Selma Malika Haddadi

Elected Vice-President of the African Union (AU) Commission over Morocco's Latifa Akharbach at the last AU summit on 15 February, the 47-year-old diplomat embodies Algeria's return to the continental stage. A graduate in international relations, she represented her country at the United Nations in Geneva before gaining solid expertise on African issues at the Directorate General of Foreign Affairs in Algiers. With Ahmed Attaf, the head of diplomacy, as her mentor, she refined her approach, built her network and held her first position as advisor to the AU, then as ambassador to Kenya and South Sudan. After sustained lobbying orchestrated by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, she became vice-president of the AU Commission and a key figure in the organisation at a time when Algiers was seeking to rapidly strengthen its influence against its rivals. With the new Commission President, Djibouti's Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, firm action will be needed to reaffirm the institution's relevance to key issues such as peace and security, free trade zones and political dialogue. As head of finance and human resources, Selma Malika Haddadi will above all have to breathe new life and rigour into an administration criticised for its bureaucratic inertia.