Salim, Salim Ahmed (1942– )

Tanzanian diplomat and politician, prime minister 1984–85 and secretary general of the Organization of African Unity (OAU; later African Union) 1989–2001. In Tanzania he was minister of foreign affairs 1980–84, prime minister 1984–85, and deputy prime minister and minister of defence 1986–89. He had been a leading candidate, in 1984, to succeed Nyerere as president. At the OAU he took a tough line on countries that did not pay their contributions. In 2004, he was appointed the African Union's special envoy on the Darfur conflict.

Salim was born on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, and educated at Lumumba College, the University of Delhi, India, and Columbia University, New York. He began his political career in 1960 as secretary general of the Zanzibar Youth Movement, before starting his diplomatic career in 1961. Over the next two decades he served as Tanzania's ambassador to India (1965–68), China (1969–72), Cuba, and the United Nations (1970–80).