Sidi Ould Tah has been elected as the new president-elect of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) following a vote by the governors of the bank on Thursday, May, 29, 2025 during the bank’s 2025 Annual General Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Tah’s election makes him the 9th president of the bank and was officially announced by Niale Kaba, Minister of Planning and Development for Côte d’Ivoire, and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Bank Group.
The winning candidates is required to obtain at least 50.01% of both the regional and non-regional votes.
Tah a Mauritanian economist brings over 35 years of experience in African and international development finance.
He served as President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) from 2015, where he spearheaded a major transformation, quadrupling the bank’s balance sheet and earning it a AAA credit rating.
He also served as Mauritanian’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance and has held influential sector reform, and resource mobilisation, notably overseeing the launch of BADEA’s $1 billion callable capital program to support African multilateral development banks.
The Board of Governors Steering Committee received and approved a total of five candidates by the closing date of 31 January 2025. The list of candidates was officially announced on 21 February 2025.
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.
The other candidates in the election were:
Amadou Hott (Senegal)
Samuel Maimbo (Zambia)
Mahamat Abbas Tolli (Chad)
Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala (South Africa)
Sidi Ould Tah elected ninth president of the African Development Bank Group.
More details to follow. #AfDBAM2025 pic.twitter.com/REK8YlTWEI
— African Development Bank Group (@AfDB_Group) May 29, 2025
SP/MA
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