Salim Ahmed Salim | |
|---|---|
سلیم احمد سلیم | |
 Salim in 2010 | |
| 7thSecretary General of the Organisation of African Unity | |
| In office 19 September 1989 – 17 September 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Ide Oumarou |
| Succeeded by | Amara Essy |
| Minister of Defence and National Service | |
| In office 1985–1989 | |
| President | Ali Hassan Mwinyi |
| Preceded by | Muhidini Kimario |
| Succeeded by | Jackson Makwetta |
| Prime Minister of Tanzania | |
| In office 24 April 1984 – 5 November 1985 | |
| President | Julius Nyerere |
| Preceded by | Edward Sokoine |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Warioba |
| 8thMinister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 1981–1984 | |
| Preceded by | Benjamin Mkapa |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin Mkapa |
| Permanent Representative of Tanzania to the United Nations | |
| In office 1970–1980 | |
| President | Julius Nyerere |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Salim Ahmed Salim (1942-01-23)23 January 1942 (age 83) |
| Nationality |  Tanzania |
| Children | 3[1]
|
| Alma mater | St. Stephen's College, Delhi SIPA, Columbia(MIA) |
| Committees | Chair,Mo Ibrahim Prize selection committee |
| Positions | Chancellor,HKMU Chair,MNF |
Salim Ahmed Salim (Arabic:سليم احمد سليم,Swahili:Salim Ahmad Salim, born 23 January 1942) is aTanzanian politician and diplomat who has worked in the international diplomatic arena since the early 1960s. He served as prime minister for one year, from 1984 to 1985.
Salim was born in what was then theSultanate of Zanzibar to Sheikh Ahmed Salim Riyami, an ethnic Arab ofOmani descent while his mother was a local-born mixed-descent Tanzanian, born to an ethnic Arab father and a mixedAfro-Arab mother.
He was educated at Lumumba College in Zanzibar and later pursued his undergraduate studies at theSt. Stephen's College of theUniversity of Delhi and obtained his master's degree in International Affairs from theSchool of International and Public Affairs atColumbia University in New York. He became a student activist in the 1950s and was founder and first Vice President of the All-Zanzibar Student Union.
In 1981, Salim Ahmed Salim ran forSecretary-General of the United Nations against the two-term incumbent,Kurt Waldheim of Austria. Salim was then serving asPresident of the United Nations General Assembly, and he had the support of theOrganisation of African Unity and theNon-Aligned Movement.[4][5] He could also count on China to veto Waldheim in the Security Council.[6] However, Salim was opposed by theReagan administration in the United States, which regarded him as an anti-American radical who was hostile toSouth Africa and supportedPalestinian statehood.[7][8][9] The Soviet Union also opposed Salim for his activism and his pro-China stance.[8]
Salim won the first round of voting with 11 votes to Waldheim's 10. As expected, Salim was vetoed by the United States, and Waldheim was vetoed by China. Salim's support dropped after the first round, as some countries believed that the United States was implacably opposed to Salim, while China had previously dropped its veto of Waldheim in 1971 and 1976.[10] However, neither country would relent, as the selection deadlocked for 6 weeks over a total of 16 rounds of voting. The deadlock finally ended when Waldheim and Salim both withdrew from the race, opening up the selection to other candidates.
In 1996, Salim was again mentioned for the office. Secretary-GeneralBoutros Boutros-Ghali was running unopposed for a second term and had the support of 14 of the 15 members of the Security Council. The United States was opposed to Boutros-Ghali and offered to support any other African candidate, including Salim Ahmed Salim.[11] However, France made it clear that it would veto Salim, so he was not nominated.[12]
At the continental level, following the invitation of the President of the African Development Bank, he has since March, 2002 been acting as African Water Ambassador whose responsibilities include advocacy, sensitization, and mobilization of support on African water issues. He also serves as:
At international level, Salim serves on the following boards, panels and commissions:
| Order | Country | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
_-_ribbon_bar.png) | Order of the Star of Africa |  Liberia | 1980 |
 | Order of the United Republic of Tanzania | Tanzania | 1985 |
_-_ribbon_bar.gif) | National Order of a Thousand Hills |  Rwanda | 1993 |
.png) | Grand Cross of the Order of Devotion |  Republic of the Congo | 1994 |
.png) | Order of Merit (Grand Officer) |  Central African Republic | 1994 |
| Medal of Africa |  Libyan Arab Jamahiriya | 1999 | |
 | National Order of the Lion (Grand Officer) |  Senegal | 2000 |
_-_ribbon_bar.gif) | Order of the Two Niles |  Sudan | 2001 |
_-_ribbon_bar.gif) | Ordre El-Athir |  Algeria | 2001 |
 | Order of Mono |  Togo | 2001 |
 | National Order of Mali (Commander) |  Mali | 2001 |
.gif) | Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo (Gold) |  South Africa | 2004 |
_-_ribbon_bar.gif) | Order of the Uhuru Torch (Second Class) | Tanzania | 2011 |
| Order of Friendship |  China | 2019 | |
| Order of Amilcar Cabral (First Class)[14] |  Cape Verde | 2023 | |
| University | Country | Degree | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of the Philippines Los Baños |  Philippines | Doctor of Laws | 1980[1] |
| University of Maiduguri |  Nigeria | Doctor of Humanities | 1983[1] |
| University of Mauritius |  Mauritius | Doctor of Civil Law | 1991[1] |
| University of Khartoum | Sudan | Doctor of Arts in International Affairs | 1995[1] |
| University of Bologna |  Italy | Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations | 1996[17] |
| University of Cape Town | South Africa | Doctor of Laws | 1998[18] |
| Addis Ababa University |  Ethiopia | Doctor of Laws | 2003[19] |
Recipient of the 2006 Martin Luther King "Drum Major for Justice" award.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Tanzania 1984–1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation 1990–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | President of the United Nations General Assembly 1979–1980 | Succeeded by |
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