Mahamoud Ali Youssouf

Mahamoud Ali Youssouf was born on 2 September 1965 in Djibouti City. He received his basic education in Djibouti. He is Afar.^[4]

Yousouf's further educational journey took him to the United Kingdom, France, and Canada.^[5] He studied business management at the University of Liverpool and obtained his master's degree in management in 1990.^[6] He wrote his thesis at the Free University of Brussels in the 1990s.^[4]

Youssouf worked at Djibouti's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and headed its Arab affairs department during the 1990s. He served as Ambassador to Egypt from 1997 to 2001.^[7]

Youssouf was appointed Minister-Delegate for International Cooperation on 4 July 2001.^[8][9] He was subsequently appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on 22 May 2005.^[10] In 2006, he visited Japan.^[11]

In 2008, Youssouf served as Chairman of the 129th Ordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Arab League.^[12]

Youssouf has played important roles in international diplomacy, especially in the Horn of Africa.^[6] Speaking to The New York Times in 2008, Youssouf said that although Djibouti was a small country, it had a sizable port and hoped to develop its economy along the same lines as Dubai. He highlighted the country's strategic location, which he asserted was better positioned than Dubai.^[13]

Djibouti nominated Youssouf as their candidate for the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) in April 2024.^[14] Youssouf considered peace and security his top priority.^[15] In the AUC chair candidates debate, Youssouf stated that African countries should lead the way in dealing with security issues and should stop depending on other nations. He criticised the Peace and Security Council for being reactive rather than proactive and noted that the African Standby Forces were rarely utilised due to funding issues.^[6] He was endorsed by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.^[5]

On 15 February 2025, Youssouf was elected as the Chairperson of the African Union, succeeding Chadian Moussa Faki. The election, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was decided by member states of the African Union after seven rounds of voting, in which he defeated Madagascar's Richard Randriamandra then Kenya's Raila Odinga,^[16] the leading candidate.^[17] Youssouf received congratulatory messages from the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and from across the continent.^[18][19]

Youssouf is fluent in Somali, Arabic, Afar,^[20] English, and French.^[2]

He is said to have a close relationship with Djiboutian President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh.^[21]

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