Abdoulaye Wade

Abdoulaye Wade (French pronunciation: [abdulaj wad], Wolof: Abdulaay Wàdd; born 29 May 1926) is a Senegalese politician who served as the third president of Senegal from 2000 to 2012. He is also the Secretary-General of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), having led the party since it was founded in 1974. Assuming office at 73, Wade was the oldest person to occupy the post.

A long-time opposition leader, Wade ran for president four times, beginning in 1978, before he was finally elected in the year 2000. He won re-election in 2007 with a majority in the first round, but was defeated in the second round in 2012 in a controversial bid for a third term. Wade also holds French citizenship.

== Early life ==

Wade was born in Kébémer, Senegal, on 29 May 1926 into a Wolof family from Gandiol and Waalo. Officially, he was born in 1926, although some claim he was born several years earlier, and the record-keeping of the time is not considered particularly reliable. He studied and taught law at the Lycée Condorcet in France. He holds two doctorates in law and economics. He was also dean of the law and economics faculty at the University of Dakar in Senegal.

== Political career ==

At a summit...