Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Djibouti’s Foreign Affairs Minister, is a seasoned diplomat with considerable influence across Africa. He has emerged as a prominent candidate for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship, garnering strong support for the position.
Mahamoud hopes to secure two-thirds of the votes across the African continent to take up the chairmanship role.
Mahamoud hails from Djibouti city where he was born. He got his basic education in Djibouti and later furthered his studies in linguistics, business, and management in Lyon, France, Liverpool, United Kingdom, and Laval, France. Additionally, he wrote his thesis at the Free University of Brussels in the 1990s.
He served as the head of Arab Affairs between 1992 and 1997 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Djibouti. A career that offered him a diplomatic footing in the continent and the world at large.
Similarly, in 1997, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf was appointed Ambassador to Egypt, a role he held until 2001 when he returned to Djibouti and was named Minister Delegate for International Cooperation.
Under the leadership of Ali, Djibouti has played a critical role in regional and international diplomacy, especially in the Horn of Africa. He has been involved in significant diplomatic negotiations and efforts to promote peace and stability in the region.
Youssouf is multilingual, which has been an asset in his diplomatic work. It has boosted him to engage effectively with diverse international counterparts.
He is an independent politician, and he is known for his optimism about Djibouti’s future. He has held the position of Djibouti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2005.
Moreover, in April 2024, he was nominated by Djibouti to become the Chairperson of the African Union Commission where he is being endorsed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) who are backing his bid.
Although the Djibouti Candidate is a public figure with much of his information on his career accomplices available in the public domain little is known about his family and marriage.
