Mame Madior Boye facts for kids

Mame Madior Boye (born December 7, 1940) is a Senegalese politician. She made history as the first woman to become Prime Minister of Senegal. She held this important role from 2001 to 2002.

Early Life and Education

Mame Madior Boye was born in Saint-Louis, Senegal. Her family had many lawyers, and she followed in their footsteps. She studied law in Dakar, Senegal, and later in Paris, France.

She finished high school in her hometown. In 1963, she started studying law at the University of Dakar. She continued her legal training in Paris until 1969.

Career in Law and Banking

Mame Madior Boye spent most of her working life in Senegal's justice system. She held several important roles. She was a public prosecutor and a judge. She also became the first vice President of a main court in Dakar. Later, she was a chamber President at the Court of Appeal.

From 1975 to 1990, she was the first woman president of the Association of Senegalese Lawyers. This showed her strong leadership skills. After her work in law, she moved into banking. She became a director at the West African Banking Company from 1990 to 2000. She was also a vice president for the International Federation of Women Lawyers for many years.

Becoming Prime Minister

In April 2000, Mame Madior Boye became the Minister of Justice. This happened after Abdoulaye Wade won the presidential election.

The President and the Prime Minister at the time had disagreements. So, the Prime Minister resigned. On March 3, 2001, President Wade chose Mame Madior Boye to be the new Prime Minister. She was the first woman ever to hold this position in Senegal.

She was chosen just two months before new elections for the legislature. Many women's groups wanted more women in government. Mame Madior Boye was a good choice because she was a woman and not tied to a specific political party. This was seen as a positive step.

After the elections, President Wade's party won many seats. The number of women in the legislature also increased. Mame Madior Boye was reappointed as Prime Minister in May 2001.

Challenges and Dismissal

Mame Madior Boye's government had more women ministers than before. There were five women out of 25 ministers. However, her government faced big challenges. They worked to improve education and healthcare. They also tried to increase salaries and help young people find jobs. Supporting farming was another key goal.

President Abdoulaye Wade was known for being very involved in government decisions. On November 4, 2002, President Wade dismissed Mame Madior Boye and her government. This happened after a terrible event.

In September 2002, a state-owned ferry called the MV Joola sank. Over 1,800 people lost their lives. This was one of the deadliest shipping disasters in history. Initially, Mame Madior Boye said bad weather caused the accident. But later investigations suggested there might have been mistakes by high-level officials. This led to her government being dismissed.

Later Activities

After leaving her role as Prime Minister, Mame Madior Boye continued to work for important causes. In September 2004, she was appointed by Alpha Oumar Konaré to a special role for the African Union. She became the Special Representative for protecting civilians in armed conflicts. This meant she worked to keep people safe during wars.

Later, in 2008, a judge in France issued an arrest warrant for her. This was related to the Joola disaster. However, the Senegalese government did not agree with this. In June 2009, a court in Paris canceled the arrest warrant for Mame Madior Boye.

See also

In Spanish: Mame Madior Boye para niños