Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the Djibouti foreign affairs minister, was on Saturday, February 15, 2025, elected as the new African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson in a hotly contested race that took seven rounds for a winner to be determined.
Mahmoud won the contest after Kenya’s candidate, Raila Odinga, dropped off in the sixth round after garnering fewer votes, but since none of them had attained the required two-thirds majority vote of the 49 eligible African Union (AU) member states, the vote had to go to the seventh round.
During the AUC elections, Selma Malika Haddadi of Algeria was elected to deputize Mahmoud, and their mandates are for four years, renewable once.
The two leaders were elected and sworn in at the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government that took place from February 15 to 16, 2025, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Four commissioners were also elected to various positions. and are set to work with Mahmoud as he takes over from the outgoing chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad.
The chairperson of the AUC is the chief executive officer, legal representative of the AU and the AU Commission chief accounting officer.
Here is a full list of the team that will work with Mahmoud.
Selma Malika Haddadi
Selma Malika Haddadi will deputize Mahmoud. She will take over from Dr Monique Nsanzabaganwa of Rwanda, who was elected in 2021, becoming the first female Deputy Chairperson.
The 47-year-old Haddadi is a career diplomat and the current Ambassador of Algeria to Ethiopia and the Permanent Representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UNECA. She is also a legal expert.
Bankole Adeoye
Bankole Adeoye from Nigeria was re-elected to head the Political Affairs, Peace, and Security (PAPS) department.
In March 2021, he became the first Commissioner to lead the amalgamated Political Affairs, Peace, and Security portfolios, which had hitherto been two separate departments.
He previously served as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the AU and UNECA and Ambassador to Ethiopia and Djibouti.
He has also served as Chief of Staff for the African Union Development Agency (AUDA- NEPAD); Director of Corporate Services, and Coordinator, Partnerships & External Relations, as well as the Director in the International Organizations Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Moses Vilakati
Moses Vilakati from Eswatini was elected to head the Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (ARBE) department.
He has served as a minister in Eswatini in both the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Previously, he served as the Project Director at the Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise among other accomplishments. He takes over from Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko (Angola) who served for two terms.
Lerato Mataboge
Lerato Mataboge (South Africa) was elected as the Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy (I&E) department.
Mataboge is a global policy and trade and investment facilitation expert and is currently the Deputy Director-General in the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. Prior to this role, she founded and was CEO of Trade Invest Africa.
She also serves on the Board of the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa (ECIC) as a non-Executive Director and is a member of the Finance and Investment Committee. She takes over from H.E. Amani Abou-Zeid (Egypt, Northern Region) who served for two terms.
Amma Twum-Amoah
Amb. Amma Twum-Amoah (Ghana) was elected as Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development (HHS) department.
She is the former Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan and the Permanent Representative to the African Union.
A poster showing the new African Union Commission (AUC) leadership. PHOTO/African Union Website
She previously served as the Director, Economic, Trade and Investment Bureau of Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and served as the Minister Plenipotentiary/Special Government Projects at the Embassy of Ghana in Washington, D.C., U.S.A, among other senior positions. She takes over from H.E. Amb. Minata Samate Cessouma (Burkina Faso, Western Region).
The elections for the Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Mining (ETTIM) and Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI) were postponed.
The incumbent commissioners, namely Amb. Albert Muchanga and Prof. Mohammed Belhocine, respectively, will continue to serve in their current positions until the elections are conducted.
By PeoplesDaily