National heroine and revered freedom fighter Juana Ramírez, popularly known as “La Avanzadora” (The Advancer), was born January 12, 1790 in Chaguaramal, Monagas State, Venezuela. Her enslaved African mother, Guadalupe, was purchased by her putative father, Spanish army general Andrés Rojas. As a child she … Read MoreJuana Ramírez (1790 -1856)
Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro was an Afro-Peruvian army officer who served as the 41st President of Peru from 1931 to 1933. Sánchez was the first person of Afro-Peruvian descent to become the nation’s president. Born on August 12, 1889, to Antonio Sánchez and Rosa Cerro, … Read MoreLuis Miguel Sánchez Cerro (1889-1933)
The current president of Cuba, Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermudez, was born on April 20, 1960, in Placetas, Cuba, a little more than one year after Fidel Castro led a successful revolutionary guerrilla movement to take control of the island nation. Miguel’s father, Miguel Díaz-Canel, was … Read MoreMiguel Díaz-Canel (1960- )
Brahim Ghali is a Sahrawi politician and military officer who serves as the current president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and former SADR ambassador to Algeria and Spain. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic was formerly known as the Western Sahara and Spanish Sahara. … Read MoreBrahim Ghali
(1949- )
Azali Assoumani is a Comorian politician and military officer who has served as President of Comoros since April 2019. He was also president from 2002 to 2006 and from 2016 to February 2019. He became Head of State after a coup d’état in 1999 and … Read MoreAzali Assoumani
(1959- )
His Excellency, Julius Maada Wonie Bio, the current president of Sierra Leone, was born on May 12, 1964, in Tihun, Bonthe District, Sierra Leone. Julius’ father was Charlie Bio II, a Sherbro Paramount Chief of Sogbini Chiefdom, who had nine wives. Julius’ biological mother’s name … Read MoreJulius Maada Wonie Bio
(1964- )
Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, was born Mohamed Ould Cheikh Mohamed Ahmed Ould Ghazouani on December 31, 1956, in Boumdeid in the Assaba Region of Mauritania. The names of his father and mother are not available but his father was … Read MoreMohamed Ould Ghazouani
(1956- )
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is a former military officer who has served as the 2nd President of Equatorial Guinea since August 1979. He is the second-longest consecutively serving non-royal national leader in the world, after Paul Biya of Cameroon. Obiang was born in the town … Read MoreTeodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (1942- )
Paul-Henry Sandaogo Damiba heads the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration; the current governing council of Burkina Faso installed after the coup of January 24, 2022, overthrew the government of Roch Marc Christian Kabore. Damiba was born in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, in … Read MorePaul-Henry Sandaogo Damiba (1981- )
The current president of Mali is Assimi Goita. Goita is the son of a military officer and director of the military police who grew up in the military barracks near Bamako. As a child, he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the … Read MoreAssimi Goita
(1983- )
