembly of the African Union

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The Assembly of the African Union, which is formally known as the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government (AU-AHSG), is one of several decision-making bodies within the African Union. The other bodies are the Pan-African Parliament; the Executive Council, consisting of foreign ministers of the AU members states; and the African Union Commission. The Chairperson of the Assembly has few formal functions, the most important of which is to preside at the Pan-African Parliament during the election and swearing in of the President of the Pan-African Parliament.

History of the Assembly[]

The Assembly came into existence on 25 May 1963, as part of the ratification of Organization of African Unity (OAU). Initially the Assembly consisted of 32 independent members, the heads of state of the African states that had achieved independence by 1963. Until 2001, the governing constitution of the Assembly was the . The Assembly is now subject to the Union Act that created the African Union.

Functions of the Assembly[]

The Assembly has nine basic functions:

  1. Set policies of the Union.
  2. Decide on what action to take after consideration of reports and recommendations from the other organs of the Union.
  3. Consider membership requests into the Union.
  4. Create bodies for the Union.
  5. Monitor the implementation of policies and decisions of the Union as well ensure compliance by all Member States.
  6. Create a budget of the Union.
  7. Provide direction to the Executive Council on conflicts, war and other emergency situations and the restoration of peace.
  8. Select judges for and withdraw judges of the Court of Justice.
  9. Appoint the Chairman of the Commission, Commissioners of the Commission, all respective deputies and determine how long they will serve and what duties they will perform.

Decisions of the Assembly[]

50th anniversary African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 25 May 2013

The Assembly shall take its decisions by consensus or, failing which, by a two-thirds majority of the Member States of the Union. However, procedural matters, including the question of whether a matter is one of procedure or not, shall be decided by a simple majority.

Two-thirds of the total membership of the Union shall form a quorum at any meeting of the Assembly.

The Assembly may delegate any of its powers and functions to any organ of the Union.

Members of the Assembly[]

The AU Assembly of the Heads of State and Government consists of the 54 heads of state and government of the member countries. The Assembly meets once a year at the . The current Chairman of the Assembly is President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.

The current members of the AU-AHSG are:

Member State Representative Title Member since Photo
 Algeria Abdelmadjid Tebboune President 19 December 2019 Abdelmadjid Tebboune 20200119 (cropped).jpg
 Angola João Lourenço President 26 September 2017 2018-07-04 President João Lourenço-0555.jpg
 Benin Patrice Talon President 6 April 2016 Patrice Talon at the 52nd African Development Bank Annual Meeting in Gandhinagar (Cropped).jpg
 Botswana Mokgweetsi Masisi President 1 April 2018 Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference London 2018 (45245990491) (cropped Version 2).jpg
 Burkina Faso Roch Marc Christian Kaboré President 6 December 2015 Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.jpg
 Burundi Évariste Ndayishimiye President 18 June 2020 Evariste Ndayishimiye (cropped).jpg
 Cabo Verde Jorge Carlos Fonseca President 9 September 2011 Jorge Carlos Fonseca 2014.png
 Cameroon Paul Biya President 6 November 1982 Paul Biya 2014.png
 Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadéra President 30 February 2016 Faustin Touadera.jpg
 Chad Mahamat Déby Itno Chairman of the Transitional Military Council 20 April 2021 Mahamat Déby.png
 Comoros Azali Assoumani President 26 May 2016 President Azali Assoumani.jpg
 Democratic Republic of the Congo Félix Tshisekedi President 24 January 2019 Félix Tshisekedi (september 2018).jpg
 Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso President 25 August 1997 Denis Sassou Nguesso 2014.png
 Côte d'Ivoire Alassane Ouattara President 4 December 2010 President Alassane Ouattara in Washington - 2017 (38244569701) (cropped).jpg
 Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh President 8 May 1999 Ismail Omar Guelleh 2018.jpg
 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi President 8 June 2014 AbdelFattah Elsisi.jpg
 Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo President 3 August 1979 Teodoro Obiang.png
 Eritrea Isaias Afewerki President 24 May 1993 Isaias Afwerki in 2002.jpg
 Eswatini Mswati III King 25 April 1986 King Mswati III 2014.jpg
 Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed Prime Minister 2 April 2018 The state visit of Reuven Rivlin to Ethiopia, May 2018 (6810) (cropped).jpg
 Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba President 19 October 2009 London Conference on The Illegal Wildlife Trade (cropped).jpg
 The Gambia Adama Barrow President 19 January 2017 Adama Barrow - 2018 (39774084330) (cropped).jpg
 Ghana Nana Akuffo-Addo President 7 January 2017 Nana Akufo-Addo at European Development Days 2017.jpg
 Guinea Mamady Doumbouya Interim President 1 October 2021 Mamadi Doumbouya 21.jpg
 Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embaló President 27 February 2020 Umaro Sissoco Embaló (51315757792).jpg
 Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta President 9 April 2013 Uhuru Kenyatta.png
 Lesotho Moeketsi Majoro Prime Minister 20 May 2020 Moeketsi Majoro (01910409) (9654273280) (cropped).jpg
 Liberia George Weah President 22 January 2018 George Weah 2019 (cropped).jpg
 Libya Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh Prime Minister 15 March 2021 Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh (15-04-2021).jpg
 Madagascar Andry Rajoelina President 19 January 2019 Andry Rajoelina portrait UN.jpg
 Malawi Lazarus Chakwera President 28 June 2020 Lazarus Chakwera 2017.jpg
 Mali Assimi Goïta Interim President 24 May 2021

Assimi Goita, August 2021 (cropped).png

 Mauritania Mohamed Ould Ghazouani President 1 August 2019 Hi Excellency Mohammed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, President of Mauritania, at the UK-Africa Investment Summit, 20 January 2020 (cropped).jpg
 Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth Prime Minister 23 January 2017 Pravind Jugnauth.jpg
 Mozambique Filipe Nyusi President 15 January 2015 Filipe Nyusi, President, Republic of Mozambique - 2018 (40689535485) (cropped).jpg
 Namibia Hage Geingob President 21 March 2015 Hage Geingob.jpg
 Niger Mohamed Bazoum President 2 April 2021 Mohamed Bazoum (cropped).jpg
 Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari President 29 May 2015 Muhammadu Buhari - Chatham House.jpg
 Rwanda Paul Kagame President 24 March 2000 Paul Kagame 2014.jpg
 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Brahim Ghali President 12 July 2016 Brahim Ghali.jpg
 São Tomé and Príncipe Evaristo Carvalho President 3 September 2016 Evaristo Carvalho 2016.jpg
 Senegal Macky Sall President 2 April 2012 Macky Sall with Obamas 2014 (cropped).jpg
 Seychelles Wavel Ramkalawan President 26 October 2020 Wavel Ramkalawan (face) 2020.jpg
 Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio President 4 April 2018 Julius Maada Bio - 2020 (cropped).jpg
 Somalia Mohamed Hussein Roble Prime Minister 23 September 2020 Mohamed Hussein Roble (cropped).png
 South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa President 15 February 2018 Cyril Ramaphosa.jpg
 South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit President 9 July 2011 Salva Kiir Mayardit at the White House (cropped).jpg
 Sudan Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan Chairman of the Transitional Military Council 12 April 2019 Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, 2019 (cropped).jpg
 Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan President 19 March 2021 Samia Suluhu Hassan in May 2017.jpg
 Togo Faure Gnassingbé President 4 May 2005 Faure Gnassingbé 2014.png
 Tunisia Kais Saied President 23 October 2019 President Kais Saïed cropped.jpg
 Uganda Yoweri Museveni President 26 January 1986 Museveni July 2012 Cropped.jpg
 Zambia Edgar Lungu President 25 January 2015 Edgar Lungu January 2015.jpg
 Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa President 24 November 2017 Emmerson Mnangagwa (2019-01-15).jpg

See also[]

  • European Council, the European Union equivalent.

External links[]

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