Libyan leader vows to federalize Africa!
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - February 3, 2009 - Colonel Qaddafi, 66, was elected to lead the 53-nation African Union for a year in a closed-door vote during a summit in Addis Ababa.
Dressed in a gold robe and cap, he made clear his intention to push for an alternative United States of Africa - a plan he has outlined before and that has met with resistance among fellow African leaders.
"I hope my term will be a time of serious work and not just words," he said in his inaugural speech.
"I shall continue to insist that our sovereign countries work to achieve the United States of Africa," he said, admitting that African leaders were "not near to a settlement" on the issue.
"We are still independent states. It is your decision to respond to the call for unity, to push Africa forward towards the United States of Africa."
Qaddafi is one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, having taken power in a coup at the age of 29 in 1969.
A natural showman known for his flamboyant attire, he has succeeded in getting traditional African leaders to bestow on him the title "King of Kings" in preference to the rather ordinary "chairperson" as his predecessor, President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, was known.
He lobbied hard for the post, flying to numerous African capitals to campaign for his election.
The Libyan leader was for years ostracized by the West but has since been cautiously rehabilitated.
As part of his return to the international scene, Colonel Qaddafi has championed greater unity in Africa to boost the continent's profile, and by default, his own influence.
He was a key architect of the transformation of the Organization of African Unity into the African Union in 2001.
At the summit in the Ethiopian capital, he has pushed for even closer ties among African nations, to create a federation under a "union government".
But many African leaders are loath to relinquish any of their sovereignty, and during closed-door talks on Sunday they again blocked moves towards Qaddafi’s dream of a closer union.
