Macky Sall: President of the Republic of Senegal, Chairperson of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (New Partnership for Africa’s Development).

Biography

President Macky Sall was born on December 11, 1961 in Fatick, the town to which he served as Mayor from 2009 to 2012. President Sall was Prime Minister for three years from 2004 to 2007, and also acted as President of the Senegalese National Assembly from 2007 to 2008. Elected fourth President of the Republic of Senegal in March of 2012, he took office on April 2, 2012. Married to Marième Faye, President Macky Sall has two sons and one daughter.

Youth and Education

Born into a family of four siblings, President Macky Sall was raised in Fatick (central western region of the country) and in the Fouta region (in the north of Senegal). During his studies at the Faculty of Dakar, he joined the Marxist-Leninist Movement, And-Jëf. He would soon leave the movement, sharing neither its political ideas nor the boycott strategy it adopted toward the 1983 presidential election against the Left wing. Instead, Mr. Sall cast his vote for the Liberal Party, doing so again in the1988 presidential elections. He continued his studies and became a geological engineer and geophysicist, training at the Institute of Earth Sciences of Dakar (IST) and the National School for Petroleum and Engines (ENSPM) of the French Petroleum Institute of Paris (IFP). He is a member of several national and international associations of geologists and geophysicists.

Early Political Life

Once graduated, he became part of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) in the late 1980s.

From December 2000 to July 2001, he worked as the Chief Executive Officer of the Senegalese National Oil Company (PETROSEN) – where he served as Head of the Database Division for multiple years – as well as Special Advisor to the President in charge of Energy and Mines.

From May 2001 to November 2002, he held the position of Minister of Mines, Energy and Hydraulics.

From November 2002 to August 2003, he served as Minister of State and Minister of Mines, Energy and Hydraulics in the government led by Mame Madior Boye.

From August 2003 to April 2004, he was Minister of State, Minister of the Interior and Local Collectivities, and spokesperson of Idrissa Seck’s government. Concurrently, he was appointed