On Monday, February 2, 2009, the African Union elected Moammar Gadhafi as their leader, a position that only lasts for a year and gives the appointee influence over the continent's politics but no real power. The meetings to select the chairman each year are held in private, and some of the diplomats that attended the closed-door meetings said several countries opposed of Gadhafi's selection. However, every year the AU chairman is from a different region and North Africa has not been represented since 2000, while Libya has not held the position in the African Union's entire 46-year history.Newsday.com: Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi Elected Leader of... (February 2, 2009)

The underlying principal behind the AU is the belief that peace comes before prosperity. Far-reaching plans include setting up a human rights court, a single integrated defense force, a central bank and monetary fund, and by 2023 an African Economic Community with a single currency - the Afro.