Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Modibo-Keita, The Presidency - Biography of Modibo Keita. Modibo Keita made history on July 20, 1960, when he became the first president of Mali. ©Habib Kouyate/Xinhua News Agency/Newscom/MaxPPP. An outspoken Marxist, Keita adopted socialist policies during Mali’s first eight years of independence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heads_of_state_of_Mali Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is shown on June 30 at the G5 Sahel summit in Mauritania. Keïta had vowed to prioritize ability rather than political considerations when appointing ministers, and on 5 September 2013 he appointed a technocrat, banking official Oumar Tatam Ly, as prime minister. To appease the latter, Keita in August 1967 launched a Maoist-inspired cultural revolution, but its spiraling purges and authoritarian tactics soon alienated most of the population. Modibo Keita, (born June 4, 1915, Bamako, French Sudan [now in Mali]—died May 16, 1977, Bamako, Mali), socialist politician and first president of Mali (1960–68). Newly elected President Mohamed Bazoum’s inauguration Friday comes days after Niger’s security forces thwarted an attempted military coup at the presidential palace overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday. There has been widespread concern that the upheaval in Mali will set back efforts to contain the … He spent the remainder of his life in detention. Omissions? It was the first official meeting between the two men since two demonstrations last month drew tens of thousands to the streets. NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Niger has sworn in its new president in the West African nation’s first democratic transfer of power. Keita tried to enlist French support for the Malian currency, a move that aroused discontent within his party and cries of betrayal from his more radical supporters. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Previously he was Prime Minister of Mali from 1994 to 2000 and President of the National Assembly of Mali from 2002 to 2007. The bloc may announce on Friday whether the plan meets … Keïta … Modibo Keita, (born June 4, 1915, Bamako, French Sudan [now in Mali]—died May 16, 1977, Bamako, Mali), socialist politician and first president of Mali (1960–68). President Obama played his first round of golf as President on 26 April 2009, more than three months after he took office. Updates? Mali’s designated interim president, retired colonel Bah Ndaw, has reportedly made his first public appearance in a meeting with a regional mediator. This is the President’s first trip out of the country after Nigeria recorded its first COVID-19 case in February. Mali's president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta dissolved parliament and resigned on Aug. 18 after an armed mutiny. This is the first contact they have had since Soumaïla Cissé was seized in a case that shocked the country, reports the AFP news agency. The Mali presidency posted a video on Twitter earlier Sunday of the meeting between President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Mahmoud Dicko, the leading figure of the protest, in the capital Bamako on Saturday. This is a list of heads of state of Mali since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day. Ndaw, 70, met former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, in Bamako on a mission for the 15-nation bloc ECOWAS, on the eve of his swearing-in. Grab a copy of our NEW encyclopedia for Kids! Also familiar to people outside the military orbit in Mali, he began serving in the armed forces in 1973. Though eager to create a West African federation of former French territories, Keita finally settled for a Mali Federation made up only of Senegal and his own Sudan. According to an earlier statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, Buhari’s visit followed the recent briefing by the ECOWAS Special Envoy to Mali, former President Goodluck Jonathan about the crisis in the country. Mali’s former defence minister, Bah Ndaw, has been named as president of the country’s new transition government. Ndaw, 70, met former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, in Bamako on a mission for the 15-nation bloc ECOWAS, on the eve of his swearing-in. Bah Ndaw, a retired colonel who has been designated Mali's interim president following last month's coup, made his first public appearance on Thursday, meeting a … Malian soldiers abducted the former president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, and made him resign on state television in August in a coordinated coup that … Keita remained as president of the Sudan, which a congress of the ruling US-RDA proclaimed the independent Republic of Mali in September 1960. The party officially supports Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta: Military Committee for National Liberation, Sudanese Union – African Democratic Rally, Alliance for Democracy in Mali – Pan-African Party for Liberty, Solidarity and Justice, African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence, Alternative Forces for Renewal and Emergence, "The highest and lowest paid African presidents - Business Daily", "Mali coup: Bah Ndaw sworn in as civilian leader", "Mali's Keita resigns as president after military coup", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_heads_of_state_of_Mali&oldid=1017355164, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 12 April 2021, at 09:14. The president of a republic is the head of state, but the actual power of the president varies from country to country; in the United States, Africa, and Latin America the presidential office is charged…, Bamako, capital of Mali, located on the Niger River in the southwestern part of the country. A detailed list of African presidents’ names, countries, and years in government. Over his decorated career, Mr Ndaw graduated from France's elite Ecole de Guerre, and received the National Order of Mali plus the Medal of Military Merit as well as the Medal of National Merit. Mali's transition president Bah N'Daw. He won the election in a second round of voting, defeating Soumaïla Cissé, and was sworn in as president on 4 September 2013. Keita, the new country’s first president, rapidly replaced French civil servants with Africans, distanced the country from France, established close diplomatic relations and economic ties with communist-bloc countries, and built a state-run economy. Niger was praised for its first democratic transfer of power in history. Two years later, however, he won a seat in the territorial assembly of French Sudan, and from 1956 to 1958 he served as a deputy in the French National Assembly, becoming its first African vice president. Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari on Thursday proved the naysayers wrong when he arrived in Bamako, capital of Mali, adorning a face mask, his first time of being seen with the protective gear to wade of the spread of Covid-19. This state, the Sudanese Republic, was formed in November 1958. Former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has since been released and flown to the United Arab Emirates for medical treatment, one of the demands of ECOWAS. President Muhammadu Buhari donned a face mask on Thursday morning July 23 for the first time in public since the Coronavirus pandemic started as he arrived in Bamako, Mali, his first trip out of the country in five months for ECOWAS peace mission. In 1946 the Sudanese Union merged with another anticolonial party, the African Democratic Rally, to form the US-RDA. President, in government, the officer in whom the chief executive power of a nation is vested. The interim president will rule for a maximum of 18 months before staging nationwide elections.. ECOWAS — the Economic Community of West African States — slapped sanctions on Mali on August 20 to push for swift restoration of civilian government, including the appointment of civilians as interim president and prime minister.. Ndaw, 70, met former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in Bamako on Thursday on a mission for the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), on the eve of his swearing-in. But a failed coup this week shows new President Mohamed Bazoum faces an uphill battle to stabilize his country. Mali president names diplomat Moctar Ouane as interim prime minister BAMAKO (Reuters) - Former foreign minister Moctar Ouane was named as Mali's interim prime minister, state television said on Sunday, a move likely to trigger the lifting of sanctions imposed by the West Africa regional bloc in the aftermath of the military coup last month. His regime, though repressive, seemed firmly established, but by 1967 Mali was experiencing growing economic and financial problems. In a 1958 referendum in French West Africa, Keita successfully campaigned for Sudan to become an autonomous state within the French Community. Bah Ndaw, a retired colonel who has been designated Mali's interim president following last month's coup, made his first public appearance on Thursday, meeting a regional mediator, AFP reporters saw. Bah Ndaw, a retired colonel who has been designated Mali’s interim president following last month’s coup, made his first public appearance on Thursday, meeting a regional mediator, AFP reporters saw. Africa is a vast continent housing 54 countries in total, and each state is overseen by a president to control the affairs of the nation and to enable peace reign in each society. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Keita was trained as a teacher in Dakar and entered politics in his native French Sudan (now Mali). Protesters took to the streets of Mali’s capital on Friday afternoon for the latest in a series of mass demonstrations calling for the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who has struggled to stem rising jihadist and inter-communal violence in northern and central parts of the country after seven years in power. Mali's transition president Bah N'Daw, whose absence from the 2 December cabinet meeting has given rise to wild rumours in Bamako, is due to travel to Brussels on 9 December.The trip to the Belgian capital will be his first outside Africa since he was sworn in on 25 September. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Keita was briefly imprisoned by the French in 1946. Additionally, one person, Amadou Toumani Touré, has served on two non-consecutive occasions. Keïta again ran for president in the July–August 2013 presidential election and was considered a front-runner. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). On Nov. 19, 1968, Keita was overthrown in a bloodless coup led by junior army officers. When occupied for the French in 1880 by Captain Joseph-Simon Gallieni, Bamako was a settlement of a few hundred inhabitants, grouped in villages. The US-RDA was by then the leading party in French Sudan, and in the elections of 1957 it won an overwhelming victory. Mali’s designated interim president, retired colonel Bah Ndaw, has reportedly made his first public appearance in a meeting with a regional mediator. Keita was trained as a teacher in Dakar and entered politics in his native French Sudan (now Mali). Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (born January 29, 1945), or as he is often known IBK, is a Malian politician who has been President of Mali since 2013. Its very first president, Modibo Keita, was overthrown in 1968 by Moussa Traore, a young army lieutenant who met the same fate nearly a quarter of … A total of seven people have served as head of state of Mali (not counting two Acting Presidents). He did his basic training at the joint military school École Militaire … (Reuters) ... which is one of the first lines of defense against the extremists. As no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a runoff was held on 12 August 2018 between the top two candidates, incumbent President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta of the Rally for Mali and Soumaïla Cissé of the Union for the Republic and Democracy. Femi Adesina, the President's Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, shared on Wednesday that the president and some ECOWAS leaders had agreed … Corrections? In Bamako, President Buhari was sighted wearing facemask for the first time. In 1945 he cofounded and became secretary-general of the Sudanese Union. His government nationalized key sectors of the economy and established close ties with communist countries. Traore ousted Modibo Keita, Mali's first democratically elected president since the West African nation's independence from France in 1960, and ruled until 1991 when he … President Konare did not seek reelection since he was serving his second and last term as required by the constitution. BAMAKO, Mali, May 19 (Agence France‐Presse)—Modibo Keita, the first President of Mali, who was deposed in a 1968 military coup, died Monday at a … (Ludovic Marin/Reuters) READ MORE Mali: Coup leader Assimi Goïta is from an elite fighting unit. The current head of state of Mali is Acting President Bah Ndaw, since 25 September 2020,[2] appointed in the aftermath of the 2020 Malian coup d'état. Recently- re-elected president of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita named 35-year-old Kamissa Camara as the minister for foreign affairs in his recent cabinet reshuffle. In January 1959 he became president of this short-lived federation, which split apart in August 1960 owing to disagreements between the Sudanese and Senegalese. Born on 23 August 1950 in San, a town in the Ségou region of central Mali, N’Daw rose to the rank of colonel major in the Malian Air Force but is now retired. It became the capital of the former colony of French Sudan…. After Oumar Tatam Ly's resignation, Keïta appointed Moussa Mara(5 April … Meanwhile, Keita had become president of the US-RDA and also mayor of Bamako (the capital). Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. First official meeting between the two men since two demonstrations last month drew tens thousands. This week shows new president Mohamed Bazoum faces an uphill battle to stabilize his.. First COVID-19 case in February secretary-general of the country after Nigeria recorded its democratic! 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