The Senegalese Popular Bloc (in French: ''Bloc Populaire Sénégalais'' (BPS)) was the result of the merger 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) of

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 ...

Senegalese Democratic Union Senegalese Democratic Union (in French: ''Union Démocratique Sénégalais'') was a political party in Senegal, founded in 1946 by the Communist Study Groups (GEC). UDS became affiliated as the Senegalese section of the African Democratic Rall ...

(UDS), Casamancian Autonomous Movement (MAC) and a fraction of the

Senegalese Popular Movement Senegalese Popular Movement (in French: ''Mouvement Populaire Sénégalais'') was a political party in Senegal. MPS was formed as the Senegalese section of the African Democratic Rally (RDA), following the expulsion of the Senegalese Democratic ...

(MPS) led by Abdolaye Thiaw. It held its constitutive congress 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 ...

from February 23–25, 1957. The merger was however already in effect since August 1956.''Socialist Affairs, Volumes 22-23'', Socialist International (1972), pp. 82-84Zuccarelli, François, ''La vie politique sénégalaise: 1940-1988'', Paris, Centre des hautes études sur l'Afrique et l'Asie modernes (CHEAM) 1988, pp. 53-56Coleman, James S.; Coleman, James Smoot; and Rosberg, Carl G.; ''Political Parties and National Integration in Tropical Africa'',

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

(1970), pp. 22-25,

(Retrieved 30 March 2019) The congress elected Senghor as its political director and

Mamadou Dia Mamadou Dia (18 July 1910 – 25 January 2009) was a Senegalese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Senegal from 1957 until 1962, when he was forced to resign and was subsequently imprisoned amidst allegations that he was p ...

as the general secretary.Borella, François, ''L'évolution politique et juridique de l'Union française depuis 1946'', Paris, Librairie générale de droit et de jurisprudence, 1958, p. 90 On January 11 the same year BPS organized a meeting in Dakar, launching the African Convention. The Convention was intended to evolve into an all-

AOF AOF may stand for: * Academy of Finance, the finance-based high school education program sponsored by the National Academy Foundation. * ''Afrique Occidentale Française'' ( French West Africa), a former grouping of French colonies. * Aggregate Obj ...

party. The launching of the Convention was preceded by failed efforts of unity between BPS and the

African Democratic Rally African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

(RDA). Senghor wanted the Convention to fill the role of a party corresponding to the '' Indépendents d'Outre-Mer'' parliamentary fraction that he belonged to. In 1958 the African Convention and the

African Socialist Movement African Socialist Movement (french: Mouvement Socialiste Africain, MSA) was a political party in French West Africa. The MSA was formed following a meeting of the Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière (SFIO) federations of Cameroon, ...

merged to form the

Party of African Regroupment The African Regroupment Party (french: Parti du Regroupement Africain, PRA) was a political party in the French African colonies. Formation The PRA came into being at a meeting in Paris on March 26, 1958, months before the French Community would ...

(PRA). As a result of this merger BPS merged with the Senegalese section of MSA,

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 formed the

Senegalese Progressive Union The Socialist Party of Senegal (french: Parti Socialiste du Sénégal, PS) is a political party in Senegal. It was the ruling party in Senegal from independence in 1960 until 2000. In the 2000 presidential election, the party's candidate and previ ...

(UPS).

References

Bibliography

*Borella, François, ''L'évolution politique et juridique de l'Union française depuis 1946'', Paris, Librairie générale de droit et de jurisprudence, 1958, p. 86 ; 89 ; 90 *Zuccarelli, François, ''La vie politique sénégalaise (1940-1988)'', Paris, CHEAM, 1988 *Boone, Catherine. ''Merchant Capital and the Roots of State Power in Senegal: 1930-1985'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

(2006), p. 85

(Retrieved 30 March 2019) *Heyns, Christof, ''Human Rights Law in Africa 1998'', Martinus Nijhoff Publishers (2001), p. 385

(Retrieved 30 March 2019) *''Socialist Affairs'', Volumes 22-23, Socialist International (1972), pp. 82–84 *Coleman, James S.; Coleman, James Smoot; and Rosberg, Carl G.; ''Political Parties and National Integration in Tropical Africa'',

(1970), pp. 22–25,

(Retrieved 30 March 2019) {{Authority control Political parties established in 1957 Socialist parties in Senegal