Background
M'BOW, Amadou-Mahtar was born on March 20, 1921 in Dakar.
M'BOW, Amadou-Mahtar was born on March 20, 1921 in Dakar.
M'Bow had humble beginnings. He grew up in a small town where he learned traditional farming and animal tending skills.
M'Bow volunteered for the French army and served in France and North Africa during World War II. In 1947 he passed the Baccalaureat and entered the Sorbonne University in Paris. He graduated in 1951 with a License ès Lettres degree in geography.
Minister of Education and Culture during his country's transitional period of internal autonomy (1957-1958), M'Bow resigned in order to engage in the struggle for independence. After this had been achieved, he became Minister of Education (1966-1968) and then of Cultural and Youth Affairs (1968-1970) and was a member of the National Assembly of Senegal. M'Bow began working for UNESCO in 1953 and was the director-general from 1974 to 1987, being the first black African to head a United Nations support organisation. He called the Commission over the Problems of Communication which delivered the MacBride Report (so called after its president, Seán MacBride) in May 1980, supporting international claims for a New World Information and Communication Order. His departure in 1987 followed criticism for administrative and budgetary practices.
Academy, du Royaume du Maroc. Academy, of Athens.
Married Raymonde Sylvain 1951.