The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) is a non-aligned, non-political, not-for-profit, pan-African learned society formed in 1985. The AAS elects fellows (FAAS) and affiliates. The AAS also awards the Obasanjo Prize for Scientific Discovery and Technological Innovation every two years to an outstanding scientist who contributed to the development of the continent.

History

The Academy was founded in 1983 following a proposal presented by entomologist Thomas Odhiambo and Mohamed H.A. Hassan (The World Academy of Sciences president at the time) at the inaugural meeting of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), in Trieste, Italy. Odhiambo led a taskforce on the creation of The Academy, which presented its recommendations at a meeting convened on 10 December 1985. Participants at the meeting unanimously adopted the recommendations, turned the gathering into a General Assembly, and drafted and adopted the Academy's founding constitution, which has since been updated. The 34 participants who attended the General Assembly also became the founding fellows of the Academy. The Academy also developed and implemented four strategies between 1989 and 2005 that focused on forestry research, biotechnology, soil and water management, improved food production and policy and advocacy. In 1988 the AAS launched the journal Discovery and Innovation, which focused on all areas of science and ran until 2012. At first the Academy was largely unfunded and run by volunteers. Between 1993 and 1996 Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Rockefeller Foundation helped the organization establish efficient institutional and financial systems. In May 2005 the Kenyan government gave official recognition to the Academy and extended to it diplomatic privileges given to international non governmental organisations headquartered in Kenya. It also authorized construction of its headquarters on a 2 ha site that it owns in the Karen area of Nairobi. A US$5 million endowment from the Nigerian government was used to cover the cost of construction. On 28 February 2011 Ahmadou Lamine Ndiaye of Senegal was appointed President of the AAS for a three-year term replacing Mohamed Hassan of Sudan. Ndiaye said he wanted to rejuvenate the AAS, and felt that conditions were favorable. He aimed to open up centers of excellence on the continent where French and English speakers could work on joint research programs. Felix Dapare Dakora is serveed as President of the African Academy of Sciences for the 2017–2023 terms.

Governance

The AAS is governed by:

Current members of the Governing Council

As of 2022, the governing council of the academy has the following members:

Previous Presidents

Fellows

The African Academy of Sciences fellows (FAAS) are Africans who may live in or outside the continent and working on science in Africa are elected by previously elected AAS fellows based on achievements that include their publication record, innovations, leadership roles and contribution to policy. Fellows form a community of scientists formed to engage with governments and policy makers to enable wise investment in the future of the continent. As of November 2022, the AAS has 555 fellows. From which 35 who are founding fellows who were all elected during AAS inception, 20 honorary fellows, 60 associate fellows (i.e., non founding and honorary fellows from outside the continent), and 440 Fellows with 19.3% female fellows.

Founding Fellows

35 fellows, all elected at AAS inception in 1985 except Henry Fadamiro who was elected in 2020. • #Henri Hogbe Nlend, Cameroon • #Jean Nya-Ngatchou, Cameroon • #Victor Doulou, DRC • #Félix Malu wa Kalenga, DRC • #Jerome Dinga-Reassi, DRC • #Mohamed Kamel Mahmoud, Egypt • #Attia Ashour, Egypt • #Ebenezer Laing, Ghana • #Francis Allotey, Ghana • #Daniel Adzei Bekoe, Ghana • #Robert Butler, Ghana • #Emmanuel Evans-Anfom, Ghana • #Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu, Ghana • #Edward S. Ayensu, Ghana • #Fred Wangati, Kenya • #Thomas R. Odhiambo, Kenya • #Samson Gombe, Kenya • #Raoelina Andriambololona, Madagascar • #Thomas Adeoye Lambo, Madagascar • #Albert Rakoto Ratsimamanga, Madagascar • #Mahdi Elmandjra, Morocco • #Anthony Youdeowei, Nigeria • #Donald Efiong Udo Ekong, Nigeria • #Jibril Aminu, Nigeria • #Toure Moctar, Senegal • #Toure M. Saydil, Senegal • #Mohamed H.A. Hassan, Sudan • #Yahia Abdel Mageed, Sudan • #Ahmed K. Bashir, Sudan • #Awadh S. Mawenya, Tanzania • #L. K. Shayo, Tanzania • #Djodji Akoly Nyatepe-Coo, Togo • #Itai Chiri, Zimbabwe • #Christopher Magadza, Zimbabwe • #Henry Fadamiro, United States

Honorary Fellows

As of October 2024, there are 20 honorary fellows. The first was admitted in 2011. • #Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria (2011) • #Denis Sassou Nguesso, Democratic Republic of the Congo (2014) • #Khama Ian Khama, Botswana (2016) • #Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor, South Africa (2018) • #Ashraf Mansour, Egypt (2018) • #Mamphela Aletta Ramphele, South Africa (2018) • #Khotso David Kenneth Mokhele, South Africa (2018) • #Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwe (2018) • #Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Niger (2018) • #Carlos Lopes, Guinea-Bissau (2018) • #Meodas Carlos, Mozambique (2018) • #Eddah Gachukia, Kenya (2018) • #Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, (2018) • #Richard Erskine Leakey, Kenya (2019) • #Mary Chinery-Hesse, Ghana (2019) • #Thulisile Madonsela, South Africa (2019) • #Graça Machel, Mozambique (2019) • #Jean Albergel, Tunisia (2021) • #A.K. Tyagi, India (2021) • #Alain Krief, Tunisia (2021)

Associate Fellows

As of October 2024, there are 60 associate fellows, which are non-founding or honorary fellows from outside the continent). • #Giovanni Battista Marini Bettolo Marconi, Italy (1987) • #Abdus Salam, Pakistan (1987) • #William A.C Mathieson, United Kingdom (1989) • #Walter E. Massey, United States (1991) • #Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao, India (2001) • #Govindapillai Achuthan Nair, India (2006) • #Mortelmans Jos, United Kingdom (2006) • #Katepalli Raju Sreenivasan, India (2006) • #Donald Adams, United States (2009) • #Erik Thulstrup, Denmark (2009) • #Cato Thomas Laurencin, United States (2009) • #Christian Borgemeister, Germany (2011) • #Zeyaur Rahman Khan, India (2012) • #Gerhard Bringmann, Germany (2013) • #Peter K. Neuenschwander, Switzerland (2013) • #Joachim von Braun, Germany (2014) • #Zhang Linqi, China (2015) • #Kevin Marsh, United Kingdom (2015) • #Eleanor N. Fish, Canada (2015) • #Dorairajan Balasubramanian, India (2015) • #Bill S. Hansson, Sweden (2016) • #Brenda Wingfield, Ireland (2016) • #Don A. Cowan, New Zealand (2016) • #Federico Rosei, Italy (2017) • #George Fu Gao, China (2017) • #Alison Elliott, United Kingdom (2017) • #Bert Klumperman, Netherlands (2017) • #Kadambot Siddique, Australia (2018) • #Snow Robert, United Kingdom (2018) • #Marleen Temmerman, Belgium (2018) • #Marcel Tanner, Switzerland (2018) • #Jinde Cao, China (2019) • #Lars Hviid, Denmark (2019) • #Mark Edward John Woolhouse, United Kingdom (2019) • #Catherine Molyneux, United Kingdom (2019) • #Christian Pirk, Germany (2019) • #Dumitru Baleanu, Romania (2019) • #Mohamed Henini, United Kingdom (2020) • #Newton Lupwayi, Canada (2020) • #Le Kang, Pakistan (2020) • #Jianbo Shen, China (2020) • #Ann M Moormann, United States (2020) • #Rodomiro Ortiz, Sweden (2020) • #Tasawar Hayat, Pakistan (2020) • #Kimani Toussaint, United States (2020) • #Rajeev Kumar Varshney, India (2020) • #Fengting Li, China (2020) • #Deji Akinwande, United States (2020) • #Kongming Wu, China (2020) • #Fusuo Zhang, China (2020) • #Tianyu Wang, China (2021) • #Bruce Mellado, South Africa (2021) • #Shuanggen Jin, China (2021) • #Thalappil Pradeep, India (2021) • #Huanming Yang, China (2021) • #Leena Tripathi, India (2022) • #Susan J. Elliott, Canada (2022) • #Huijun Duan, China (2022) • #Oladele Ogunseitan, United States (2022) • #Lydia Roos, France (2022)