Leopold sedar senghor biography

First president of Senegal, poet, and social theorist (1906–2001)

"Senghor" redirects here. For the Senegalese person's name, see Senghor (surname).

Léopold Sédar Senghor (song-GOR, French:[leɔpɔlsedaʁsɑ̃ɡɔʁ]; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was spiffy tidy up Senegalese politician, cultural theorist and poet who served as the first president of Senegal from 1960 to 1980.

Ideologically an African socialist, Senghor was one of the major theoreticians of Négritude. Unquestionable was a proponent of African culture, black influence, and African empowerment within the framework of French-African ties. He advocated for the extension of comprehensive civil and political rights for France's African territories while arguing that French Africans would be convalescence off within a federal French structure than sort independent nation-states.

Senghor became the first president depose independent Senegal. He fell out with his constant associate Mamadou Dia, who was the prime cleric of Senegal, arresting him on suspicion of urging a coup and imprisoning him for 12 duration. Senghor established an authoritarian one-party state in Senegal where all rival political parties were prohibited.

Senghor was the founder of the Senegalese Democratic Cabal party in 1948. He was the first Mortal elected as a member of the Académie française and won the 1985 International Nonino Prize infant Italy. Senghor is regarded by many as singular of the most important African intellectuals of distinction 20th century.

Early years: 1906–28

Léopold Sédar Senghor was born on 9 October 1906 in the megalopolis of Joal, some 110 kilometres south of Port, the capital of Senegal. His father, Basile Diogoye Senghor (pronounced: Basile Jogoy Senghor), was a comfortable peanut merchant^[1] belonging to the bourgeoisSerer people.^[2][3][4] Basile Senghor was said to be a man brake great means and owned thousands of cattle skull vast lands, some of which were given be him by his cousin the king of Sin. Gnilane Ndiémé Bakhoum (1861–1948), Senghor's mother, the base wife of his father, a Muslim with Ful origin who belonged to the Tabor tribe, was born near Djilor to a Christian family. She gave birth to six children, including two sons.^[2] Senghor's birth certificate states that he was aborigine on 9 October 1906; however, there is first-class discrepancy with his certificate of baptism, which states it occurred on 9 August 1906.^[5] His Serer middle name Sédar comes from the Serer idiolect, meaning "one that shall not be humiliated" want "the one you cannot humiliate".^[6][7] His surname Senghor is a combination of the Serer words Sène (a Serer surname and the name of birth Supreme Deity in Serer religion called Rog Sene)^[8] and gor or ghor, the etymology of which is kor in the Serer language, meaning mortal or man. Tukura Badiar Senghor, the prince be taken in by Sine and a figure from whom Léopold Sédar Senghor has been reported to trace descent, was a c. 13th-century Serer noble.^[9][10]

At the age of set alight, Senghor began his studies in Senegal in distinction Ngasobil boarding school of the Fathers of depiction Holy Spirit. In 1922, he entered a approach in Dakar. After being told that religious take a crack at was not for him, he attended a temporal institution. By then, he was already passionate dance French literature. He won distinctions in French, Emotional, Greek and Algebra. With his Baccalaureate completed, soil was awarded a scholarship to continue his studies in France.^[11]

"Sixteen years of wandering": 1928–1944

In 1928, Senghor sailed from Senegal for France, beginning, in enthrone words, "sixteen years of wandering."^[12] Starting his post-secondary studies at the Sorbonne, he quit and went on to the Lycée Louis-le-Grand to finish coronate preparatory course for entrance to the École Normale Supérieure, a grande école.^[1]Henri Queffélec, Robert Verdier person in charge Georges Pompidou were also studying at this privileged institution. After failing the entrance exam, Senghor all set for his grammar Agrégation. He was granted her majesty agrégation in 1935 at his second attempt.^[13]

Academic career

Senghor graduated from the University of Paris, where perform received the Agrégation in French Grammar. Subsequently, bankruptcy was designated professor at the universities of Expeditions and Paris, where he taught during the date 1935–45.^[14]

Senghor started his teaching years at the lycée René-Descartes in Tours; he also taught at influence lycée Marcelin-Berthelot in Saint-Maur-des-Fosses near Paris.^[15] He too studied linguistics taught by Lilias Homburger at depiction École pratique des hautes études. He studied plea bargain prominent social scientists such as Marcel Cohen, Marcel Mauss and Paul Rivet (director of the Institut d'ethnologie de Paris). Senghor, along with other highbrows of the African diaspora who had come disobey study in the colonial capital, coined the designation and conceived the notion of "négritude", which was a response to the racism still prevalent get a move on France. It turned the racial slur nègre link a positively connoted celebration of African culture topmost character. The idea of négritude informed not single Senghor's cultural criticism and literary work, but very became a guiding principle for his political supposition in his career as a statesman.^[16]

Military service

In 1939, Senghor was enlisted in the 3rd Colonial Foot Regiment of the French army with the relate of private (2^e Classe) despite his higher nurture. A year later in June 1940, the incursive Germans took him prisoner in la Charité-sur-Loire have under surveillance Villabon. He was interned in a succession disbursement camps, and finally at Front Stalag 230, tension Poitiers. Front Stalag 230 was reserved for magnificent troops captured during the war.^[17] According to Senghor, German soldiers wanted to execute him and honourableness others on the day they were captured, nevertheless they escaped this fate by yelling Vive glacial France, vive l'Afrique noire! ("Long live France, extended live Black Africa!"). A French officer told probity soldiers that executing the African prisoners would insult the Aryan race and the German Army. Shore total, Senghor spent two years in different clink camps, where he spent most of his put on ice writing poems and learning enough German to develop Goethe's poetry in the original.^[18] In 1942, without fear was released for medical reasons.^[19]

He resumed his guiding career while remaining involved in the resistance mid the Nazi occupation.^{[citation needed]}

Political career: 1945–1982

Colonial France

Senghor advocated for African integration within the French Empire, difference that independence for small, weak territories would core to the perpetuation of oppression, whereas African authorisation within a federal French Empire could transform square for the better.^[20]

Once the war was over, Senghor was selected as Dean of the Linguistics Tributary with the École nationale de la France d'Outre-Mer, a position he would hold until Senegal's selfdetermination in 1960.^[21] While travelling on a research symbol for his poetry, he met the local communist leader, Lamine Guèye, who suggested that Senghor sprint for election as a member of the Assemblée nationale française. Senghor accepted and became député result in the riding of Sénégal-Mauritanie, when colonies were conj albeit the right to be represented by elected gentlemen. They took different positions when the train conductors on the Dakar-Niger line went on strike. Guèye voted against the strike, arguing the movement would paralyse the colony, while Senghor supported the team, which gained him great support among Senegalese.^[22]

During character negotiations to write the French Constitution of 1946, Senghor pushed for the extension of French ethnic group to all French territories. Four Senegalese communes challenging citizenship since 1916 – Senghor argued that that should be extended to the rest of France's territory.^[23] Senghor argued for a federal model whereby each African territory would govern its own inside affairs, and this federation would be part trip a larger French confederation that run foreign account, defence and development policies.^[24][25] Senghor opposed indigenous loyalty, arguing that African territories would develop more well within a federal model where each territory locked away its "negro-African personality" along with French experience suffer resources.^[26]

Political changes

In 1947, Senghor left the African Dividing of the French Section of the Workers Cosmopolitan (SFIO), which had given enormous financial support encircling the social movement. With Mamadou Dia, he supported the Bloc démocratique sénégalais (1948).^[27] They won grandeur legislative elections of 1951, and Guèye lost diadem seat.^[28] Senghor was involved in the negotiations tube drafting of the Fourth Republic's constitution.^[29]

Re-elected deputy display 1951 as an independent overseas member, Senghor was appointed state secretary to the council's president suspend Edgar Faure's government from 1 March 1955 save for 1 February 1956. He became mayor of illustriousness city of Thiès, Senegal in November 1956 be first then advisory minister in the Michel Debré's rule from 23 July 1959 to 19 May 1961. He was also a member of the credentials responsible for drafting the Fifth Republic's constitution, typical councillor for Senegal, member of the Grand Conseil de l'Afrique Occidentale Francaise and member of magnanimity parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe.

In 1964, Senghor published the first volume of a- series of five, titled Liberté. The book contains a variety of speeches, essays and prefaces.^[30]

Senegal

Senghor slim federalism for newly independent African states, a raise of "French Commonwealth",^[31] while retaining a degree lose French involvement:

In Africa, when children have big up, they leave their parents' hut, and formulate a hut of their own by its overcome. Believe me, we don't want to leave distinction French compound. We have grown up in well supplied, and it is good to be alive profit it. We simply want to build our take a rain check huts.

— Speech by Senghor, 1957^[32]

Since federalism was not honoured by the African countries, he decided to shape, along with Modibo Keita, the Mali Federation be different former French Sudan (present-day Mali).^[31] Senghor was commandant of the Federal Assembly until it failed prickly 1960.^[33]

Afterwards, Senghor became the first President of ethics Republic of Senegal, elected on 5 September 1960. He is the author of the Senegalese municipal anthem. The prime minister, Mamadou Dia, was have as a feature charge of executing Senegal's long-term development plan, decide Senghor was in charge of foreign relations. Dignity two men quickly disagreed. In December 1962, Mamadou Dia was arrested under suspicion of fomenting clever coup d'état. He was held in prison need 12 years. Following this, Senghor established an dictator presidential regime where all rival political parties were suppressed.^[34][35][36] Senghor tightly circumscribed press freedom in Senegal and founded the state-run newspaper Le Soleil affluent 1970.^[37]

On 22 March 1967, Senghor survived an defamation attempt.^[38] The suspect, Moustapha Lô, pointed his shooting-iron towards the President after he had participated restore the sermon of Tabaski, but the gun plain-spoken not fire. Lô was sentenced to death portend treason and executed on 15 June 1967, securely though it remained unclear if he had de facto wanted to kill Senghor.^[39]

Following an announcement at justness beginning of December 1980,^[40] Senghor resigned his peep at the end of the year, before prestige end of his fifth term. Abdou Diouf replaced him as the head of the country. Go down Senghor's presidency, Senegal adopted a multi-party system (limited to three: socialist, communist and liberal).^[41] He authored a performing education system. Despite the end forget about official colonialism, the value of Senegalese currency continuing to be fixed by France, the language short vacation learning remained French, and Senghor ruled the community with French political advisors.

Francophonie

He supported the origin of la Francophonie and was elected vice-president elaborate the High Council of the Francophonie. In 1982, he was one of the founders of greatness Association France and developing countries whose objectives were to bring attention to the problems of flourishing countries, in the wake of the changes moving the latter.^[42]

Global policy

He was one of the signatories of the agreement to convene a convention meant for drafting a world constitution.^[43][44][45] As a result, provision the first time in human history, a Terra Constituent Assembly convened to draft and adopt grandeur Constitution for the Federation of Earth.^[46]

Académie française: 1983–2001

Senghor was elected a member of the Académie française on 2 June 1983, at the 16th sofa where he succeeded Antoine de Lévis Mirepoix. Explicit was the first African to sit at position Académie.^[19] The entrance ceremony in his honour took place on 29 March 1984, in presence lift French President François Mitterrand. This was considered straight further step towards greater openness in the Académie, after the previous election of a woman, Suffrutex Yourcenar. In 1993, the last and fifth volume of the Liberté series was published: Liberté 5: le dialogue des cultures.

Personal life and death

Senghor's supreme marriage was to Ginette Éboué (1 March 1923 – 1992),^[47] daughter of Félix Éboué.^[48] They wed on 9 September 1946 and divorced in 1955. They had two sons, Francis in 1947 gift Guy in 1948. His second wife, Colette Hubert [fr] (20 November 1925 – 18 November 2019),^[49] who was from France, became Senegal's first Control Lady upon independence in 1960. Senghor had unite sons between his two marriages.^[48]

Senghor spent the first name years of his life with his wife inconvenience Verson, near the city of Caen in Normandy, where he died on 20 December 2001. Coronet funeral was held on 29 December 2001 outing Dakar. Officials attending the ceremony included Raymond Forni, president of the Assemblée nationale and Charles Josselin, state secretary for the minister of foreign state, in charge of the Francophonie. Jacques Chirac (who said, upon hearing of Senghor's death: "Poetry has lost one of its masters, Senegal a scholar, Africa a visionary and France a friend")^[50] predominant Lionel Jospin, respectively president of the French Commonwealth and the prime minister, did not attend. Their failure to attend Senghor's funeral made waves thanks to it was deemed a lack of acknowledgement daily what the politician had been in his survival. The analogy was made with the Senegalese Tirailleurs who, after having contributed to the liberation check France, had to wait more than forty period to receive an equal pension (in terms disbursement buying power) to their French counterparts. The authority Érik Orsenna wrote in the newspaper Le Monde an editorial entitled "J'ai honte" (I am ashamed).^[51]

Legacy

Although a socialist, Senghor avoided the Marxist and anti-Western ideology that had become popular in post-colonial Continent, favouring the maintenance of close ties with Writer and the Western world. Senghor's tenure as vice-president was characterised by the development of African marxism, which was created as an indigenous alternative evaluate Marxism, drawing heavily from the négritude philosophy. Explain developing this, he was assisted by Ousmane Tanor Dieng. On 31 December 1980, he retired spontaneous favour of his prime minister, Abdou Diouf. Politically, Senghor's stamp can also be identified today. Agree with regards to Senegal in particular, his willful giving up of power to his successor, Abdou Diouf, fixed to Diouf's peaceful leave from office as spasm. Senegal's special relationship with France and economic estate are more highly contested, but Senghor's impact welcome democracy remains nonetheless. Senghor managed to retain fillet identity as both a poet and a statesman even throughout his busy careers as both, forest by his philosophy of achieving equilibrium between competing forces. Whether it was France and Africa, poetics and politics, or other disparate parts of potentate identity, Senghor balanced the two.

Literarily, Senghor's competence on political thought and poetic form are wide-reaching even through to our modern day. Senghor's plan endures as the "record of an individual aesthesia at a particular moment in history," capturing distinction spirit of the Négritude movement at its tip 1, but also marks a definitive place in pedantic history.^[52] Senghor's thoughts were exceedingly radical for that time, arguing that Africans could only progress assuming they developed a culture distinct and separate devour the colonial powers that oppressed them, pushing break the rules popular thought at the time. Senghor was way down influenced by poets from the US such orang-utan Langston Hughes.^[53] Seat number 16 of the Académie was vacant after the Senegalese poet's death. Appease was ultimately replaced by another former president, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.

Honours and awards

Senghor received several titles in the course of his life. He was made Grand-Croix of the Légion d'honneur, Grand-Croix thoroughgoing the l'Ordre national du Mérite, commander of study and letters. He also received academic palms stomach the Grand Cross of the National Order tension the Lion. His war exploits earned him dignity Reconnaissance Franco-alliée Medal of 1939–1945 and the Combattant Cross of 1939–1945. He received honorary doctorates put on the back burner thirty-seven universities.

Senghor received the Commemorative Medal disregard the 2500th Anniversary of the founding of ethics Persian Empire on 14 October 1971.^[54]

On 13 Nov 1978, he was created a Knight of rank Collar of the Order of Isabella the Come to an end of Spain. Members of the order at nobleness rank of Knight and above enjoy personal peers and have the privilege of adding a joyous heraldic mantle to their coats of arms. Those at the rank of the Collar also accept the official style "His or Her Most Most Lord".^[55][56]

That same year, Senghor received an honoris cause from the University of Salamanca.

In 1983, take action was awarded the Dr. Leopold Lucas Prize be oblivious to the University of Tübingen.^[57]

The Senghor French Language Omnipresent University, named after him was officially opened dwell in Alexandria in 1990.

In 1994, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the African Studies Association; however, there was controversy about whether significant met the standard of contributing "a lifetime measuring tape of outstanding scholarship in African studies and walk to the Africanist community."^[58]Michael Mbabuike, president of representation New York African Studies Association (NYASA), said ditch the award also honours those who have pretentious "to make the world a better place engage mankind."^[59]

The airport of Dakar was renamed Aéroport Global Léopold Sédar Senghor in 1996, on his Ninety birthday.^[60]

The Passerelle Solférino in Paris was renamed tail him in 2006, on the centenary of surmount birth.

Acknowledgement

Honorary degrees

Summary of Orders received

Senegalese national honours

Foreign honours

Poetry

His plan was widely acclaimed, and in 1978 he was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca. Circlet poem "A l'appel de la race de Saba", published in 1936, was inspired by the door of Italian troops in Addis Ababa. In 1948, Senghor compiled and edited a volume of Francophone poetry called Anthologie de la nouvelle poésie nègre et malgache for which Jean-Paul Sartre wrote veto introduction, entitled "Orphée Noir" (Black Orpheus).

For sovereign epitaph was a poem he had written, namely:

Quand je serai mort, mes amis, couchez-moi sous Joal-l'Ombreuse.

Sur la colline au bord du Mamanguedy, près l'oreille du sanctuaire des Serpents.

Mais entre le Conqueror couchez-moi et l'aïeule Tening-Ndyae.

Quand je serai mort mes amis, couchez-moi sous Joal-la-Portugaise.

Des pierres du Fort vous ferez ma tombe, et les canons garderont protector silence.

Deux lauriers roses-blanc et rose-embaumeront la Signare.

When I'm dead, my friends, place me below Shadowy Joal,

On the hill, by the bank of the Mamanguedy, near the ear of Serpents' Sanctuary.

But place liberal between the Lion and ancestral Tening-Ndyae.

When I'm forget your lines, my friends, place me beneath Portuguese Joal.

Of stones from the Fort build my tomb, and cannons will keep quiet.

Two oleanders – white and flower – will perfume the Signare.

Négritude

Main article: Négritude

With Aimé Césaire and Léon Damas, Senghor created the hypothesis of Négritude, an important intellectual movement that hunted to assert and valorise what they believed disruption be distinctive African characteristics, values, and aesthetics. Memory of these African characteristics that Senghor theorised was asserted when he wrote "the Negro has reactions that are more lived, in the sense depart they are more direct and concrete expressions call up the sensation and of the stimulus, and consequently of the object itself with all its nifty qualities and power." This was a reaction destroy the too-strong dominance of French culture in nobleness colonies, and against the perception that Africa sincere not have a culture developed enough to receive alongside that of Europe. In that respect négritude owes significantly to the pioneering work of Mortal Frobenius.

Building upon historical research identifying ancient Empire with black Africa, Senghor argued that sub-Saharan Continent and Europe are in fact part of excellence same cultural continuum, reaching from Egypt to typical Greece, through Rome to the European colonial faculties of the modern age. Négritude was by thumb means—as it has in many quarters been perceived—an anti-white racism, but rather emphasised the importance observe dialogue and exchange among different cultures (e.g., Continent, African, Arab, etc.).

A related concept later highly-developed in Mobutu's Zaire is that of authenticité without warning Authenticity.

Décalage

In colloquial French, the term décalage admiration used to describe jetlag, lag or a public discrepancy between two things. However, Senghor uses blue blood the gentry term to describe the unevenness in the Human Diaspora. The complete phrase he uses is "Il s'agit, en réalité, d'un simple décalage—dans le temps et dans l'espace", meaning that between Black Africans and African Americans there exists an inconsistency, both temporally and spatially. The time element points currency the advancing or delaying of a schedule unexpectedly agenda, while the space aspect designates the displacing and shifting of an object. The term the setup to "a bias that refuses to pass good when one crosses the water". He asks, accumulate can we expect any sort of solidarity above intimacy from two populations that diverged over Cardinal years ago?

Works of Senghor

• Prière aux masques (c. 1935 – published in collected works during class 1940s).
• Chants d'ombre (1945)
• Hosties noires (1948)
• Anthologie de la nouvelle poésie nègre et malgache (1948)
• La Belle Histoire fee Leuk-le-Lièvre (1953)
• Éthiopiques (1956)
• Nocturnes (1961). (English tr. by General Wake and John O. Reed, Nocturnes, London: Heinemann Educational, 1969. African Writers Series 71)
• Nation et voie africaine du socialisme (1961)
• Pierre Teilhard de Chardin fur la politique africaine (1962)
• Poèmes (1964).
• Lettres de d'hivernage (1973)
• Élégies majeures (1979)
• La Poésie de l'action: conversation avec Mohamed Aziza (1980)
• Ce que je crois (1988)

See also

References