Launch of the African Union
- Date
- 9 July 2002
- Category
- Politics & governance
- Region
- Africa
- Era
- Contemporary
- Significance
The African Union (AU) was formally launched on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa, succeeding the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) that had been founded in 1963.
Its creation followed a multi-year process: the Sirte Declaration of 9 September 1999 called for a new continental body, the Constitutive Act of the African Union was adopted at the Lomé summit in 2000, and an implementation plan was finalised at the Lusaka summit in 2001. The OAU was disbanded the same day the AU was inaugurated, with South African president Thabo Mbeki serving as the AU's first chairperson. Modelled in part on the European Union, the AU aimed to accelerate political and socio-economic integration, promote peace and security, and give Africa a stronger collective voice, establishing organs such as the Assembly, the Pan-African Parliament, and a Peace and Security Council. Its headquarters remained in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the seat of the former OAU.
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Related politics & governance events
- The end of apartheid and Nelson Mandela's election in South Africa27 April 1994 (election); 10 May 1994 (inauguration)
- Dissolution of the Soviet UnionAugust–December 1991
- German reunification3 October 1990
- Fall of the Berlin Wall9 November 1989
- Revolutions of 1989 across Eastern Europe1989 (Autumn of Nations)
- Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika1985–1991 (from 11 March 1985)
Further reading
The wider story
The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence
Gripping account of Africa's nations from independence to the present.
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