Senghor, Léopold-Sédar

Senghor, Léopold-Sédar (b. 9 Oct. 1906, d. 20 Sept 2001). President of Senegal 1960–80 Born in Joal, he gave up his study for the priesthood to attend the public secondary school in Dakar. He went to Paris in 1928 to study at the Lycée Louis le Grand, from which he graduated in 1931. Inspired by current French political, cultural, and social instability, he began to develop his vastly influential concept of négritude, which rejected the traditional belief in White superiority, criticized White concepts like capitalism, and extolled the virtues of African culture. As a naturalized French citizen he was conscripted into the army in 1932, and thereafter worked as a teacher. He continued to publish tracts on politics and culture, as well as poetry. He fought in World War II, became a prisoner of war, and from 1942 worked in the résistance. He became a Deputy in the French Constituent Assembly in 1946. He founded the Senegalese Democratic Bloc in 1947, advocating an endogenous African social and political structure based on traditional village communities. This extended his support to the Senegalese countryside, which enabled him to become President upon his country's independence, despite the failure of his efforts to create pan-African unity through the creation of the short-lived Mali Federation (1959–60). He abolished the rival office of Prime Minister from 1962 until 1970, when he filled the position with his capable lieutenant, Abdou Diouf. He nationalized the country's major industries, and strengthened the system of cooperatives. He became a respected elder statesman of the African continent, though owing to economic problems his popularity declined during the 1970s. He became the first African leader upon independence to resign office voluntarily. A prolific poet, he was the first African to be admitted to the Académie Française in 1984.

Black Power Movement