Cassam Uteem

The Honourable Cassam Uteem
2nd President of Mauritius
In office 30 June 1992 – 15 February 2002
Prime Minister	Anerood Jugnauth
Vice President	Rabindranath Ghurburrun Angidi Chettiar Raouf Bundhun
Preceded by	Veerasamy Ringadoo
Succeeded by	Angidi Chettiar (Acting)
Personal details
Born	22 March 1941

Cassam Uteem, GCSK (born 22 March 1941)^[1] is a Mauritian political figure who served as President of Mauritius from 30 June 1992 to 15 February 2002 and is the longest serving President of Mauritius, having served for nine years.

On 15 February 2002 he resigned from his function, after refusing to sign a controversial anti-terrorism bill, namely PoTA,^[2] into the constitution. His term would have ended in June 2002.^[3] He was replaced as President by Angidi Chettiar.^[4]

On 10 November 2014, Mr. Cassam was appointed United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy and Head of the United Nations Electoral Observation Mission in Burundi^[5]

In November 2014 Mr. Cassam was elected President of International Movement ATD Fourth World. ^[6]

Uteem was a candidate for the position of Chairperson of the African Union Commission in early 2008, but withdrew prior to the vote.^[7]

Cassam Uteem is a Member of the Global Leadership Foundation, an organization which works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, the experience of former leaders to today’s national leaders. It is a not-for-profit organization composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organization officials who work closely with Heads of Government on governance-related issues of concern to them.

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-05-26. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
3. BBC news (2002-02-15). "Mauritius president resigns". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
4. BBC news (2002-02-19). "Terror law 'signed' in Mauritius". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
5. "Secretary-General Appoints Cassam Uteem of Mauritius as Special Envoy". United Nations.
6. "Mr. Cassam Uteem Named President of ATD Fourth World International". ATD Fourth World.
7. Abera W. Kidan, "Africa: Two Candidates Withdraw Bids for AU Top Post", The Daily Monitor, Addis Ababa (allAfrica.com), January 31, 2008.