6 new African leaders to taste their first UN summit, no women on the list

World leaders are currently gathered in New York for the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) which will address global issues under the theme, “Making the United Nations relevant to all people: global leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies.”

The African delegation includes the oldest leaders like Cameroon’s 85-year-old president Paul Biya and Equatorial Guinea’s 76-year-old president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. They have both served 39 years and 36 years respectively as heads of state making them the longest-serving in the continent.

These leaders and a dozen others have witnessed the rise, fall and deaths of other prominent African leaders like Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan who will be honoured by the General Assembly for their contribution to world peace.

None of the 5% of women heads of state and government at the Summit is from Africa. The last time an African woman was involved in the debate at the United Nations as a head of state was last year when Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was president.

Here are six African leaders who are attending the UNGA for the first time-ever as heads of state and government.