Soham El Wardini (born in 1953) is a

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

politician and former mayor of Dakar, Senegal. She is the first woman to be mayor of post-independence Dakar and the first deputy mayor of the city.

Biography

Wardini was born in 1953 in the rural community of Latmingué,

Kaolack Region The Kaolack region is a region in Senegal. It borders Gambia and is a common stopping point for travel between Dakar and Banjul. Its borders correspond roughly to the Saalum Kingdom of precolonial days, and the area is still spoken of as the '' ...

, Senegal. She and her 10 siblings were born to a Senegalese mother and Lebanese father. Following her father's death, her family moved to the city of Kaolack, where she attended high school. She majored in English at Cheikh Anta Diop University (then University of Dakar) and taught at various colleges. Wardini won the title of Miss Senegal and Miss Senegambia in 1970.

Career

In 1999, Wardini joined the Alliance of the Forces of Progress. Following the split of the AFP in 2012, she joined mayor of Dakar,

Khalifa Sall Khalifa Ababacar Sall (born 1 January 1956) is a Senegalese politician. He is a former government minister and a former mayor of Dakar. He is the leader of Manko Taxawu Sénégal in the 2022 Senegalese parliamentary election Parliamentary ele ...

's faction and became his deputy in 2014 – the first and only deputy mayor in the city's history. In March 2017, Khalifa Sall was sentenced to five-years for the

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

of in public funds. Wardini was placed as acting mayor until August 2017, when president Macky Sall dismissed Khalifa Sall in a presidential decree. In September 2018, Wardini ran for mayor of Dakar and was elected with a majority vote in city council with 64 votes. She won over candidates Banda Diop with 13 votes and Moussa Sy with 11 votes. Wardini became the first woman to be mayor of Dakar, post-independence. On October 8, 2018, the

133rd IOC Session The 133rd IOC Session was an IOC Session held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 8 October 2018, during the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics. This was the second IOC Session held in Buenos Aires after the 125th IOC Session. The Candidature Phase for 2026 Winte ...

voted unanimously for Dakar to host the 2022 Summer Youth Olympics, the

first Olympic games The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...

to be hosted in Africa. During the closing ceremony of the

2018 Summer Youth Olympics The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de la Juventud de 2018), officially known as the III Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Buenos Aires 2018, were an international sports, cultural, and educational event held ...

, Buenos Aires mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

president Thomas Bach handed the Olympic flag to Wardini. Soham El Wardini will not be able to run for the next local election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wardini, Soham 1953 births Living people Mayors of Dakar Women mayors of places in Senegal Cheikh Anta Diop University alumni Senegalese people of Lebanese descent People from Kaolack Region