The Commission of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

acts as the executive/administrative branch or secretariat of the

(and is somewhat analogous to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

). It consists of a number of Commissioners dealing with different areas of policy. The

African Union Headquarters The African Union Conference Center and Office Complex (AUCC) is a building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the headquarters of the African Union and plays host to the biannual AU summits. It also serves as a conference center for African and di ...

are in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. It should be distinguished from the

African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is a quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and collective (peoples') rights throughout the African continent as well as interpreting the African Charter ...

, (based in

Banjul Banjul (,"Banjul"
(US) and ), officially the City of Ba ...

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

), which is a separate body that reports to the African Union.

History

On September 13, 2005 an agreement was reached by the Commission and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

whereby France would donate

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

5 million for the furtherance of African Union activities. Some of the initiatives this money will go to are an African Communication Policy and an African Common Defence Force. The signatory on behalf of the Commission was Bernard Zoba. The African Union Commission became a part of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2012. FOCAC is the main multi-lateral coordination mechanism between the African countries and China. Since joining FOCAC, the African Union Commission has increasingly played a coordinating role, although each African country in FOCAC continues to represent itself individually.

Key members

Moussa Faki Moussa Faki Mahamat ( ar, موسى فكي محمد ', born 21 June 1960) is a Chadian politician and diplomat who has been the elected Chairperson of the African Union Commission since 14 March 2017. Previously he was Prime Minister of Chad from 2 ...

is Chairman of the Commission, replacing

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma (née Dlamini; born 27 January 1949), sometimes referred to by her initials NDZ, is a South African politician, medical doctor and former anti-apartheid activist. A longstanding member of the African National Cong ...

in January 2017. * Thomas Kwesi Quartey is Deputy Chairman. *Directorate of Conference Management and Publications is headed by Nedjat Khellaf * Directorate of Peace and Security is headed by Ramtane Lamamra * Directorate of Political Affairs is headed by

Julia Dolly Joiner Julia Dolly Joiner (born November 11, 1956 Banjul, Gambia) is a Gambian politician. She is Commissioner of Political Affairs for the African Union, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also ...

* Directorate of Infrastructure and Energy is headed by Elham Mahmood Ibrahim * Directorate of Social Affairs is headed by Amira Elfadi * Directorate of Human Resources, Science and Technology is headed by Nagia Essayed * African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development is

Raila Odinga Raila Amolo Odinga (born 7 January 1945) is a Kenyan politician, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata and businessman who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He is assumed to be the Leader of Opposition in Kenya sin ...

since October 2018. Prior to this, the Directorate of Trade and Industry was headed by Elisabeth Tankeu. * Directorate of Rural Economy and Agriculture is headed by Rosebud Kurwijila *

Directorate of Economic Affairs Directorate may refer to: Contemporary *Directorates of the Scottish Government * Directorate-General, a type of specialised administrative body in the European Union * Directorate-General for External Security, the French external intelligence ag ...

is headed by

Maxwell Mkwezalamba Maxwell Mkwezalamba (born December 22, 1959) is a Malawian politician and economist. He is currently First Alternate Executive Director for Africa Group 1 Constituency, comprising 23 African countries, at the International Monetary Fund in Washing ...

* Office of the Legal Counsel is headed by Ben Kioko

References

External links

Official website
Organisations based in Addis Ababa {{Africa-stub