ABSTRACT
Senegal, which emerged as an independent state from the French colonial process in Africa in 1961, is probably the only country of the region which is closest to having been almost from independence truly fully legitimate as a nation. The political legitimacy of the Senegal presidential republic cannot therefore be doubted. Abdoulaye Wade was probably the most talented politician of the post-Senghor presidents, although he did still belong to Senghor’s generation. Wade was indeed elected president as the leader of the Party of Change (SOPI), on the basis of the defeat of the Socialist Party of which Diouf, as outgoing president, was the then leader. The chapter assesses how far the vast programmatic ambitions of Wade in 2000 came in a sense to be less remarkable when confronted with the reality of the action of the president. The Wade administration was unquestionably one in which marked developments was noticeable in all the key aspects of the social services.
