African Union Party

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Party of the African Association
PRA
Party leader Léopold Sédar Senghor
Party leader Léopold Sédar Senghor
Secretary General Djibo Bakary
founding 25-27 July 1958
Place of foundation Cotonou
resolution July 1, 1959

The African Union Party ( French : Parti du Regroupement Africain , abbreviation: PRA ) was a political party in French West Africa .

history

The African Union party was formed at a meeting of African party leaders in March 1958. Its actual founding congress took place from July 25 to 27, 1958 in Cotonou . The party, chaired by Senegalese politician Léopold Sédar Senghor, was an amalgamation of the African Socialist Movement (MSA), the Convention Africaine (CAf) and the Parti Républicain du Dahomey (PRD). It was organized interterritorial and was composed of member parties in individual French overseas territories . These included the Parti du Regroupement Soudanais (PRS-PRA) from French Sudan , the Union Progressiste Sénégalaise (UPS-PRA) from Senegal, the Mouvement du Regroupement Voltaïque (MRV-PRA) from Upper Volta , the Regroupement des Partis de la Côte d'Ivoire (RPCI-PRA) from the Ivory Coast and the Union Progressiste Guinéenne (UPG) from Guinea . Djibo Bakary from Niger became the general secretary of the African Union Party . Among the most important functionaries of the party besides Senghor and Bakary were Jean-Hilaire Aubame , Mamadou Dia , Hamadoun Dicko , Abel Goumba and Sylvanus Olympio .

In French West Africa, the PRA formed a strong counterweight to the African Democratic Collection (RDA) under Félix Houphouët-Boigny, which was also organized interterritorially . In September 1958, the constitutional referendum on the Fifth French Republic took place - also in the French overseas territories . A yes meant extended autonomy within the Communauté française for the former colonies , a no meant immediate independence from France. The PRA mobilized for a no and sought the creation of an African federal state that would later enter into negotiations on joining a multinational confederation, while the RDA advocated a yes. In fact, only Guinea opted for immediate independence. PRA Chairman Senghor continued to work on his vision of a state that should originally have included French Sudan, Upper Volta, Dahomey , Niger and Senegal, and in January 1959 he founded the Fragile Mali Federation . On July 1, 1959, the PRA became the party of the African Federation (PFA).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Joseph Roger de Benoist: Léopold Sédar Senghor . Beauchesne, Paris 1998, ISBN 2-7010-1378-X , p. 94.
  2. ↑ Meinrad P. Hebga: Afrique de la raison, Afrique de la foi . Karthala, Paris 1995, ISBN 978-2-86537-562-2 , p. 13.
  3. ^ A b Elizabeth Schmidt: Cold War and Decolonization in Guinea, 1946-1958 . Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio 2007, ISBN 978-0-8214-1763-8 , p. 137.
  4. ^ François Martin: Le Niger du Président Diori. Chronology 1960–1974 . L'Harmattan, Paris 1991, ISBN 2-7384-0952-0 , pp. 24 .
  5. ^ Léopold Sédar Senghor: la pensée et l'action politique. Actes du colloque organisé par la section française de l'Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (PDF; 943 kB). French National Assembly website, accessed 29 January 2013, p. 126.
  6. ^ Léopold Sédar Senghor: la pensée et l'action politique. Actes du colloque organisé par la section française de l'Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (PDF; 943 kB). French National Assembly website, accessed 29 January 2013, p. 173.
  7. ^ Léopold Sédar Senghor: la pensée et l'action politique. Actes du colloque organisé par la section française de l'Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (PDF; 943 kB). French National Assembly website, accessed 29 January 2013, p. 133.