United States presidential visits to Sub-Saharan Africa
Six
African American ancestry, visited his father's native Kenya in 2015. Of the 46 African nations identified as sub-Saharan by the United Nations,[1]
14 have been visited by an American president.
Table of visits
President | Dates | Country or territory | Locations | Key details |
---|---|---|---|---|
Franklin D. Roosevelt | January 13, 1943 | Gambia | Bathurst | Overnight stop en route to Casablanca.[2] |
January 25, 1943 | Overnight stop en route from Casablanca.[2] | |||
January 26–27, 1943 | Liberia | Monrovia | Informal visit; met with President Edwin Barclay.[2] | |
December 9, 1943 | French West Africa | Dakar | Stopped en route home to U.S. after conferring with General Dwight D. Eisenhower in Tunis, Tunisia, following Tehran Conference and Second Cairo Conference.[2] | |
Jimmy Carter | March 31–April 3, 1978 | Nigeria | Lagos | State visit; Met with President Olusegun Obasanjo.[3] |
April 3, 1978 | Liberia | Monrovia | Met with President William R. Tolbert, Jr.[3]
| |
George H. W. Bush | December 31, 1992–January 2, 1993 | Somalia | Mogadishu, Baidoa, Baledogle Airfield |
Visited international relief workers and U.S. military personnel. |
Bill Clinton | March 23, 1998 | Ghana | Accra | Met with President Jerry Rawlings; visited a Peace Corps project.[4] |
March 23–25, 1998 | Uganda | Met with President Yoweri Museveni and with the Presidents of Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[4] | ||
March 25, 1998 | Rwanda | Kigali | Met with President Pasteur Bizimungu; delivered a public address.[4] | |
March 25–29, 1998 | South Africa | Cape Town, Johannesburg |
Met with President Nelson Mandela; addressed joint session of Parliament.[4] | |
March 29–31, 1998 | Botswana | Gaborone, Kasane |
Met with President Quett Masire; visited Chobe National Park.[4] | |
March 31–April 2, 1998 | Senegal | Dakar, Goree Island
|
Met with President Senegalese peacekeeping troops; delivered several public addresses.[4]
| |
August 26–28, 2000 | Nigeria | Abuja, Ushafa, Abuja |
Met with President Obasanjo and addressed the National Assembly.[4]
| |
August 28–29, 2000 | Tanzania | Arusha | Met with former South African President Mandela to promote a peace agreement for Burundi; also met with President Benjamin Mkapa.[4] | |
George W. Bush | July 8, 2003 | Senegal | Dakar, Goree Island |
Met with President Abdoulaye Wade.[5] |
July 8–11, 2003 | South Africa | Pretoria | Met with President Thabo Mbeki.[5] | |
July 10, 2003 | Botswana | Gaborone | Met with President Festus Mogae. Toured Mokolodi Nature Reserve.[5] | |
July 11, 2003 | Uganda | Kampala | Met with President Yoweri Museveni.[5] | |
July 11–12, 2003 | Nigeria | Abuja | Met with President Olusegun Obasanjo.[5] | |
February 16, 2008 | Benin | Cotonou | Met with President Yayi Boni.[5]
| |
February 16–19, 2008 | Tanzania | Dar es Salaam, Arusha |
Met with President Millenimum Challenge agreement.[5]
| |
February 19, 2008 | Rwanda | Kigali | Met with President Paul Kagame and dedicated new embassy.[5] | |
February 19–21, 2008 | Ghana | Accra | Met with President John Kufuor.[5] | |
February 21, 2008 | Liberia | Monrovia | Met with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.[5] | |
Barack Obama | July 10–11, 2009 | Ghana | Accra | Met with President John Atta Mills. Delivered a speech to the Ghanaian Parliament. Toured a former departing point of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the Cape Coast Castle.[6] |
June 26–28, 2013 | Senegal | Dakar | Met with President Macky Sall.[6] | |
June 28–July 1, 2013 | South Africa | Johannesburg, Pretoria, Soweto, Cape Town |
Met with President Jacob Zuma and with members of the Mandela family; gave a speech on trade and investment, development, democracy and security partnerships; visited Robben Island.[6][7] | |
July 1–2, 2013 | Tanzania | Dar es Salaam | Met with President | |
July 2, 2013 | Senegal | Dakar | Stopped during return to Washington D.C.[6]
| |
December 9–11, 2013 | South Africa | Johannesburg | Attended the memorial service for former President Nelson Mandela. | |
July 24–26, 2015 | Kenya | Nairobi | Attended the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit. Also met with President Uhuru Kenyatta.[8] | |
July 26–28, 2015 | Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | Met with the government of Ethiopia and addressed the African Union.[9][10] |
See also
References
- ^ "About Sub-Saharan Africa: Africa at a turning point". africa.undp.org. New York, New York: United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Travels of President Franklin D. Roosevelt". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
- ^ a b "Travels of President Jimmy Carter". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Travels of President William J. Clinton". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Travels of President George W. Bush". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
- ^ a b c d e "Travels of President Barack Obama". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
- ^ a b Epatko, Larisa, "Why Obama Is Visiting Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania But Not Kenya", PBS NewsHour, June 25, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
- ^ Ferris, Sarah. "Obama: Proud to be first U.S. president to visit Kenya". The Hill. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ Lee, Carol E. "Obama Becomes First U.S. President to Address African Union". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
- ^ "Obama to be first sitting U.S. President to visit Ethiopia". CNN. June 19, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.