Edouard Senghor
| His Excellency Edouard Senghor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 2nd President of Kolda | |
| Assumed office October 4th 2009 | |
| Prime Minister | Coumba Ngom (2009-2010), Serigne Johnson-Wissel (2010-2014), Marie Bassoum (2014-2020), Soulemanye Batwe (2020- |
| Preceded by | Seynabou Gano |
| Governor of Guédiawaye | |
| In office 1994–2000 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 18, 1965 |
| Political party | Koldan Liberation Front-Union |
| Spouse(s) | Egalité Gano (2002-2010) Dieudonnée Tremble (2014- |
| Residence | House of State |
Edouard Senghor is the current president of the Republic of Kolda, coming to power in 2009 after a counter-coup overthrow the military government of Colonel Adama Daouf. Senghor was previously Vice-President from 2006 to 2009, serving under Seynabou Gano. Senghor has been politically described as a reformist, developing a brand of socialism with more power being given to state-delegated industry and less oversight of production. Critics have described Senghor as a dictator due to the arrest of the opposition and his government's treatment of the Moujerrian minority.
Early Life and Political Career[edit | edit source]
Edouard Moussel Senghor, was born Moussel Fae Senghor, May 18th, 1965 in what is now the Mbour Commune, Rivieres. Senghor’s father served in the Great War with the Brissican Overseas Brigade, in segregated Koldan-only units. There he met Senghor's mother who was a nurse, the two returned in 1964 and were soon married. In addition, Senghor had 3 siblings who were born upon the family's move in Guediawaye in 1973, fleeing violence between partsians and the colonial government. Senghor became involved with politics in his years at Guediawaye Catholic University with the Communist Party of Kolda, he was described as an economic radical by his peers, less concerned with women’s rights and self-determination and more with creating a state economy. In 1984, Senghor campaigned for Gano, a decision which put him at odds with other Communist Party members, who believed Gano’s strong nationalism put him at odds with the party's desires of a global socialist state. Upon Gano's election due to his work for the campaign he was appointed Chairman of Este-Guediawaye Commune as part of the “grande réorganisation”. As Chairman, Senghor dealt with local issues such as education, police and business.
In 1994, Senghor was elected as Governor of the entire Gueidawaye region due to his strong support among the business community and established relations with ethnic minorities. This increase in political status, led to Senghor being a key player in the KLF-U’s policy. Senghor was viewed as a reformer by some, due to younger age and less enforcement of state secularism. As governor, several economic projects such as the Guediawaye International Airport were completed, which raised the province’s economic profile outside of Kolda. Despite the outward appearance of reform, Senghor was very much a party insider and a favorite of Gano. This relationship extended in their personal lives with the marriage of Gano’s daughter to Senghor in 2002. Senghor was also given a new position in 2000 as Minister of State Affairs, a wide ranging position which controlled foreign affairs but also trade and the military. In 2003, in commemoration of Kolda’s involvement in the Great War, Senghor traveled to remaining socialist states such as Novella Islands, Lauchenoiria, Miltinca and others.
Vice-President[edit | edit source]
Following Jermaine Kaba’s exile from the KLF-U due to his call for Koldan re-unification with Brissiac under a multi-racial government, Senghor was chosen as the Vice-Presidential candidate for 2004. Kaba attempted a opposition challenge under the banner of the Koldan Unity Party, but was soon arrested by police for the illegal operations of an unapproved private charity. In the end the Gano-Senghor ticket got 78% of the vote, and 96% of the Koldan vote. Upon his election, Senghor largely reversed his reformist ideas with an increased militarization along the border with Brissiac and increasing public appearances in place of Gano. It’s believed by some, Senghor was plotting against Gano with the cooperation of the military and foreign powers during this time, although it’s unconfirmed. Regardless, Senghor was visiting troops along the Brissican border when Colonel Adama Diouf took control of the government in Guediawaye. Around 45% of the military turned on the government and quickly began assembling for an invasion of Brissiac. Seeing this, Senghor made a temporary alliance with the Brissiacan government and led a contingent of loyalist Koldans waging guerilla warfare, surprisingly Gano also fled to Brissiac where eventually died by an unknown assassin's blade.
Taking Power[edit | edit source]
Diouf’s forces advanced several miles into Brissiacan territory before being held by a combined Brissiacan-Koldan force. Meanwhile, foreign armed Koldan Information Bureau (KIB) forces staged a counter-coup in Guediawaye, allying with Islamist militias they captured and killed Adama Diouf and allowed Senghor to return to the city. In a public address on October 8th, 2009, he revealed Gano had died a week before and declared himself the new President of Kolda. In a moment of political solidarity, Senghor removed troops from the Brissican border and released political prisoners by executive order. Through 2009 and early 2010, a political program known as “grande réforme” took hold where private business was freed up and relations were re-established with capitalist states. The 2009 Election was also delayed due to the coup and was held across a period of a week in April of 2010 to allow for maximum, with Senghor himself calling it “the most important election since 1984”. Senghor faced challengers from several opposition parties such as the Democratic Action Party and the Voice of Action, an Islamist organization.
2010 Election[edit | edit source]
Despite his political connections to the Gano administration, Senghor’s foreign education and relatively young age led to much of the international community supporting Senghor or at least declaring him the most dependable candidate. The DAP, which had been formed in 2004 was largely a social-conservative party of urban elites and thus was portrayed by Senghor as legacy colonial elitists. In addition, Voice of Action was largely a converted paramilitary with very few actual politicians but rather leaders in the Islamist movement who had been jailed. Seeing this, Senghor campaigned as the left-wing candidate, with appeals to progressive youth and the KLF constant of organized labor. In the end, Senghor won in a generally fair election with 44.8% of the vote, with Voice of Action at 20.3%, DAP at 17.5%, and the Brissiac Union Party at 15.2%. However, in the parliamentary election, the KLF maintained its control due to the DAP and VOA splitting opposition votes. Senghor was inaugurated on June 1st, 2010 in a public ceremony at the National Stadium in Guediawaye.
Presidency (2009-[edit | edit source]
Senghor’s initial priority was the de-regulation of the economy; many Gano-era policies surrounding business regulation were struck down. One of the first major industries to experience deregulation was the Energy sector with the restructuring of Koldan Unified Power into 4 major power distributors. In addition, foreign business was also allowed to operate in new areas with strict planning policy being eliminated entirely. Overall the first several months of the administration was a period of national optimism, one promoted by a series of public artwork known as “Koldan Dawn”. 2010 also saw the announcement of a new 5-year plan which promised rapid economic growth, new jobs, and an overall improvement in conditions. Despite a generally positive view of Senghor among the Koldan population, minority groups such as the Moujerrians continued to face oppression, as the government continued its policy of state secularism. 2011 saw the start of Operation Green Torch, which intended to fight rebels along the corridor between Lennes and the Lehvantian border. The government had initial victories defeating various unpopular militia groups. However, it's what was put in place after which angered many, a new local government that removed power from clerics and outlawed traditional practices. In addition, Voice of Action was classified as a terrorist group in 2012 with the leaders being arrested and imprisoned in a new maximum security prison known as “De Compr’e” a Koldan Creole word meaning the “compound”.
Senghor’s initial reforms soon began to become a fleeting memory as the restrictions on personal freedoms largely did not disappear, for example, the KIB was expanded to fight both rebel groups and provide counter-intel on “enemies of the state, abroad”. On the social front, government protections of same-sex marriage which had been active since 1998 were ended, allowing private businesses the freedom to refuse service based on sexual preference. Initially, the Senghor also attempted to ban Islamic religious garments in public buildings but backed down due to public pressure. Domestic private businesses also failed to provide services in place of government options leading to several being incorporated under a new “public/private model” where the business was allowed to receive some profits in exchange for operating theoretically independent of government influence. Despite these criticisms, during the 2014 election, the public was generally supportive due to the rise of militant groups and the improvement of the economy compared to 2010. In the election, which saw lower turnout due to issues with voter registration and a lack of true opposition, Senghor was re-elected with 63.7% of the vote, with the KLF-U winning at all levels.
Ideology[edit | edit source]
Senghor himself is ideologically cloudy to outsiders due to his changing opinions and views across his political career. While initially being a Marxist with support for an internationalist view, upon his entrance into the KLF-U in the 1980s he followed the general party view of Socialism with Koldan characteristics. However, by 2010, Senghor described himself as a “Koldan progressive” and later created the term “Nouvo Pwogrè” to describe his goals. However post-2015, Senghor began to describe himself as a “Koldan Nationalist” and a “Christian Democrat” as Senghor began to turn away from state secularism. Finally, after the publishing of his 2022 book, Koldan Glory, Senghor declared himself a “Kwetaist” , a fictional political ideology that believes in space exploration and state planning on an inter-planetary scale.
Personal Life[edit | edit source]
Senghor has described himself as a born-again Christian, with a “belief in the word of God”. Senghor is a member of the Diawara Church of Christ, an off-shot of the Rivialist movement. It’s at the Diawara Church where Senghor met his second wife, Dieudonnée Tremble in 2014, a Brissican woman. They currently have 2 children, Senghor also has 3 children with his ex-wife Egalité Gano who he divorced in 2010. Senghor currently owns private property in several countries with his children and wife living in his second home in New Liverpool. Prior to his election as vice-President, Senghor acquired a master’s degree in computer sciences from the University of Kolda in addition to his bachelor’s in Geology from Guediawaye Catholic. Senghor’s passion for science had translated into increasing investment in technical education with regional academy’s being opened in 2015. Senghor is known to be a big fan of cars, owning several unique models of both foreign cars and the domestic producer Keppra Motors which he made a government sponsored entity in 2012 and was rewarded with a custom 2013 Keppra C-40 sportscar.
Written Works[edit | edit source]
Since his election, Senghor has followed his predecessor with the publishing of several books/audiobooks on various subjects, his 2022 historical fiction novel “Koldan Glory” became a bestseller and describes a reality were the Koldan Empire was never defeated and became a beacon of socialist political progress, with space colonization occurring in 1985.