Mamadou Dia (18 July 1910 – 25 January 2009) was a
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
ese
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who served as the first
Prime Minister of Senegal
The Prime Minister of Senegal is the head of government of Senegal. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of Senegal, who is directly elected for a five-year term. The Prime Minister, in turn, appoints the Senegalese cabinet, after ...
from 1957 until 1962, when he was forced to resign and was subsequently imprisoned amidst allegations that he was planning to stage a
military coup
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...
to overthrow President
Léopold Sédar Senghor
Léopold Sédar Senghor (; ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who was the first president of Senegal (1960–80).
Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician o ...
.
Biography
Early life and education
Of rural origin, Mamadou Dia was born in
Khombole
Khombole is a town in the Thiès Region of Senegal. It is in the Thiès Department
Thiès Department is one of the 45 departments of Senegal, one of the three located in the Thiès Region.
There are 4 urban communes in the department: Kayar, K ...
, in the
Thies Region Thies may refer to
* Thiès, a city in Senegal
**Université de Thiès in Senegal
**Olympique Thiès, a Senegalese football club
**Roman Catholic Diocese of Thiès
**Thiès Department
*Thiès Region in western Senegal
*Thies (name)
See also
*Thier ...
of Senegal, on 18 July 1910. His father, a veteran turned into a policeman, played a key role in transmitting him faith to
Sufi Islam
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
and was an important example of rectitude.
Former pupil of the Blanchot elementary school in Saint-Louis, began his education in a Quranic school to later move into western education at the ''
École William Ponty, ''principal training ground of the elite in French Africa in the 20s and 30s. Eventually, he persuaded graduate studies in economics at the
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
. Before entering politics (became motivated to so only after
Vichy regime
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
collapsed) in the early 1940s, he worked as journalist, teacher and school director.
In his book ''“Africa, the price of freedom”'' (2001, edited by
L'Harmattan
Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in W ...
) he stated to believe to be actually born (according to some papers belonging to his father he had found) in July 1911. It has been a teacher who made him one year older on official documents to allow him to pass the competition for the William Ponty school, as otherwise he would have been too young to candidate.
Political career
Dia started life in politics in 1947 as a leader in the Grand Council of the
Afrique occidentale française
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 Bu ...
(AOF) and as Secretary General of the
Senegalese Democratic Bloc
Senegalese Democratic Bloc (in French: ''Bloc Démocratique Sénégalais'') was a political party in Senegal, founded on 27 October 1948 by Léopold Sédar Senghor, following a split from the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO). ...
(BDS) from the following year. He served in the
French Senate
The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 34 ...
from 1948 to 1956 and as deputy in the
French National Assembly
The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...
from 1956 to 1958, sitting with the parliamentary group of Overseas Independent (IOM). With Senghor, Dia formed the African Convention Party (PCA) in January 1957 from the BDS. When
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
proposed a referendum on the French community in 1958, the two leaders stand by two opposite positions: Dia is in favor of a break with France, while Senghor wants to keep Senegal in the community,
During his two terms as a senator, Mamadou Dia voted for the ratification of the
Atlantic Pact
The North Atlantic Treaty, also referred to as the Washington Treaty, is the treaty that forms the legal basis of, and is implemented by, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949 ...
(July 28, 1949), voted for the law Marie favorable to private education (September 12), and declared himself in favor of the ratification of the Treaty establishing the
European Coal and Steel Community
The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to regulate the coal and steel industries. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembo ...
(1 st April 1952). On March 26, 1955, he opposed plans relating to the
WEU
The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...
, the end of the occupation in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, its entry into
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and the
Saar Agreement. It approved the draft law on state of emergency in
Algeria
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, relig ...
(1 st April) and abstained on the draft electoral reform restoring the district election (15 November). He was also an active member of parliament, being a frequent speaker and devoting himself to the problems of the overseas territories.
Dia was one of the main figures (namely vice premier) of the abortive
Mali Federation
The Mali Federation ( ar, اتحاد مالي) was a federation in West Africa linking the French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan, Sudanese Republic (or French Sudan) for two months in 1960. It was founded on 4 April 1959 as a territor ...
of Senegal and
Sudanese Republic (later Mali) until its collapse. Once independence has been proclaimed on August 20, 1960, he became Prime minister, in tandem with Senghor as President of the
Republic of Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
who, as a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in a largely
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic country, valued having a widely connected and able Muslim as his deputy. His time served as Prime Minister was often controversial and his radical socialist views often clashed with those of the more moderate Senghor.
Departure from Senghor and imprisonment
After slightly more than two years of legislature, Mamadou Dia was accused of plotting a coup against President Senghor. No proof has been provided to justify the accusations. It was taken at the time as a classic example of the difficulties of power sharing in new-born states: Dia embodied the summit of the State in a two-headed parliamentary system (economic and internal policy for him, foreign policy for the President).
However, different views with regards to the economy, played a major role: there was a serious liberal and pro-French versus conservatory and patriotic policy divide. In fact, Dia began to implement some of the ideas he had articulated in his book Réflexions sur l'Économie de l'Afrique Noire (1960), which rose concern among the Marabouts, the powerful religious leaders who controlled the groundnut business, and runs counter to French interests.
As result of the grave power struggle between the two former political allies, a group of dissident parliamentarians motivated by Senghor, tabled a motion of no confidence against the government, thus on Dia. He responded by invoking executive powers and ordering the army to lock the assembly building before the vote could be taken. Senghor charged it as an attempted coup, in turn calling out the army, which was in the majority loyal to him. Dia and several of his ministers were arrested and tried for treason. Eventually, he was forced to resign and subsequently imprisoned (initially sentenced to life in prison) in the eastern town of Kédougou, until 1974, but later pardoned (1974) and given amnesty (1976).
Late life
His political power may have been broken but not his spirit. Dia attempted to restart his career in the early 1980s, once multiparty democracy had been introduced by
, but the small party he led (the People Democratic Movement) found little support. Thus, he never returned to a position of power; however, he remained an iconic figure in Senegalese politics, retaining an intellectual and moral place in the country. He accompanied the Senegalese state during the years of decolonization and remained one of the main figures in the construction of modern Senegal. He gradually acquired the role of national treasure, as he continued regularly to write diatribes in the local press well into his 90s. He was noted for his attacks on the neo-liberal economic policies of the current president, Abdoulaye Wade, who ironically had been one of the lawyers who defended Dia in 1963. After his death on 25 January 2009 (at the age of 98, in Dakar), there was a massive outpouring of sentiment in national newspapers due to admiration for his obdurate attachment to principles.
"Dia ne s’est jamais defait de son idealism pour devenir un homme d’Etat"
Church and state relation
When Leopold Senghor (Catholic) and Mamadou Dia (Muslim) led Senegal to independence they had very clear ideas of what ideological and philosophical values would have formed the basis of the new State. African socialism, spirituality and secularisms were the concepts to guide the country towards modernity and development with a spirit of tolerance and pluralism to define their project. The two figures were both fundamentally convinced, on the one hand, of the necessity of a secular state, and on the other, that religious fervor is a cultural energy essential for achieving modernization. And that is why they charged themselves and their fellow nation builders, the institutions, the party and especially the political discourse with the mission of realizing the ideal of a nation uplifted by the spirit, committed to secularism and thus, ultimately, prosperous.
Dia’s reflection on Islam (like those contained in his ''Islam, African Societies and Industrial Culture'') are useful to understand the degree of faith he had in this spiritualist socialism as motivating force of development in Senegal.
''“Islam must remind the Muslim world
that if it is required to act, it is so that one may fulfill oneself, that one may achieve even richer being. For industrial development to be a boon and not the ruin of mankind, it is crucial that it retain a human dimension, that it not give rise to a new kind of slavery under the pretense of promoting productivity or efficacy, that it not create progress that is in reality perversion, desire of well-being and not of better-being
''
It is the philosophy of a modern Islam actively participating in a process of transformation of itself and of the world in conformity with demands of justice.
This interpretation of secularization put Senegal out of the heir of France (where takes the form of a permanent hostility to any manifestation of religion) and more in Anglo-Saxon model of relation between church and State: aim to guarantee the autonomy of religious communities.
Unfortunately, the reality happened to be different from the initial project as Senghor and Dia had to partially renounce to their ideas and had to accept a compromise pact to assure the support, especially during elections, of the marabouts (which thus became an integral part of the political life). Eventually, the demarcation between religion and politics was more blurred than what they initially hoped.
Publications
*''Contribution à l'étude du mouvement coopératif en Afrique noire'', Présence africaine, 1951
*''Réflexions sur l'économie de l'Afrique noire'', Éditions africaines, 1954
*''L'économie africaine : études et problèmes nouveaux'', Presses universitaires de France, 1957
*''Nations africaines et solidarité mondiale'', Presses universitaires de France, 1960
*''Islam, sociétés africaines et culture industrielle'', Nouvelles éditions africaines, 1975
*''Essais sur l'Islam'', vol. 1, ''Islam et humanisme'', Nouvelles éditions africaines, 1977
*''Essais sur l'Islam'', vol. 2, ''Socio-anthropologie de l'Islam'', Nouvelles éditions africaines, 1979
*''Essais sur l'Islam'', vol. 3, ''Islam et civilisations négro-africaines'', Nouvelles éditions africaines, 1980
*''Mémoires d'un militant du Tiers monde : si mémoire ne ment'', Publisud, 1985
*''A governance approach to civil service reform in Sub-Saharan Africa'', World Bank, 1993
*''Africa's management in the 1990s and beyond : reconciling indigenous and transplanted institutions'', World Bank, 1996
*''Kaso : le migrant perpétuel'', Esprit frappeur, 1999
*''Afrique : le prix de la liberté'', L'Harmattan, 2001
*''Échec de l'alternance au Sénégal et crise du monde libéral'', L'Harmattan, 2005
*''Sénégal, radioscopie d'une alternance avortée'' (articles)
*''Corbeille pour l'an 2000'', Éditions Paix et développement, Dakar, 1995
Bibliography
*Pamela Cox and Richard Kessler. Après Senghor a Socialist Senegal? African Affairs. Volume 79, Number 316. pp. 327–342
*Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Religion and the Public Sphere in Senegal: The Evolution of a Project of Modernity in Miguel Vatter, ed., ''Crediting God: Sovereignty and Religion in the Age of Global Capitalism'', Fordham University Press, 2011, pp. 102 – 114
*Kaye Whiteman, Mamadou Dia, the Guardian, 2 Feb 2009.
* F. Diaye, M. Printz, Tine, '' Visages publics au Sénégal. 10 personnalités politiques parlent'', L'Harmattan, 1991, 260 p.
* Babacar Ndiaye et Waly Ndiaye, ''Présidents et ministres de la République du Sénégal'', Dakar, 2000.
*(in French) Laurent Correau, ''Mamadou Dia, l’homme du refus'', RFI.fr, 26 janvier 2009.
*(in French) Valérie Nivelon and Maxime Grember, ''Mamadou Dia parle, histoire d’une archive inédite,'' RFI.fr, 25 janvier 2019.
*(in French) Maâti Monjib, ''Mamadou Dia et les relations franco-sénégalaises (1957-1962)'', Horizons Maghrébins - Le droit à la mémoire, Année 2005, pp. 40–53.
Filmography
« La crise éclair qu'a vécue Dakar »(en ligne, un document audiovisuel de l'
INA de 1' 23, retraçant la tentative de coup d'État de Mamadou Dia, diffusé à l'origine par les Actualités françaises le 26 décembre 1962)
« Le Sénégal après la crise »(en ligne, un document audiovisuel de l'
INA de 7' 20, proposant un bilan après le coup d'État avorté de Mamadou Dia, diffusé à l'origine au cours du Journal télévisé de l'
ORTF le 27 décembre 1962)
See also
*
Politics of Senegal
Politics in Senegal takes place within the framework of a presidential democratic republic. The President of Senegal is the head of state and government. Executive power in Senegal is concentrated in the president's hands.
While legislative p ...
*
History of Senegal
The history of Senegal is commonly divided into a number of periods, encompassing the prehistoric era, the precolonial period, colonialism, and the contemporary era.
Paleolithic
The earliest evidence of human life is found in the valley of the ...
*
Mali Federation
The Mali Federation ( ar, اتحاد مالي) was a federation in West Africa linking the French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan, Sudanese Republic (or French Sudan) for two months in 1960. It was founded on 4 April 1959 as a territor ...
*
Leopold Senghor
Leopold may refer to:
People
* Leopold (given name)
* Leopold (surname)
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons''
* Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...
References
External links
Senegal - History and PoliticsInstitute for Security Studies, South Africa.
page on the French National Assembly websitepage on the Republic of Senegal Interior Minister website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dia, Mamadou
1910 births
2009 deaths
People from Thiès Region
People of French West Africa
Senegalese Democratic Bloc politicians
Senegalese socialists
Prime Ministers of Senegal
Interior ministers of Senegal
French Senators of the Fourth Republic
Senators of French West Africa
Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic
Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic