African Socialist Movement (french: Mouvement Socialiste Africain, MSA) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

French West Africa French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burki ...

. The MSA was formed following a meeting of the

Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière The French Section of the Workers' International (french: Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière, SFIO) was a political party in France that was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the modern-day Socialist Party. The SFIO was foun ...

(SFIO) federations of

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

, the

French Congo The French Congo (french: Congo français) or Middle Congo (french: Moyen-Congo) was a French colony which at one time comprised the present-day area of the Republic of the Congo and parts of Gabon, and the Central African Republic. In 1910, i ...

(now the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

and

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

French Sudan French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

(now

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesOubangui-Chari Ubangi-Shari (french: Oubangui-Chari) was a French colony in central Africa, a part of French Equatorial Africa. It was named after the Ubangi and Chari rivers along which it was colonised. It was established on 29 December 1903, from the ...

(now the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

), and

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

; the meeting was held in

Conakry Conakry (; ; sus, Kɔnakiri; N’ko: ߞߐߣߊߞߙߌ߫, Fula: ''Konaakiri'' 𞤑𞤮𞤲𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭𞤪𞤭) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its p ...

from 11 January to 13 January 1957. At that meeting it was decided that the African federations would break with its French parent organisation and form the MSA.Zuccarelli, François. ''La vie politique sénégalaise (1940-1988)''. Paris: CHEAM, 1988. The first meeting of the leading committee of MSA met from 9 to 10 February in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

the same year. Two SFIO delegates attended the session. MSA opted for a

federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

solution for French West Africa. On 26 March 1958, the MSA signed a declaration in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

merging itself into the African Regroupment Party (PRA).

Leadership

At its founding, Lamine Guèye became the president of MSA,

Barry III Ibrahima Barry, popularly known as Barry III, (1923 – January 25, 1971) was a Guinean politician. He was the leader of the political party Socialist Democracy of Guinea (DSG).Camp Boiro Memorial. Barry Ibrahima dit Barry III (1923-1971)'' B ...

the general secretary and

Djibo Bakary Djibo Bakary (1922 – 16 April 1998) was a socialist politician and important figure in the independence movement of Niger. Bakary was the first Nigerien to hold local executive power since the beginning of French colonialism. From 20 May 195 ...

the deputy general secretary.

Sections

The

ese section of MSA was the

Senegalese Party of Socialist Action Senegalese Party of Socialist Action (in French: ''Parti Sénégalais de l'Action Socialiste'') was a political party in Senegal led by Lamine Guèye. PSAS was formed as the Senegalese section of the African Socialist Movement (MSA) in 1957, fo ...

(PSAS), and it was led by Lamine Guèye. In Guinea, the

Socialist Democracy of Guinea The Socialist Democracy of Guinea (french: Démocratie Socialiste de Guinée, DSG) was a political party in Guinea. DSG was founded in the run-up to the 1954 legislative election by Abdoulaye Diallo, Chaikou Baldé and Ibrahima Barry ( 'Barry II ...

was the section of MSA. The Sudanese section of MSA was the

Progressive Sudanese Party The Sudanese Regroupment Party (french: Parti du Regroupement Soudanais, PRS) was a political party in French Sudan led by Fily Dabo Sissoko.Imperato, Pascal James. ''Mali: A Search for Direction''. Boulder: Westview Press, 1989 Politically it ...

, while what became the Niger section retained the MSA name as the

Mouvement Socialiste Africain-Sawaba The Union of Popular Forces for Democracy and Progress–Sawaba (french: Union des Forces Populaires pour la Démocratie et le Progrès – Sawaba, UDFP–Sawaba) is a political party in Niger, founded as the Nigerien Democratic Union (''Union D ...

.Fuglestad, Finn.
Djibo Bakary, the French, and the Referendum of 1958 in Niger
', published in ''The Journal of African History'', Vol. 14, No. 2 (1973), pp. 313-330

References

African socialist political parties Political parties in French West Africa Socialist parties in Africa 1957 establishments in French West Africa Political parties established in 1957 Political parties with year of disestablishment missing Pan-African organizations Pan-Africanist political parties in Africa Transnational political parties {{France-party-stub