Diouf, the son of a postman, was a member of the Serer people and a devout Muslim. He attended the well-known Lycée Faidherbe in Saint-Louis, then capital of Senegal, and the University of Dakar. In 1958 he went to Paris and studied law at the Sorbonne. Shortly after his return home in 1960, Diouf joined the civil service and was appointed to a succession of posts, including regional governor (1961–62), secretary-general to the government (1964–65), and minister of planning and industry (1968–70). On February 28, 1970, Diouf, a member of the Socialist Party, became prime minister, a post that had just been reinstated through a change in the constitution. He retained the position for 11 years, and, upon the retirement of Pres. Léopold Senghor and in accordance with the constitution, Diouf became president in 1981.

As president, Diouf stressed cooperation with other African countries. In the early 1980s he oversaw the creation of Senegambia, a loose confederation between The Gambia and Senegal that existed between 1982 and 1989. He gained national prominence as a delegate to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1983, playing a key role at the June 23 summit meeting, and as that organization’s chairman in 1985–86, when his decisive leadership and moderation restored confidence in the troubled body. He served a second term as OAU chairman in 1992–93, and he was also chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Islamic Conference, and the G-15 nations.

After the 1988 elections, which Diouf easily won, charges of fraud led to violent protests. A state of emergency was declared, and Abdoulaye Wade, leader of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), was briefly imprisoned. Unrest continued, however, as the country faced a faltering economy, border tensions with Mauritania, and fighting by Casamance separatists. In the March 2000 elections Diouf was defeated by Wade, thus ending the Socialist Party’s 40-year rule of Senegal. He served as the secretary-general of the International