Évariste Ndayishimiye

Évariste Ndayishimiye is a Burundian general and politician who has served as the tenth President of Burundi since 18 June 2020 and as the chairperson of the African Union since February 2026. He became involved in the rebel National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy during the Burundian Civil War and rose up the ranks of its militia. At the end of the conflict, he entered the Burundian Army and held a number of political offices under the auspices of President Pierre Nkurunziza. Nkurunziza endorsed Ndayishimiye as his successor ahead of the 2020 elections which he won with a large majority.