Abdou Diouf

Abdou Diouf ( ; Serer: ; born 7 September 1935) is a Senegalese politician who was the second President of Senegal, in office from January 1981 to April 2000. Diouf is notable both for coming to power by peaceful succession and leaving willingly after losing the 2000 presidential election to Abdoulaye Wade. He was also the second Secretary-General of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie from January 2003 to December 2014. Early life Diouf was born into the Joof family in Louga, Senegal, the child of an Halpulaar mother and a Serere father. He attended primary and secondary school at the Lycée Faidherbe in Saint-Louis. He studied law at Dakar University and then at the Sorbonne in Paris. Diouf graduated in 1959. Political career