| Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow | |
 M'Bow in 2008 | |
| Birth: | 20 March 1921 Dakar, Senegal |
| Death: | 24 September 2024 Dakar, Senegal |
| Age: | 103 days, 188 days |
| Country: |  SEN
|
| Centenarian | |
Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow GCIH (born 20 March 1921 - 24 September 2024) was a Senegalese centenarian, retired civil servant, and former Director-General of UNESCO.
Biography[]
Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow was born in in Dakar, Senegal on 20 March 1921. He served in France and North Africa during World War II after volunteering for the French Army, also serving with the Free French, and finally in the French Air Force. After the end of the war, he studied geography at the Sorbonne University in Paris.
M'Bow began working for UNESCO in 1953 and served as Director-General from 1974 to 1987, being the first black African to head a United Nations organisation. Hi s tenure has been described as marked by an alternative framework for the production of knowledge and information, moving away from Eurocentric tendencies and encouraging the diversity of experiences and cultures. He was President of the PanAfrican Archaeological Association from 1967 to 1971.
In 1978, he made the speech "A plea for the return of an irreplaceable cultural heritage to those who created it", where he called for the restitution of cultural heritage from the northern to the southern hemisphere. His call followed the 1973 resolution no. 3187 about the Restitution of works of art to countries victims of expropiration, but had no decisive effect on restitutions.
In May 1980, M'Bow called the Commission over the Problems of Communication which delivered the MacBride Report (so called after its president, Seán MacBride), supporting international claims for a New World Information and Communication Order. His departure in 1987 followed criticism for administrative and budgetary practices and the US withdrawal from UNESCO in 1984 (followed by the UK in 1985).
In 1980, M'Bow was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Belgrade. He retired to his home country of Senegal in 1987, and celebrated his 100th birthday in March 2021.
M'Bow died in Dakar, Senegal on September 24, 2024 at the age of 103 years, 188 days.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Amadou Mahtar Mbow l'officiel Facebook page
References[]
- Amadou Mahtar Mbow Fête Ses 100 Ans Rewmi, 20 March 2021
- Joyeux anniversaire Amadou Mahtar Mbow l'officiel Unesco en français on Facebook, 20 March 2022
- Former Unesco head Amadou Mahtar Mbow dead at 103 The Business Times, 24 September 2024