Brussels, 17/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - Dr Nkosana Dlamini-Zuma from South Africa was elected Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Sunday 15 July. She officially took up her post on Tuesday 17 July. José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, congratulated the first woman ever to chair this organisation and reiterated the importance of the partnership between the EU and Africa.
In his congratulatory message sent on Tuesday to his counterpart at the equivalent institution to the one he himself heads, Barroso said, “I would like to congratulate Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for her election as the first female Chairperson of the African Union Commission. In recent years, the Africa-EU Strategic Partnership, a partnership of equals, has grown ever stronger across a wide range of areas such as peace and security, democracy and human rights, trade and infrastructure, climate change and environment, and economic and social development across the board. I look forward to further reinforcing our partnership with the African Union Commission under the leadership of Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. I would also like to take this opportunity to warmly thank outgoing Chairperson, Dr Jean Ping, for his outstanding work in taking the AU forward over the past four years, and extend my best wishes to him for the future”
The investiture ceremony for the new Commission of the AU took place in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) where the HQ of the AU is based. In addition to Nkosana Dlamini- Zuma, the new vice chairman of the Commission of the AU and five new commissioners, with the following portfolios, peace and security, political affairs, social affairs, infrastructure and energy, rural economy and agriculture also began their respective four-year terms of office. (AN/trans/fl)