Leopold Sedar Senghor

Senegalese independence activist and first president . He is also a master of French-speaking literature.

Born on October 9, 1906 in Joal, French Senegal. He was born into a wealthy Serer merchant family, and from a young age he was taught by a Catholic missionary working in Senegal that he needed to rely on France to enlighten him about the culture of his ancestors. At the age of 21, he went to study abroad in France, and after seven years of studying abroad, he completely assimilated into French culture and felt one with the French people. However, as he interacted with young black intellectuals living in the Quartier Latin of Paris, he began to dislike the assimilationism of France's colonies. Accordingly, together with friends he met in Paris, he began to develop the Negritude movement to explain black consciousness that defends the unique contributions, values, and characteristics of the black people and black civilization. Senghor worked as a teacher in France and became the first African to obtain an aggregation, a high school teaching certificate. After completing one year of mandatory military service as a naturalized Frenchman, he was working at a high school near Paris. When the war with Germany began, he was not allowed to become an officer due to his race, and was discharged as a private. During the 18 months he spent in the POW camp, Senghor studied German in his spare time and was able to read Goethe's poems in their original language. After becoming free in 1942, he returned to work as a teacher.

In 1945, he was elected as a representative of Senegal among nine Africans and participated in the 600-member Constituent Assembly. He participated in the drafting of the constitution of the French Fourth Republic , agreeing that the new constitution should emphasize the 'indivisible' nature of the French union, and was officially employed as a grammarian in recognition of his excellent French skills. Senghor played an important role in the French branch of the Workers' International , but soon founded a political party called the Democratic Union of Senegal in 1948. Because Sendor is a Catholic who grew up in Senegal, where Muslims are overwhelmingly dominant, and is from the Serer tribe rather than the Willow tribe, which has racial superiority, he learns to form a political coalition by appealing for support without appealing to religious or racial inclinations. While he was active in politics, he also showed his passion for literature by holding a gathering of writers and poets in Seine Kang In-geun, Paris. In addition, he developed the concept of 'African socialism' by reinterpreting European socialism in an African way and emphasizing the importance of the traditions of the African community.

In the 1950s, when a fierce anti-colonial struggle broke out on the African continent, he took a moderate stance. Senghor criticized Kwame Nkrumah 's claims as radical and advised Tunisians to maintain close relations with France. He also spoke in favor of spending the war budget for the Algerian War and for sending Senegalese soldiers to the fight against the National Liberation Front . He criticized the independence of a small country with a weak economy and few resources as 'false independence', and thought that establishing a large-scale organization in cooperation with the European powers was promising. He acted as a representative pro-Buddhist advocate of moderate autonomy with Felix Houpouéboigny of Côte d'Ivoire, but he also had a different opinion from Felix Houpouéboigny . He subsequently joined with Modibo Keita of Mali to establish the Mali Federation, but soon withdrew due to differences in disposition with Modibo Keita .

On September 5, 1960, he was elected Senegal's first president and assumed office the next day.

After being elected president, Senghor maintained close ties with France and professed support for African socialism among radicals, but was criticized for promoting neo-colonial interests. He allowed French companies to maintain control of Senegal's commercial and industrial sectors, and stationed French guards at a military base near Dakar International Airport to ensure national security. He also expressed opposition to the nationalization of foreign companies, including those in France, saying that it was killing the goose that lays golden eggs. He warned against radicalization, saying that allowing incompetent Africans to take over jobs previously handled by competent Frenchmen was an excessive Africanization policy. Senegal's economy, which focused on peanut exports, was unable to escape its overall stagnation even with French support. Peanut production was further hit by successive droughts. The centralized peanut management organization introduced by Senghor also became ineffective due to incompetence and corruption. He maintained the support of the Muslim Brotherhood by providing many preferential treatment to Muslim religious leaders and making strategic use of the development industry. Additionally, anti-government figures were appeased by providing key government positions and material benefits. Additionally, college students protesting against corruption were responded to with tear gas. He was elected as the sole candidate in the presidential elections of 1963, 1968, and 1973. He introduced a multi-party system in 1976, defeated the opposition candidate in the 1978 election, and resigned from office in 1980.

In 1984 he was elected a member of the French Academy, and became one of 40 living persons recognized as immortal intellectuals for their immortal contributions to French literature and the art of governance. He died in Normandy, France on December 20, 2001 at the age of 95. His funeral was held on 29 December 2001 in Dakar .

President Senghor and his wife paid an official visit to Korea on April 22, 1979 at the invitation of President Park Chung-hee. #

He is the son-in-law of Felix Ebou, governor of French Chad during the Free French era .