Cheikh Tidiane Gadio

Cheikh Tidiane Gadio (born 16 September 1956) is a Senegalese political figure and diplomat currently serves as Special Envoy of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) to Mali (September 2020 – present) and Special Envoy for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for the Central African Republic.

== Early life ==

Cheikh Tidiane Gadio was born 16 September 1956 in Senegal's first capital, Saint Louis. He comes from a traditional Muslim Fulani family with its origins in the Department of Podor in an area known as Fouta Toro in Northern Senegal. His parents moved to Saint Louis from their native Fouta Toro, both from aristocratic lineage of great Islamic scholars and rulers of the Almamiya of Fouta Toro. Gadio is a fourth-generation descendant of Almamy Youssouf Cire Ly, a famous king-ruler of Fouta who served as Almami for a nearly unprecedented 11 terms. By way of his maternal lineage, he is a grandson of the renown Fulani Scholar Dewo Elimane Moctar Ly, founder of the historic city of Saldé Tebegoutt.

Gadio's father, El Hadj Ousmane Aliou Gadio (from the village of Gadiobe), was a decorated World War II veteran who served as president of the Association of...