LEOPOLD SEDAR SENGHOR

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06773333
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: March 8, 2023
• Document Release Date: January 28, 2019
• Case Number: F-2018-00186
• Publication Date: February 1, 1972

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O.
SENEGAL
President
A distinguished
poet, philosopher, poli-
tician and statesman,
L4opo1d Senghor has led
Senegal as President
since independence in
1960. He was elected to
his third term in 1968.
Senghor also serves as
secretary general of
the Senegalese Progres-
sive Union (UPS), the
only political party
granted legal recog-
nition in the country.
Ldopold Sedar SENGHOR
(1971)
Senghor's critics give him more credit as a
politician than as a thinker. A master of the art
of "cooptation," he isolates his opponents effec-
tively to integrate them into the regime. His
long tenure as President attests to his ability to
maneuver and endure on Senegal's murky political
scene. He has no challenger of equal stature.
Senghor derives his support from the mili-
tary, the Muslim brotherhoods, and the peasantry.
Senghor, however, is a Roman Catholic in a heavily
Muslim country (80-85 percent). In 1968, with the
deaths of Lamine Gueye, President of the National
Assembly and the most powerful Tidiane political
figure in French West Africa, and of Falilou M'Backe,
the Mouride Khalif General, Senghor lost much of
his influence with the Muslim masses. The Muslim
brotherhoods that these two men represented exert
an enormous influence over the Senegalese popula-
tion; Senghor derived his control of the popular
vote from the support Gueye and MlBacke gave him.
At the present time the Mouride and Tidiane Khalifs
General are giving his regime only lialiewarm support.
If Senghor completely loses the confidence of the
brotherhoods, he will be in a very weak position
to deal with Senegal's internal problems.
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L4opold Sedar SENGHOR
In the last few years, Senghor has survived
internal political bickering, a general economic
decline, the complaints of rebellious students
and increasingly aggressive labor unions. In
order to ease the executive burden and at the
same time appease the discontented. Young Turks,
Senghor revived the 'office of Prime Minister
in February 1970, appointing one of the Young
Turks, Minister of Plan Abdou Diouf, to the post.
(Senghor had abolished the Prime Ministership
in 1962, after then Prime Minister Mamadou Dia
staged an abortive coup attempt.) Diouf takes
charge of domestic political affairs and has
relieved Senghor of the Armed Forces portfolio,
which Senghor held from 1968 to 1970. Diouf
also implements the policies that Senghor makes.
While Senghor may eventually groom Diouf for
the Presidency, a 1970 constitutional amendment
'allows Senghor to stand for reelection to two
additional 5-year terms, beginning with the _
national elections scheduled for 1973. Senghor,
however, says that he may retire from politics
in 7 years, at the age of 71. He has endured
hard times, and, in the past decade, has escaped
three assassination attempts.
Political and International Views
Pro-West and anti-Communist, Senghor sees
himself as a pragmatic socialist. His encourage-
ment of French investment in Senegal, however,
deprives his domestic policies of much of their
socialist content. In Africa, Senghor's identi-
fication as a moderate causes him much embarrass-
ment among his more radical African colleagues.
Senghor has attempted to build his African image
with such things as frequent trips abroad, but
despite his efforts, he is perhaps the most
isolated of the West African leaders.
Relations with France
Senghor favors close association with France,
Senegal's former ruler. This cooperation has
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L6opold Sedar SENGHOR
come under increasing criticism, particularly among
Senegal's Young Turks, but Senghor is convinced of
the necessity of retaining French assistance until
�the country has trained sufficient numbers of
skilled technicians and has made adequate economic
provisions. Senghor was a great admirer of former
President Charles de Gaulle. /
Attitudes Toward the Chinese Communists
Of all the Communists, Senghor considers the
Chinese the greatest menace to West Africa and is
concerned over their growing influence in his area.
He has particularly condemned Chinese offers to
help finance the Manatali dam project in Mali--a
project involved in the overall plan of the Organi-
zation of Senegalese River States (OERS) to develop
the Senegal River basin. The three other members
of the OERS (Mali, Mauritania and Guinea) all
appear favorably disposed toward the Chinese, thus
placing Senghor in a difficult position.
Relations with the Soviets
To maintain a semblance of neutrality in his
foreign policy, Senghor maintains friendly diplo-
matic relations with the USSR. He prefers the
Soviets to the Chinese and says that the Russians
have an advantage over the Chinese in being white
and in speaking French. Senghor nevertheless
remains suspicious of Soviet actions. In Novem-
ber 1969 Soviet-Senegalese relations deteriorated
considerably when a Soviet weekly attacked Seng-
hor's theory of negritude and infuriated him.
Relations have since been normalized?
Relations with the North Vietnamese
President Senghor makes a sharp distinction
between North Vietnam and other Communist states,
describing the North Vietnamese as nationalists
rather than Communists and saying that they
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Leopold Sedar SENGHOR
outclass both the Russians and Chinese in their
smooth approach. Senghor also feels that Senegal
and Vietnam share a similar culture and heritage
because they were both under French colonial rule.
Senghor does not agree with the ideological views
of the North Vietnamese, but he sees no reason
not to have contact with them. In December 1970
he established diplomatic relations with the North
Vietnamese and at the same time maintained rela-
tions with the South Vietnamese.
Senghor's Theory on Negritude
Senghor is best known internationally as the
poet-apostle of the philosophy known as negritude,
which stresses Negro and African dignity. The
closest meaning in English is "blackness" or even
"soul." According to Senghor, the Negro knows by
emotional experience, not by reason, and that
emotional receptivity is African while rationality
is European. Through this concept, he tries to
restore a sense of importance to the black man by
building both his pride and his. self-confidence.
Early Life and Career
Leopold Sedar Senghor, one of some 20 children,
was born on 9 October 1906 in Joal, Senegal. His
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Lgopold Sedar SENGHOR
ancestors were Portuguese Guinean, and the name
Senghor comes from the Portuguese name Segor.
The son of a rich peanut exporter and member of
the Sgrene tribe, Senghor attended school in Joal
and Dakar. He then won a scholarship to the Lycge
Louis le Grand in Paris and later enrolled in the
Ecole Normale Supgrieure of the University of
Paris. A classmate of Georges Pompidou at the
Ecole Normale, Senghor majored in literature and
languages and received the degree of agrSgg de
grammaire in 1935.
Until 1940 Senghor taught in various French
lycges. He served as an infantryman in the French
Army during World War II and became a prisoner of
war at Stalag 230 in Germany when France surren-
dered. In 1943 Senghor was freed and resumed
teaching, later joining the faculty of the National
School of Overseas France in 1948.
While pursuing a brilliant career in education,
Senghor became active in politics. He joined the
French Socialist Party (SFIO), was elected Deputy
for Senegal to the French Constituent Assemblies
of 1945 and 1946 and served in the French National
Assembly from 1946 until 1959. He was Secretary
of State in the Faure government from 1955 to 1956.
In 1948 Senghor broke with the SFIO and worked to
build an inter-territorial political movement that
was opposed to Fglix Houphouet-Boigny's African
Democratic Rally and was intended to foster Seng-
hor's belief in a federation of French West African
states.
Dissatisfied with the results of his political
strategy, Senghor formed the African Regroupment
Party (PRA) and the UPS as the Senegalese section
of the PRA in 1958. The UPS campaigned successfully
for a oui vote in the referendum of September 1958
on the Constitution of the Fifth French Republic,
and Senegal remained in the French Community,
although Guinea's withdrawal was a setback. to
Senghor's hopes for federation.
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Leopold Sedar SENGHOR
Senegal was granted autonomy in November 1958
and joined with the Sudanese Republic to form the
Mali Federation in January 1959. Senghor was Pres-
ident of the Federal Assembly when Senegal and
the Sudanese Republic (as Mali) became completely
independent in June 1960, but friction developed
between the two countries in August 1960 and Sene-
gal left the Federation.
That September Senghor became President of
independent Senegal. He shared power with his
preindependence ally, Premier Mamadou Dia. Seng-
hor, however, soon became apprehensive both of
Dia's drift to the left and of his ambition.
After months of political crisis, tensions
between the two men reached a peak in December
1962. A vote of censure against Dia's govern-
ment by the conservative, Senghor-controlled
legislature was followed by an unsuccessful
attempt by the Prime Minister to seize power.
Senghor's reaction was quick and decisive--Dia
was ousted from the government and attested;
Senghor absorbed the Premier's function and
took control of the new government.
Travel
President Senghor has traveled extensively.
In 1961, 1966 and 1971 he made official visits
to the United States. During the 1971 trip he
received honorary degrees from Harvard Univer-
sity and UCLA. He also visited Canada and on
his return home stopped at the University of
Vermont.
Personal Data
Courageous, resourceful and sincere, Senghor
is an accomplished extemporaneous orator who
speaks elegant French. He reads English easily,
although he seldom speaks the language.
President Senghor is _slight and frail, and
wears well-tailored clothe1-7--1Ig�has a shy,
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L6opold Sedar SENGHOR
myopic glance and a precise academic manner. His
optimistic attitude sometimes gives him the appear-
ance of being naive, but he is actually very astute.
Senghor is also easygoing and free of complexes.
Senghor solemnly observes the French ritual of
vacationing every August at his farm in Calvados,
Normandy, his wife's homeland. On vacation, he
enjoys riding a bicycle and preparing the speeches
he will deliver on his return home. Once back in
Senegal, Senghor often spends the weekend in a
town called Popenguine, which he reaches by heli-
copter.
Senghor's literary efforts date back to his
youth, but he did not publish his first collection
of poems, Chants d'Ombre, until 1945. The themes
of his poetry include love, nature, song, friend-
ship and faith. By 1966 he had published seven
books of verse, written numerous prefaces that
introduced young black poets to the public, and
translated into French selected poetry of T. S.
Eliot, Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson and
others. Senghor personally enjoys reading the
works of Teilhard de Chardin, a French Jesuit
scientist-philosopher.
Senghor's personal bibliography covers six
pages. In addition to poetry, he has worked on
philosophical and political publications. One
of his major political works is entitled On
African Socialism. Senghor has also contributed
to many French journals, written a number of
essays and composed the national anthem of Sene-
gal.
Scholarly and erudite, Senghor has a collec-
tion of honorary degrees and awards. In 1962 he
was a strong contender for the Nobel Prize for
literature. He has honorary doctorates from the
University of Bordeaux (1967) and from Fordham
University (pre-1967). In 1966 he received the
German Librarians' Peace Prize in Frankfurt. In
1969 Senghor became the first African inducted
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1,4opold Sedar SENGHOR
as an associate member of France's prestigious
Academie des Sciences Morales et Politiques; he
replaced the late Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.
Family
Senghor has been married twice. He divorced
his first wife, the daughter of former Governor
of French Equatorial Africa F6lix Eboue. They
had two children, Francois and Guy. In 1957
Senghor married his secretary, Colette Hubert, a
Frenchwoman who claims that her ancestors invaded
England with William the Conqueror.
Philippe, about 12.
The couple has one son,
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