Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania has been elected the new President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, succeeding Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina, who has led the institution since 2015.

According to a statement released by the AfDB, Tah was elected on Thursday during the Bank’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He will officially assume office as the Bank’s 9th president on September 1, 2025.

The election was conducted by the AfDB’s Board of Governors, which consists of finance ministers, economy ministers, or central bank governors representing the Bank’s 81 regional and non-regional member countries. Niale Kaba, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Planning and Development and Chair of the Board of Governors, announced the results.

To be elected, a candidate must secure at least 50.01% of both regional and non-regional member votes.

Tah emerged victorious from a field of five candidates that included Amadou Hott (Senegal), Samuel Maimbo (Zambia), Mahamat Abbas Tolli (Chad), and Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala (South Africa). The final list of contenders was approved by the Bank’s Board of Governors Steering Committee following the close of nominations on January 31 and was officially announced on February 21.

With more than 35 years of experience in African and international finance, Tah brings a deep well of expertise to his new role. He served for a decade as President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), where he led a major institutional transformation—quadrupling its balance sheet, achieving a AAA credit rating, and elevating BADEA among the top development banks serving the continent.

Tah is also a former Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance in Mauritania and has held senior positions across multilateral institutions. His work has included spearheading crisis response initiatives, financial reforms, and innovative financing strategies, such as the creation of BADEA’s $1 billion callable capital program to support African multilateral development banks.

His election marks the end of a transformative era under Adesina’s leadership, during which the AfDB advanced its development impact across Africa.