Viviane Wade (née Vert; born 13 September 1932) is a French-born Senegalese public figure who served as
First Lady of Senegal
First Lady of Senegal ( French: ''Première Dame du Sénégal'') is the title attributed to the wife of the president of Senegal. The country's current first lady is Marieme Faye Sall, wife of President Macky Sall, who had held the position since ...
from 2000 to 2012, as the wife of President
Abdoulaye Wade
Abdoulaye Wade (born 29 May 1926)
Encyclopedia of the Nations. Retrieved February 28, ...
.
Early life
Born in
Besançon
Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...
,
Doubs
Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.[Abdoulaye Wade
Abdoulaye Wade (born 29 May 1926)]
Encyclopedia of the Nations. Retrieved February 28, ...
while they attended the
University of Franche-Comté
The University of Franche-Comté (UFC) is a pluridisciplinary public French university located in Besançon, Franche-Comté, with decentralized campuses in Belfort, Montbéliard, Vesoul and Lons-le-Saunier.
It is a founding member of the communi ...
in Besançon; they were married in 1963.
Political life
Abdoulaye Wade later became active as leader of the
Senegalese Democratic Party
The Senegalese Democratic Party (french: Parti démocratique sénégalais) is a political party in Senegal. The party considers itself a liberal party and is a member of the Liberal International. Abdoulaye Wade, who was President of Senegal from ...
in opposition. Following the 1993 presidential election, in which Wade was defeated, there was some political unrest in the country and the vice president of the Constitutional Court,
Babacar Seye Babacar may refer to:
*Babacar (name)
*Babacar (band)
Babacar was a short-lived rock supergroup formed in England, featuring former members of Shelleyan Orphan, The Cure, and Presence. The group released one album in their brief existence, t ...
, was assassinated. Both Abdoulaye and Viviane were arrested and imprisoned under suspicion of involvement. Those charges were later dropped, and three other people were sentenced for the murder. Following her husband's election as
President of Senegal in 2000, Viviane became First Lady.
After the end of her husband's Presidency, she closed down the Acting for Education and Health foundation and made the staff redundant. The couple relocated from Senegal to Paris.
Following the imprisonment of her son,
Karim
Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran.
Given name Karim
* Karim Ab ...
, on corruption charges, she supported his claims of innocence and suggested that the charges were politically motivated.
[ Wade had been with the former President in ]Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
when the charges were announced. Prior to the trial, she made weekly trips from Paris to Dakar to visit her son; she had been staying in France to look after his three daughters due to the death of their mother.
References
External links
Official biography of Senegal First Lady Viviane Wade
(French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Viviane
1932 births
Living people
People from Besançon
French emigrants to Senegal
Senegalese people of French descent
First ladies of Senegal
University of Franche-Comté alumni