African Vibes 10 Best African Presidents 2018

The African continent has been blessed with great leaders. From Nelson Mandela of South Africa to Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso, these are leaders who made tremendous contributions to their countries. Currently, several African leaders continue to positively influence the politics of their nations.

This list highlights top 10 African presidents or leaders of 2018. Specifically, this is a list of leaders who were most transformative for their countries in 2018.

10. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf-Liberia

Starting this list is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Although she exited the political scene in early 2018, Sirleaf’s achievements and contributions in Liberia cannot be ignored. In 2006, Sirleaf became the first female African head of state.

Sirleaf’s transformation of Liberia started when she ascended into power in 2006. At the time, Liberia was destroyed by civil war, and her first task was to lead a process of reconciliation. Importantly, her 12 years in power laid a foundation on which Liberia can build.

Sirleaf is a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and winner of the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership.

9. Ian Khama-Botswana

Khama is another great African leader that exited the political scene in 2018. Ian Khama served as Botswana’s president between 1 April 2008 and 1 April 2018.

Khama publicly condemned authoritarian African leaders who refused to step down after expiry of their terms. His open criticism of such leaders is a declaration of preference for democracy in all African states. Khama even told President Kabila to resign.

In April 2018, Khama led by example by stepping down after 10 years in power. He peacefully handed over the reins of power to President Mokweetsi Masisi.

ALSO READ: https://africanvibes.com/botswana-president-steps-down/

8. Ameenah Gurib-Mauritius

Ameenah Gurib served as Mauritius President from 2015 to 2018. She became the first woman to be elected president in the country. Gurib is a renowned scientist with a PhD in Chemistry.

Through her background in Science, Gurib sought to transform Mauritius, seeking to tackle issues such as climate change in the country and across Africa. Mauritius is now a strong economy, and only less  than 10 percent of the population lives in poverty.

7. Danny Faure-Seychelles

Danny Fuare became president of Seychelles in 2016. Since then, positive transformations have been witnessed in the country. Faure continues to maintain the democratic ideals of the island nation.

Faure’s government has succeeded in promoting good governance, accountability, and transparency. In September of 2018, under Faure’s Leadership, the United Nation’s Human Development Index put Seychelles at number 62 out of 189 countries globally. This makes the island nation number one in Africa.

6. George Weah-Liberia

Taking over from where Ellen Johnson Sirleaf left, President George continues to steer Liberia towards prosperity. In one year as president, Weah has managed to bring in strategic partners to help in the development of the country’s infrastructure. In addition, President Weah has developed policies aimed at alleviating poverty in Liberia.

Weah continues to transform Liberia gradually, as is evidenced by his efforts such as construction of roads, building housing units for citizens, employing more medical staff to meet demand, and the provision of free education in all public universities.

5. King Mohammed VI-Morocco

Morocco is a constitutional monarchy currently headed by King Mohammed VI. The King wields both executive and legislative powers.

The Royal Islamic Center for Strategic Studies named King Mohammed VI as sixth in the 2018 500 most influential Muslims in the world list. This was an honor for the King’s influence on Muslims in Africa. In addition, the rank was a recognition of the King’s treatment of religious minorities in Morocco.

4. Abiy Ahmed-Ethiopia

Abiy Ahmed captured the World attention when he became Prime Minister of Ethiopia in April 2018. Ahmed immediately introduced reforms aimed at ending political repression. At 42 years, Abiy Ahmed is the youngest head of state in Africa.

Some of Ahmed’s key achievements include freeing thousands of political prisoners, ending a 20-year conflict with Eritrea, and appointing women to half of the positions in cabinet. Ahmed also nominated women to occupy the positions of president and head of Supreme Court.

3. Paul Kagame-Rwanda

President Paul Kagame continues to exhibit exemplary leadership skills across the continent. Kagame has transformed Rwanda to a middle income country, up from a country that was ravaged by a genocide.

Until February 10, 2019, Kagame was the African Union Chair. During his tenure, Kagame sought to introduce transformative reforms such as self-financing of the AU and changing the structure of the Commission. Forbes named Kagame the 2018 African of the Year.

2. Nana Akufo-Addo-Ghana

Although only in power since January 2017, Nana Addo has made tremendous changes in Ghana. Nana Addo has stabilized the country’s electricity, boosted cocoa production, stopped illegal mining, expanded school feeding programs, and abolished obnoxious taxes. In addition, under Nana Akufo-Addo’s rule, the country’s inflation has significantly reduced. Also, the country’s growth rate has increased.

1. John Pombe Magufuli-Tanzania

John Pombe Magufuli has been described as a ‘bulldozer’ president. This definition is true to the approaches Magufuli has adopted in managing the country. Under his leadership, Tanzania’s rate of corruption has significantly reduced.

The fight on corruption has spurred Tanzania’s economic growth. Between January and June 2018, the country’s economy grew by 7 percent. Magufuli keeps his ministers and other public officials on toes, with abrupt visits in their offices to check on their performance.