Olusegun OBASANJO

Former President, Nigeria

Olusegun Obasanjo was President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, during which time he played an instrumental role in bringing democracy back to the country and was ‘Chairperson of the African Union’ from July 2004 to January 2006. He served as Nigeria’s military ruler from 1976 to 1979 and was Africa’s first military head of state to hand over power to a civilian government. The UN inducted him as special envoy of Africa in 2008. Since then, he has been overseeing the democratic elections of countries across the African continent on behalf of the African Union and ECOWAS.