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The area now known as Senegal was inhabited in prehistoric
times according to archaeological finds. It was once part of the
Ghana Empire and, like so much of Africa, became a place of trade
with European countries such as France infiltrating the Senegal
mainland by the 1850s having previously owned the offshore island
of Goree. Goree Island (below)
was to be used as a major slave trading point for the transport of
slaves between Africa and the New World peaking in the 18th
Century and millions passed through its infamous "Door of No
Return". In 1959 the French Sudan and Senegal merged into the Mali Federation
which went on to achieve independence in 1960. However this arrangement was
short lived with the French Sudan breaking away to form the Republic of Mali,
and Senegal reverting to its former name the same year.
Perhaps some of the reasons for this
successful transition to independence in 1960 are down to the
country's first president, Leopold Senghor who, far from
having an army and/or militant background, was a distinguished
politician who helped helped draft the then French President's
new constitution for France in 1958.
Using this experience he
provided Senegal with a new constitution of its own in 1963,
placing executive powers in the hands of the Senegal
President, an office he occupied until the transfer of power
to his chosen successor and Prime Minister Abdou Diouf (below) in 1981 after five presidential
terms with his Senegalese Progressive Union being the only
permitted political party. (Interestingly, despite
independence, Senegal's currency rate continued to be fixed by
France, education was taught in French and the French
continued to advise the President in all political matters.) Abdou Diouf
demonstrated a strong
commitment to democracy during his three terms as president
from 1981 to 2000 allowing other political parties to form.
Ironically this move fragmented the opposition securing him
83.5% of the vote in 1983 however his position had weakened to
72.3% in the next election in 1988 with main opposition leader Abdoulaye
Wade getting 25.8% of the vote.
In 1993 Diouf's vote was
58% and in 2000 he was defeated and succeeded by Senegalese Democratic Party opposition leader Abdoulaye Wade.
Diouf gave up power voluntarily and stepped aside, the first
time a West African leader had done so in memory securing him
an enduring place in the mindset of West Africa.
One
of Diouf's first acts as president had been to form the
Senegambia Confederation between Senegal and Gambia aimed at
enhancing cooperation between the two countries particularly
in terms of their armed forces and security. This
confederation lasted until late 1989 when Senegal, frustrated
that its inner neighbour didn't want to pursue further
integration potentially losing its identity, dissolved it. Following his
election, Wade introduced a new constitution which was to
become operative following the election of 2007 reducing
presidential terms to five years, having been increased to
seven by his predecessor in 1991.
One of the ongoing difficulties of Wade's
presidency was the long running conflict with two separatist factions of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) in the Casamance region in the south of the country.
Wade (above)
went onto win the election in 2007, however opposition parties
claimed the vote had been rigged and the subsequent
parliamentary elections were boycotted by those opposition
parties. Despite having agreed not to, Wade was later to
confirm that he would stand again in 2012. He lost the first round, all other candidates rallied round
opposition leader Macky Sall who had formerly served as
Prime Minister under Wade before being removed and forming his
own party, and Wade went down to an inglorious defeat. To his
credit he congratulated his opponent and left office
peacefully and President Macky Sall was re-elected in the 2019 election.
Senegal History: Goree Island
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Senegal History: Child Sponsor Senegal
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Senegal History: Senegal Country Profile
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