African Union (AU)

The African Union was launched on 9 July 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity, which was founded in 1963.  The AU is a union of 54 African states.  The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The overall objective of the AU is to build a safe, integrated and prosperous Africa.

The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Commission is the Secretariat of the Union entrusted with executive functions. It is composed of 10 Officials: A Chairperson: Deputy Chairperson; and Eight Commissioners.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission since October 2012 is Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma from South Africa.  A former anti-apartheid activist, Dr Zuma was South Africa's Minister of Health from 1994 to 1999, under President Nelson Mandela, then Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2009, under Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kqalema Molanthe. She became Minister of Home Affairs in the Cabinet of President Jacob Zuma, her ex-husband, in 2009, a position she held until moving to the AU as the first woman to lead the Commission or its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity.

The AU Commission is made up of Portfolios. They are: Peace and Security; Political Affairs; Trade and Industry; Infrastructure and Energy; Social Affairs; Rural Economy and Agriculture; Human Resources, Science and Technology; and Economic Affairs.