Soham El Wardini (born in 1953) is a

Senegalese Demographic features of the population of Senegal include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. About 42% of Senegal's population i ...

politician and former mayor of

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

, Senegal. She is the first woman to be mayor of post-independence Dakar and the first deputy mayor of the city.

Biography

Wardini was born in 1953 in the rural community of Latmingué, Kaolack Region,

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. She and her 10 siblings were born to a Senegalese mother and Lebanese father. Following her father's death, her family moved to the city of

Kaolack Kaolack (; ) is a town with a population of 298,904 (2023 census) on the north bank of the Saloum River about from its mouth and the N1 road in Senegal. It is the capital of the Kaolack Region, which borders The Gambia to the south. Kaolack ...

, where she attended high school. She majored in English at

Cheikh Anta Diop University Cheikh Anta Diop University (), also known as the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, is a university in Dakar, Senegal. It is named after the Senegalese physicist, historian and anthropologist Cheikh Anta Diop and has an enrollment of over 60, ...

(then University of Dakar) and taught at various colleges. Wardini won the title of Miss Senegal and Miss Senegambia in 1970.

Career

In 1999, Wardini joined the Alliance of the Forces of Progress. Following the split of the AFP in 2012, she joined mayor of

Khalifa Sall Khalifa Ababacar Sall (born 1 January 1956) is a Senegalese politician. He is a former government minister and a former mayor of Dakar. Sall became involved in political activism at the age of 11. He was a long-time member of the Socialist Part ...

's faction and became his deputy in 2014 – the first and only deputy mayor in the city's history. In March 2017, Khalifa Sall was sentenced to five-years for the

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

of in public funds. Wardini was placed as acting mayor until August 2017, when president

Macky Sall Macky Sall (, , ; born 11 December 1961) is a Senegalese politician who served as the fourth president of Senegal from 2012 to 2024. He previously served as the eighth Prime Minister of Senegal, prime minister from 2004 to 2007, under President ...

dismissed Khalifa Sall in a presidential decree. In September 2018, Wardini ran for mayor of Dakar and was elected with a majority vote in city council with 64 votes. She won over candidates Banda Diop with 13 votes and

Moussa Sy Moussa Sy (born 12 July 1979 in Conakry) is a Guinean football Striker who played for the Long Island Rough Riders of the United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leag ...

with 11 votes. Wardini became the first woman to be mayor of Dakar, post-independence. On October 8, 2018, the 133rd IOC Session voted unanimously for Dakar to host the 2022 Summer Youth Olympics, the first Olympic games to be hosted in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. During the closing ceremony of the

2018 Summer Youth Olympics The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics (), officially known as the III Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Buenos Aires 2018, were an international multi-sport event, sports, cultural, and educational event held from 6 to 18 October 2018 ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

mayor

Horacio Rodríguez Larreta Horacio Rodríguez-Larreta (; born 29 October 1965) is an Argentine economist, politician and the former Chief of Government of the City of Buenos Aires. Larreta was re-elected in 2019 with almost 56% of the votes, becoming the first candidate ...

and

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

president

Thomas Bach Thomas Bach (born 29 December 1953) is a German lawyer, former foil fencer, and Olympic gold medalist. He has served as the ninth president of the International Olympic Committee since 2013, the first ever Olympic champion to be elected to tha ...

handed the

Olympic flag The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags, and symbols to represent and enhance the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competitions such as the flame, fanfare, and theme as well as those u ...

to Wardini. Soham El Wardini will not be able to run for the next local election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wardini, Soham 1953 births Living people 21st-century mayors of places in Senegal Mayors of Dakar Women mayors of places in Senegal Cheikh Anta Diop University alumni Senegalese people of Lebanese descent People from Kaolack region