Senghor, Leopold Sedar

▪ 2002

      Senegalese poet, philosopher, politician, and statesman (b. Oct. 9, 1906, Joal, Senegal, French West Africa—d. Dec. 20, 2001, Verson, Normandy, France), straddled the literary and political spheres in his dual roles—as Senegal's first president from 1960 until he voluntarily stepped down 20 years later and as one of Africa's most distinguished French-language poets and the leading figure of the “Négritude” movement, which reassessed African culture in the 1930s and '40s and affirmed the literary and artistic expression of the black African experience. Senghor studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and taught school in France until he was drafted into the military in 1939. Captured by German forces in 1940, he composed what later were acknowledged as some of his finest poems while being held in a prison camp. He was released in 1942 and joined the French Resistance. After the war he entered politics and represented his native land in the French National Assembly as the head of the Senegalese Democratic Bloc. Back home Senghor founded the socialist Senegalese Progressive Union (later the Socialist Party) and advocated a confederacy of former French colonies in West Africa. When the so-called Mali Federation broke apart and Senegal was granted separate independence, Senghor was unanimously elected president. Throughout his five terms in office, he worked to modernize his country, fight official corruption, and enhance international cooperation. In 1975 he authorized the formation of two opposition parties; five years later he was the first black African leader to hand over the reins of office in a peaceful transfer of power. As an acclaimed poet, Senghor's literary contributions included Chants d'ombre (1945), Hosties noires (1948), Ethiopiques (1956), Nocturnes (1961; Eng. trans. 1969), and Oeuvre poétique (1990), and he also edited a 1948 French-language verse anthology. In addition, he wrote numerous philosophical treatises on Négritude and published critical essays under the pseudonyms Silmang Diamano and Patrice Maguilene Kaymor. Senghor received scores of international awards, and in 1984 he became the first black member of the French Academy.

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