Léopold Sédar Senghor

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Lore & Background

Léopold Sédar Senghor was born on 9 October 1906 in Joal, some 110 kilometres south of Dakar. His father, Basile Diogoye Senghor, was a wealthy Serer peanut merchant who owned thousands of cattle and vast lands, some given by his cousin the king of Sine. His mother, Gnilane Ndiémé Bakhoum, was a Muslim of Fula origin born near Djilor to a Christian family. His Serer middle name Sédar means 'one that shall not be humiliated.' At age eight he began studies at the Ngasobil boarding school of the Fathers of the Holy Spirit. In 1922 he entered a seminary in Dakar but was told religious life was not for him and attended a secular institution. He won distinctions in French, Latin, Greek, and Algebra, and with his Baccalaureate completed was awarded a scholarship to continue his studies in France. In 1928 he sailed for France, beginning what he called 'sixteen years of wandering.' He studied at the Sorbonne and Lycée Louis-le-Grand, earning his agrégation in French grammar in 1935 on his second attempt. He taught at the lycée René-Descartes in Tours and the lycée Marcelin-Berthelot in Saint-Maur-des-Fosses near Paris. In 1939 he was enlisted in the 3rd Colonial Infantry Regiment of the French army. In June 1940 the invading Germans took him prisoner in la Charité-sur-Loire or Villabon. He spent two years in prison camps, where he wrote poems and learned enough German to read Goethe's poetry in the original. He was released for medical reasons in 1942. Senghor was one of the major theoreticians of Négritude, coining the term and conceiving the notion with other intellectuals of the African diaspora. Politically, he advocated for African integration within a federal French structure, arguing that French Africans would be better off within a federal French structure than as independent nation-states. He served as a deputy in the French National Assembly, founded the Senegalese Democratic Bloc in 1948, and became Senegal's first president in 1960. He fell out with Prime Minister Mamadou Dia, arresting him in 1962 on suspicion of fomenting a coup and imprisoning him for 12 years, then established an authoritarian one-party state where rival political parties were suppressed. In 1976 he permitted opposition parties while retaining an unequal playing field favoring his party. He retired in 1980, handing power to Abdou Diouf.

Reader's Guide

Senghor's significance lies in his dual role as a founding figure of Négritude and as Senegal's first president. As a cultural theorist, he articulated a vision of black identity and African empowerment within the framework of French-African ties, arguing that French Africans would be better off in a federal French structure than as independent states. His political career, however, saw a shift from democratic ideals to authoritarian rule after he suppressed his rival Mamadou Dia and established a one-party state. Despite this, he later allowed limited opposition. Senghor's legacy as an intellectual is cemented by his election to the Académie française, the first African so honored, and his receipt of the 1985 International Nonino Prize. His ideas on Négritude continue to influence discussions on African culture and identity, though his political record remains complex.

Did You Know?

• Senghor's Serer middle name Sédar means 'one that shall not be humiliated' or 'the one you cannot humiliate.'
• He spent two years in German prisoner-of-war camps, where he wrote poems and learned enough German to read Goethe's poetry in the original.
• Senghor was the first African elected as a member of the Académie française.
• He won the 1985 International Nonino Prize in Italy.
• Senghor's birth certificate states he was born on 9 October 1906, but his certificate of baptism states 9 August 1906.

Roots in Serer Heritage and Early Formation

Born on 9 October 1906 in Joal, some 110 kilometres south of Dakar, Senghor entered the world into a family of considerable wealth and prestige. His father, Basile Diogoye Senghor, was a wealthy Serer peanut merchant who owned thousands of cattle and vast tracts of land, some of which had been granted by his cousin, the king of Sine. His mother, Gnilane Ndiémé Bakhoum, was a Muslim woman of Fula Tabor origin who had herself been born into a Christian family near Djilor. The middle name Sédar carries deep Serer resonance, meaning 'one that shall not be humiliated,' while the surname Senghor fuses the Serer word for the Supreme Deity with a term for man. At age eight he entered the Ngasobil boarding school run by the Fathers of the Holy Spirit, then moved to a seminary in Dakar before being redirected toward secular studies. His hunger for French literature was already intense, and he earned distinctions across French, Latin, Greek, and Algebra. A scholarship then carried him to France, launching what he would later describe as his 'sixteen years of wandering.'

Forging Négritude in the Parisian Intellectual World

After a turbulent academic path through the Sorbonne and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, Senghor finally secured his agrégation in French grammar in 1935 on his second attempt. He went on to teach at lycées in Tours and the Paris suburbs while simultaneously studying linguistics under Lilias Homburger at the École pratique des hautes études and engaging with social scientists such as Marcel Cohen, Marcel Mauss, and Paul Rivet at the Institut d'ethnologie. It was within this circle of African diaspora intellectuals in the colonial capital that Senghor and his peers coined the term and conceived the notion of 'négritude.' The concept was a deliberate counterstrike against the racism still prevalent in French society, transforming the derogatory label nègre into a proud celebration of African culture and character. This intellectual framework did not remain confined to literary criticism; it became the philosophical backbone of Senghor's political thinking, shaping his advocacy for African empowerment within French-African ties and his insistence that full civil and political rights for France's African territories were non-negotiable.

From President to Autocrat: The Senegalese Experiment

Senghor founded the Senegalese Democratic Bloc in 1948 and went on to become the first president of independent Senegal in 1960. His early years in office were marked by a dramatic rupture with his long-time political ally Mamadou Dia, who served as prime minister. In 1962, Senghor arrested Dia on suspicion of fomenting a coup and held him in prison for twelve years. In the aftermath, Senghor consolidated power by establishing an authoritarian one-party state in which rival political parties were suppressed. It was not until 1976 that he permitted opposition parties to operate, though the political landscape remained heavily tilted in favour of his own party. After two decades at the helm, Senghor chose to retire in 1980, transferring power to Abdou Diouf. His governance record thus reflects a complex trajectory: from champion of African rights within a French federal structure to a leader who concentrated authority firmly in his own hands.

A Voice That Transcended Borders

Beyond the corridors of Senegalese politics, Senghor's stature as a cultural figure reached extraordinary heights. He became the first African ever elected as a member of the Académie française, a recognition that underscored his standing in the broader world of letters. In 1985 he was awarded the International Nonino Prize in Italy, further cementing his international literary reputation. Many scholars and commentators regard him as one of the most important African intellectuals of the entire twentieth century. His life spanned an extraordinary arc: from a Serer family in Joal to the hallowed halls of Parisian academia, from two years in German prisoner-of-war camps where he composed poetry and studied Goethe in the original, to the presidency of a newly independent nation. His poetic voice, his theoretical work on négritude, and his political vision together constituted a singular contribution to how the world understood African identity and culture in the modern era.