Former Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance of Mauritania, Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, has been elected the ninth president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), the multilateral institution has announced.
Dr. Tah, 60, previously served as president of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) for 10 years from 2015 until April 2025.The winning candidate is required to obtain at least 50.01% of both the regional and non-regional votes.The other candidates included Amadou Hott (Senegal), Samuel Maimbo (Zambia), Mahamat Abbas Tolli (Chad), and Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala (South Africa).
In the lead up to the elections, Dr. Tah said that some of his focus areas would be resource mobilisation, reforming the continent’s financial architecture, investing in sustainable infrastructure projects, and leveraging the potential of the continent’s demographic dividend.
This marks the beginning of a challenging yet inspiring journey—together, we will drive Africa’s transformation with unity, ambition, and purpose.
Dr. Sidi Ould Tah
Out of the five candidates, Dr. Tah and Zambia’s Samuel Maimbo were seen as the frontrunners. Dr. Tah, who served as Mauritania’s Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance from 2008 to 2015, was said to have received early support from Mali, Mauritania, Ghana and other countries.
He garnered 76.18% of the total votes and 72.37% of the regional votes during the vote on Thursday, beating Maimbo who garnered 20.26% of the total votes and 22.71% of the regional votes. Senegal’s Amadou Hott trailed with 3.55% of the total votes.
Dr. Sidi Ould Tah will assume office on 1 September 2025, for a five-year term, following the end of the second mandate of current President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.