Abdoulaye Wade (born May 29, 1926) is the third and current President of Senegal, in office since 2000. He is also the leader of the Senegalese Democratic Party, a liberal party that is a member of the Liberal International. He led the opposition for decades and was at times exiled and imprisoned for his political activities. He became president on April 1, 2000, after defeating the incumbent, Abdou Diouf, but was forced to cohabit with the former ruling party (the Socialists), which held a majority in the legislature until the Democratic Party's victory in the 2001 parliamentary elections. He is one of the most educated current African leaders with a "Doctorat" in Droit (Law) and Sciences Economiques (Economics).
A new constitution (in French) was written in 2001, under the terms of which future presidents will be limited to 5-year terms after the completion of Wade's present 7-year term in 2007.
