On your marks: The race to be the next president of the African Development Bank has officially kicked off.
The charismatic and distinctively-dressed Akinwumi Adesina — known for his collection of colorful bow ties — must step down when his second term ends next summer, following a decade in power that has not always been smooth sailing amid power tensions with the United States, the bank’s second-largest shareholder.
The board of governors will elect a new president in May 2025, and in an interesting development last week, a new candidate entered the fray: The bank announced that Amadou Hott, a special envoy responsible for the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa, had resigned in order to throw his hat in the ring. Hott, a former economy minister from Senegal, joins the race with Samuel Munzele Maimbo of Zambia, a vice president at the World Bank who was endorsed as a candidate by the influential Southern African Development Community ahead of two female contenders who some had hoped would move forward. Ousmane Kane from Mauritania, a former AfDB vice president, is also reported to be in the running.