Beji Caid Essebsi founded the secular Call of Tunisia political party in 2012. The party rapidly became one of the most popular in Tunisia. It receives some criticism for maintaining members of the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD regime) of former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who lost power during the 2011 revolution. Party supporters are mainly liberals and leftists, according to Tunisia-live.net. President Essebsi was appointed prime minister for the post-revolution transitional government in 2011, and became president in 2014.
Ali Bongo Ondimba is the president of Gabon, and his father Omar Bongo was the president before him. Ali Bongo was elected democratically but is sometimes accused of being a dictator. One of his largest accomplishments was reducing the size of the government to just 30 ministers, which resulted in fewer state expenses, says Liquisearch.com.
Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, is very active on social media. The president is on Twitter and Flickr, and regularly appears on podcasts as well as writing his own blog. Kagame sees social media as a medium through which political intolerance can be reduced. Social media promotes “a global awareness of national events, for example, in China and Iran,” he told Bbc.com. “These moments in history are captured and diffused in remote corners of the world, even as the events unfold.”
John Dramani Mahama is the first Ghanaian president to have served as deputy minister, minister and vice president before becoming president. Mahama slid into the role of president when the country’s former president died. He acted as “caretaker” for five months while a new, proper election was held. Mahama contested the Dec. 7, 2012 elections and barely won, according to Buzzghana.com.
Abdelaziz Bouteflika is the president of Algeria but is Moroccan born. Bouteflika’s rise to power was not straightforward. He was part of a coup that ousted former President Ahmed Ben Bella and put President Houari Boumedienne in the presidential seat. Bouteflika served as foreign minister in the new government and seemed a likely replacement when Boumedienne died, but someone else got the job. Bouteflika spent time in self-imposed exile after facing corruption charges, according to Britannica.com.
Uhuru Kenyatta is Kenya’s fourth president and son of the country’s first president. Kenyatta was elected to the presidency in 2013, but was briefly a candidate in 2007, ultimately withdrawing to let Mwai Kibaki win re-election. Kenyatta has been called Kenya’s “controversial president” for legalizing polygamy, according to CNN, and for inciting post-election violence, according to Telegraph.co.uk.
Goodluck Jonathan lost his bid for re-election and peacefully handed over the Nigerian presidency to Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 after serving for five years. Jonathan’s rise to the presidency was one of the fastest in the history of African governments following President Umaru Yar’Adua’s death. Until November 2009, he was serving out his time as a low-key deputy from the south of the country, BBC reported. Jonathan’s swift movement into the presidency occurred because the Nigerian people didn’t see him as a threat. He ultimately came under fire for making some promises he did not keep, including how he handled issues of Islamist insurgency.
Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, has reigned over the country for over 16 years. Through his shareholding in the investment company Societe, Nationale Mohammed became the richest monarch on the continent. In 2004, Mohammed gained points internationally when he pushed for reform that demands equal rights for women in marriage, as well as access to property upon divorce, according to Forbes.com.
