Outsider elected to head AU commission

ADDIS ABABA:

Few heads of diplomacy can boast the longevity of Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Djibouti's foreign minister since 2005, who was elected Saturday to head the African Union's executive commission.

Youssouf won the required support of two-thirds of the region's leaders in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to secure the post representing some 1.5 billion Africans across the continent.

The 59-year-old was deemed an outside shot against veteran Kenyan politician Raila Odinga, but observers praised the career the diplomat's low-key campaign to succeed Chadian Moussa Faki Mahamat and head the pan-African bloc.