Senegal’s President, Diomaye Faye, has been elected as the new Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.

Faye emerged as the new chairman during the 69th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Sierra Leone.

The Senegalese president succeeds his Sierra Leonean counterpart and Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority, Julius Maada Bio.

Bio had emerged as the new Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government when President Bola Tinubu’s two-term leadership of the bloc came to an end in June, 2025.

President Tinubu handed over the mantle of leadership to President Bio at the 67th Ordinary Session of the Authority held in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

Faye succeeds Bio at a particularly challenging period for ECOWAS, with security threats, democratic setbacks, and the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger still dominating the regional agenda.

As the new chairman, he is expected to intensify efforts to rebuild trust and keep communication channels open with the three breakaway countries.

Aged 46, Faye represents a younger generation of African leaders.

His leadership could inject new momentum into ECOWAS’ reform agenda, especially on governance, accountability, youth inclusion and institutional credibility.

His position places Senegal at the centre of major regional diplomatic and political decisions.