Muammar Gaddafi served as the head of the African Union from 2009 to 2010.
The Chairman of the African Union is the ceremonial head of the African Union elected by the Assembly of Heads of State for a one-year term . Muammar Gaddafi . From 1999 , Gaddafi rejected Arab socialism and encouraged economic privatisation , rapprochement with Western nations , and Pan-Africanism ; he was Chairperson of the African Union from 2009 -- 10 .