[4] A union leader for 20 years he was imprisoned under President Léopold Sédar Senghor for attempting to organize the country's intellectuals.
[5][6] In September 1987, he founded the "Abdoo nu dooy" movement to campaign for Diouf's re-election in the February 1988 presidential election.
[10] He received 1.21% of the popular vote in the first round of the election, held on 27 February 2000,[11] and he said on 1 March that Diouf's failure to win a majority in the first round was the result of popular disillusionment associated with a pay rise for deputies that was announced during the campaign.
[17] It was reported that he declined an offer from President Wade to become a Minister of State, preferring to remain in his National Assembly post.
[18] As of 2007, Thiam was the Coordinator of the Convergence of Actions around the President of the Republic for the 21st Century (CAP 21), a coalition of 47 parties supporting Wade.