July 2001 Africa News Headlines

Tuesday, July 10, 2001 - Web posted at 12:53:23 PM GMT

African body's Essy was respected Ivorian minister

LUSAKA - Amara Essy, who was picked on Tuesday to guide Africa's continental body into a stronger union, is a former president of the U.N. Security Council who won respect as foreign minister in his native Ivory Coast.

The 56-year-old diplomat and politician who balanced his way unscathed through upheaval in Ivory Coast was elected interim secretary-general of the Organisation of African Unity after several rounds of voting.

He will play a pivotal role in transforming the OAU into a stronger African Union, modelled on the European Union.

"We will try to do our best," Essy told reporters in Lusaka.

A practising Muslim married to a Christian, Essy spans the religious and cultural divides which have riven his homeland and also threaten to destabilise many other African countries.

Essy who is regarded as a modest diplomat, emerged untainted by the corruption scandals in Ivory Coast that soiled others' names.

When soldiers toppled the government in which he served as minister of state in 1999, Essy turned himself in -- but officers said it was his colleagues who were the problem and he was free to go.

Essy was in the running to become U.N. secretary-general in 1996, when Ghana's Kofi Annan got the job. Both are from West Africa's Akan ethnic group.

"In Africa, nobody can succeed alone without others," Essy told Reuters in a recent interview. "There will be no economic recovery if we don't resolve our security problems."

Essy speaks the continent's three main lingua francas, French, English and Portuguese -- after beginning his diplomatic career in Brazil, where his resemblance to legendary footballer Pele once won him a mistaken standing ovation at a gala event.

Essy spent most of the 1970s and 1980s with the United Nations, with a stint as head of the Security Council in 1990-91 before returning to Ivory Coast as foreign minister.

He began his ministerial career under Ivory Coast's independence president Felix Houphouet-Boigny.

But he won support for his OAU leadership campaign from President Laurent Gbagbo, elected last year after years in opposition to Houphouet-Boigny and his successor Henri Konan Bedie, under whom Essy also served.

Essy spent much of his time at the United Nations trying to promote the interests of the world's poorer countries through various forums. Ivory Coast's entry to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in June was attributed to Essy's influence.

"Some people say that even after the end of colonialism, Africa remains the colony of Western powers. But with today's rapid change, Africa is at risk of becoming the colony of multinational companies," he said recently.

"I think we must avoid that."

After missing out to Annan as U.N. secretary-general, Essy planned to stand for OAU secretary-general in 1997. But he pulled out before the summit, saying he did not want to divide Africa on the issue and left the job to Tanzanian Salim Ahmed Salim.

This time around, Essy won support from French-speaking African countries to beat Namibian Foreign Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab, who was backed by southern Africa.

Essy, who has a keen interest in motorcycles, has six children by his wife Lucie. Nampa-Reuters

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