The Assembly of the African Union, which is formally known as the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government AU-AHSG, is one of several decision-making bodies within the African Union

African Union

The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...

. The other bodies are the Pan African Parliament, the Executive Council

Executive Council of the African Union

The Executive Council of the African Union is made up of ministers designated by the governments of member countries. They discuss issues of concern and prepare material for the Assembly, to whom they are responsible...

 consisting of foreign ministers of the AU members states, and the African Union Commission. The Chair of the Assembly has few formal functions, the most important of which is to preside at the Pan African Parliament during the election and swearing in of the President of the Pan African Parliament.

History of the Assembly

The Assembly was came into existence on 25 May 1963, as part of the ratification of Organization of African Unity. Initially the Assembly consisted of 32 independent member, the heads of state of the African states that had achieved independence by 1963. Until 2001, the governing constitution of the Assembly was the OAU Charter. The Assembly is now subject to the Union Act that created the African Union

African Union

The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...

.

Members of the Assembly

The AU Assembly of the Heads of State and Government consists of the heads of state and government of the member countries, the Assembly meets once a year at the AU Summit. The current Chairman of the Assembly is President Bingu wa Mutharika

Bingu wa Mutharika

Bingu wa Mutharika is a Malawi economist who is President of Malawi. He took office on 24 May 2004 after winning a disputed presidential election...

 of Malawi.

The current members of the AU-AHSG are:

Member State	Representative	Title	Member since	Photo
Algeria		President President of Algeria The President of Algeria is the head of state and chief executive of Algeria, as well as the Commander-in-Chief of the Algerian armed forces.-History of the office:...
Angola	José Eduardo dos Santos José Eduardo dos Santos José Eduardo dos Santos is an Angolan politician who has been the second and current President of Angola since 1979. As President, José Eduardo dos Santos is also the commander in chief of the Angolan Armed Forces and president of the MPLA , the party that has been ruling Angola since...	President President of Angola The President of the Republic of Angola is both head of state and head of government in Angola. While the President appoints a Prime Minister, executive authority usually belongs to the President....
Benin		President
Botswana		President
Burkina Faso		President
Burundi		President
Cameroon		President
Cape Verde		Prime Minister
Central African Republic		President
Chad		President
Comoros	Ikililou Dhoinine Ikililou Dhoinine Ikililou Dhoinine is a Comorian politician and the current President of Comoros; he was previously a Vice-President of Comoros. Dhoinine won the 2010 Comorian presidential election where he received the most votes in the first round . He faced Mohamed Said Fazul and Abdou Djabir in a run-off...	President
Democratic Republic of the Congo		President President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , is Congo's elected Head of State, and the ex officio "Supreme Commander" of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ....
Republic of the Congo	Denis Sassou Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso is a Congolese politician who has been the President of Congo-Brazzaville since 1997; he was previously President from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as President, he headed the single-party regime of the Congolese Labour Party for 12 years...	President
Côte d'Ivoire	Alassane Ouattara Alassane Ouattara Alassane Dramane Ouattara is an Ivorian politician who has been President of Côte d'Ivoire since 2011. An economist by profession, Ouattara worked for the International Monetary Fund and the Central Bank of West African States , and he was the Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire from November 1990 to...	President
Djibouti	Ismail Omar Guelleh Ismail Omar Guelleh Ismaïl Omar Guelleh is the President of Djibouti. He succeeded his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, in 1999. He is often referred to in the region by his initials 'IOG'....	President
Egypt	Mohamed Hussein Tantawi	Chairman President of Egypt The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt is the head of state of Egypt.Under the Constitution of Egypt, the president is also the supreme commander of the armed forces and head of the executive branch of the Egyptian government....
Equatorial Guinea		President
Ethiopia		Prime Minister
Gabon	Ali Bongo Ondimba	President
The Gambia		President
Ghana		President President of Ghana The President of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana. Officially styled President of the Republic of Ghana and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghanaian Armed Forces. The current President of Ghana is Prof. John Atta Mills, who took office in January...
Guinea-Bissau	Malam Bacai Sanhá Malam Bacai Sanhá Malam Bacai Sanhá is a Guinea-Bissau politician who has been President of Guinea-Bissau since 8 September 2009. A member of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde , Sanhá was President of the National People's Assembly from 1994 to 1999 and then served as acting President...	President
Kenya		President
Lesotho		Prime Minister
Liberia		President
Libya		Prime Minister
Malawi	Bingu wa Mutharika Bingu wa Mutharika Bingu wa Mutharika is a Malawi economist who is President of Malawi. He took office on 24 May 2004 after winning a disputed presidential election...	President
Mali	Amadou Toumani Touré Amadou Toumani Touré Amadou Toumani Touré is the president of Mali. He overthrew a military ruler, Moussa Traoré in 1991, then handed power to civilian authorities the next year...	President
Mauritania	Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz is a Mauritanian politician, currently serving as President of Mauritania...	President
Mauritius		Prime Minister
Mozambique		President
Namibia		President
Nigeria		President President of Nigeria The President of Nigeria is the Head of State and head of the national executive. Officially styled President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The current President of Nigeria is Goodluck Jonathan.-History:On October 1, 1960, Nigeria gained...
Rwanda		President
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic		President President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic The President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is the head of state of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic , an exile government based in the refugee camps of Tindouf, Algeria. From the declaration of independence on February 27, 1976 to October 16, 1982 SADR's Head of State...
São Tomé and Príncipe		President
Senegal		President
Seychelles		President
Sierra Leone	Ernest Bai Koroma Ernest Bai Koroma Ernest Bai Koroma is the fourth and current President of Sierra Leone. He was sworn in as President on 17 September 2007 at the State House in the capital Freetown, shortly after being declared the winner of a tense run-off in the 2007 Sierra Leone presidential election with 54.6% of the vote over...	President President of Sierra Leone The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone is the head of state and the head of government of Sierra Leone, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces...
Somalia		President
South Africa		President President of South Africa The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
		President
Sudan	Omar al-Bashir Omar al-Bashir Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir is the current President of Sudan and the head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister...	President
Swaziland	Mswati III	King
Tanzania		President President of Tanzania The President of the United Republic of Tanzania is the head of state and head of government of Tanzania. The president leads the executive branch of the Government of Tanzania and is the commander-in-chief of the Tanzania People's Defence Force....
Togo		President
Tunisia	Fouad Mebazaa Fouad Mebazaa Fouad Mebazaa is a Tunisian politician who has been President of Tunisia since 15 January 2011. He was active in Neo Destour prior to Tunisian independence, served as Minister of Youth and Sports, Minister of Public Health, and Minister of Culture and Information, and has been President of the...	President (Acting) President of Tunisia The President of Tunisia, formally known as the President of the Tunisian Republic is the head of state of Tunisia. Tunisia is a presidential republic in which the president is the head of the executive branch of government with the assistance of the Prime Minister of Tunisia, formally the head of...
Uganda		President President of Uganda -List of Presidents of Uganda:-Affiliations:-See also:*Uganda*Vice President of Uganda*Prime Minister of Uganda*Politics of Uganda*History of Uganda*Political parties of Uganda...
Zambia		President
Zimbabwe		President

Functions of the Assembly

The Assembly has nine basic functions:

1. set policies of the Union.
2. decide on what action to take after consideration of reports and recommendations from the other organs of the Union.
3. consider membership requests into the Union.
4. create bodies for the Union.
5. monitor the implementation of policies and decisions of the Union as well ensure compliance by all Member States.
6. create a budget of the Union.
7. provide direction to the Executive Council on conflicts, war and other emergency situations and the restoration of peace.
8. select judges for and withdraw judges of the Court of Justice.
9. appoint the Chairman of the Commission, Commissioners of the Commission, all respective deputies and determine how long they will serve and what duties they will perform.

Decisions of the Assembly

The Assembly shall take its decisions by consensus or, failing which, by a two-thirds majority of the Member States of the Union. However, procedural matters, including the question of whether a matter is one of procedure or not, shall be decided by a simple majority.

Two-thirds of the total membership of the Union shall form a quorum at any meeting of the Assembly.

The Assembly may delegate any of its powers and functions to any organ of the Union

External links

• Assembly of the African Union Official Site