LĂ©opold SĂ©dar Senghor (9 October 1906 â 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who was the first president of Senegal (1960â80). Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician of NĂ©gritude. Senghor was a proponent of African culture, black identity and African empowerment within the framework of French-African ties. He advocated for the extension of full civil and political rights for France's African territories while