Mahamoud Ali Youssouf

Mahamoud Ali Youssouf
محمود علي يوسف
Youssouf in 2013
Foreign Minister of Djibouti
Incumbent
Assumed office
22 May 2005
Prime MinisterDileita Mohamed Dileita
Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed
Minister-Delegate for International Cooperation of Djibouti
In office
4 July 2001 – 22 May 2005
Prime MinisterDileita Mohamed Dileita
Personal details
Born (1965-09-02) 2 September 1965 (age 59)
Djibouti City, Djibouti
Political partyIndependent

Mahamoud Ali Youssouf (Afar: Macamud Qali Yuusuf, Arabic: محمود علي يوسف; born 2 September 1965) is a Djiboutian diplomat. He has served in the government of Djibouti as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2005.

In April 2024, he was nominated by Djibouti for the position of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

Biography

At the end of his schooling, he obtained his baccalaureate at the Djibouti high school in 1985.

Between 1985 and 1990, he studied foreign languages applied at the Lumière University Lyon 2. During 1988, he studied business management at the University of Liverpool. In 1995, he obtained a management magisterium at Université Laval. He then prepared a thesis at the Université libre de Bruxelles.

Diplomatic career

Youssuf meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in 2015

Youssouf, worked at Djibouti's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and headed its Arab affairs department during the 1990s. He served as Ambassador to Egypt from 1997 to 2001.[1]

Youssouf was appointed as Minister-Delegate for International Cooperation on 4 July 2001.[2][3] He was subsequently appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on 22 May 2005.[4] In 2006, he visited Japan.

Youssouf served as Chairman of the 129th Ordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Arab League in 2008.[5]

Speaking to The New York Times in 2008, Youssouf said that although Djibouti was a small country, it had a sizable port and hoped to develop its economy along the same lines as Dubai. He highlighted the country's strategic location, which he asserted was better positioned than Dubai.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Mahamoud Ali Youssouf", Indian Ocean Newsletter, number 1,136, Africa Intelligence, 28 May 2005.
  2. ^ "Le gouvernement de Djibouti formé le 4 juillet 2001" Archived 3 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Afrique Express, number 232, 16 July 2001 (in French).
  3. ^ List of members of the government of 4 July 2001, presse-francophone.org (2002 archive page) (in French).
  4. ^ "Décret n°2005-0069/PRE portant nomination des membres du Gouvernement"[permanent dead link‍], Journal Officiel de la République de Djibouti, 22 May 2005 (in French).
  5. ^ "Djibouti assure la présidence du Conseil de la Ligue des Etats Arabes", ADI, 9 March 2008 (in French).
  6. ^ Jeffrey Gettleman, "Location Gives Tiny State Prime Access to Big Riches", The New York Times, 30 May 2008.


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