African Union

The African Union is an intergovernmental organisation consisting of 53 African states. Established on July 9, 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the February 2009 Union meeting headed by Libyan leader Gaddafi, it was resolved that the African Union Commission would become the African Union Authority.

Administrative Centres

Addis Ababa, Ethiopi
Midrand, South Africa

Official Languages : 6

Arabic
French
English
Spanish
Portuguese
Swahili

Member States : 53

Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Côte d'Ivoire
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
Western Sahara (SADR)
São Tomé and Príncipe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
Sudan
Swaziland
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda

Leaders

Chairman : Muammar al-Gaddafi (Lybia)
Commission Chairperson: Jean Ping
President of the Pan-African Parliament: Idriss Ndele Moussa

Establishment
as the OAU 25 May 1963
as the African Union 9 July 2002