April 4: Senegal National Day

Ingrid Nováková, international specialist, April 4, 2025

Origin of Senegal's national day

Senegal's national day has its origin in the country's independence, proclaimed on April 4, 1960, after the dissolution of the Mali Federation, which had grouped together Senegal and French Sudan (present-day Mali). This date marks the end of French colonization, which had begun in 1659 with the founding of Saint-Louis, the first French colony in West Africa.

History of Senegalese independence

From the late 19th century, certain Senegalese towns such as Saint-Louis, Gorée, Rufisque and Dakar enjoyed the status of French communes, allowing their inhabitants to elect representatives to the French Parliament. Blaise Diagne was the first African elected as a deputy in 1914. After the Second World War, the creation of the African Democratic Rally (RDA) and the Senegalese Democratic Bloc (BDS), led by Léopold Sédar Senghor, amplified calls for independence. In 1958, Senegal became an autonomous republic within the French Community, but political tensions soon led to a break with France and the creation of the Mali Federation in 1959, bringing together Senegal and French Sudan.

The Mali Federation lasted only a few months due to political and economic differences. On August 20, 1960, Senegal proclaimed its independence, formalized by agreements signed with France on April 4, 1960. Léopold Sédar Senghor was elected Senegal's first president, while Mamadou Dia became Prime Minister. Following independence, Senegal maintained close ties with France, which kept a military presence and provided economic support to the country. In 1961, France still accounted for nearly 70% of Senegal's trade.

Challenges after independence

Economically, the country was dependent on peanut farming, which accounted for nearly 80% of exports in the 1960s. The droughts of the 1970s worsened the situation further, causing a food crisis and a rural exodus to Dakar, whose population grew from 400,000 in 1960 to more than a million in 1980. Politically, Senegal went through a period of instability marked by rivalry between Léopold Sédar Senghor and his Prime Minister Mamadou Dia, leading to the latter's arrest in 1962 after an alleged coup attempt. Regional tensions, particularly in Casamance, intensified from the 1980s onward with the rise of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), which called for the region's independence.