Ten Facts About African Presidents You Must Know

How well do you know African presidents? Here are some facts about major African Presidents which you may not know.

Some Interesting facts about presidents of various African countries

1. The youngest serving African president is Joseph Kabila of Democratic Republic of Congo. He became president at the age of twenty nine (29) in January 2001 and is currently forty six (46) years old and still serving after he was re-elected in 2011.

2. The oldest serving African president is Mohamed Beji Caid Essebsi of Tunisia. He is ninety two (92) years and was elected into office in 2014.

He also happens to be the second oldest serving president in the world (and indeed Africa) as at 2017 behind Robert Mugabe (93 then), who was ousted out of office.

3. The longest serving president in Africa is Paul Biya of Cameroun. He has ruled Cameroun for 43 years (spanning between 1975 to 2018).

Currently 85 years of age, he is also the second oldest serving president in Africa behind Mohamed Beji Caid Essebsi of Tunisia.

4. Former Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe is Africa’s most educated President in history with seven (7) degrees, two (2) of which are masters’ degrees.

He also has over 10 honorary degrees from tertiary institutions all over the world. He also happens to be the world’s most educated president during his time.

5. The least educated President in Africa is Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan. The highest he was to a formal education was Sudan’s Military College.

6. The richest serving African president is Mohammed IV of Morocco. According to reports, his net worth is about $2 billion.

This is as opposed to the former holder of that title, former President of Angola, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who is said to have a net worth of about $20 billion in a country where its citizens lived below $2 per day.

7. Paul Biya of Cameroun is the highest paid President in Africa. He earns 359 million Central African CFA ($610,000) per annum which is 229 times the salary of an average Cameroonian public servant.

8. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf remains the first democratically elected female president in Africa. Others before her were either appointed or served in an acting capacity as heads of state/government.

She left office in 2017 after 12 years in office. Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila (Prime Minister of Namibia) and Sahle-Work Zewde (President of Ethiopia) and the only female leaders in Africa currently.

The last female to leave office was Ameenah Gurib-Fakim (President of Mauritius) earlier in March, 2018.

9. Haile Selassie is the 255^th and last Emperor of Ethiopia. After his reign, the country adopted a parliamentary system of government with Mendistu Haile Miriam emerging as the first president of Ethiopia in 1987.

10. Burkina Faso is the country with the highest number of recorded coup d’Etat in Africa since its independence.

She has 10 coup d’Etat to her credit while Nigeria comes next with 8 recorded coup d’Etat. South Africa, Cape Verde, Botwana, Namibia, Malawi, Mauritius and Eritrea have however never experienced a coup since independence.