Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta

Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
President of Mali
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 September 2013
Prime Minister	Django Sissoko (Acting) Oumar Tatam Ly Moussa Mara Modibo Keita
Preceded by	Dioncounda Traoré (Acting)
Prime Minister of Mali
In office 4 February 1994 – 15 February 2000
President	Alpha Oumar Konaré
Preceded by	Abdoulaye Sékou Sow
Succeeded by	Mandé Sidibé
President of the National Assembly
In office 16 September 2002 – 3 September 2007
Preceded by	Aly Nouhoum Diallo
Succeeded by	Dioncounda Traoré
Personal details
Born	29 January 1945 Koutiala, French Sudan (now Mali)
Political party	Alliance for Democracy in Mali (1990–2001) Rally for Mali (2001–present)
Spouse(s)	Keïta Aminata Maiga
Children	4, including Karim
Alma mater	University of Dhakar Pantheon-Sorbonne University
Religion	Islam

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. Previously he was Prime Minister of Mali from 1994 to 2000 and President of the National Assembly of Mali from 2002^[1][2] to 2007.^[3] He founded a political party, Rally for Mali (RPM), in 2001.^[4] He was elected as President in the July–August 2013 presidential election and sworn in on 4 September 2013.

Biography

Early life and education

Keïta was born in Koutiala, Mali.^[1][2] He studied at the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly in Paris and Lycée Askia-Mohamed in Bamako, continuing his education at the University of Dakar, the University of Paris I and the Institut d'Histoire des Relations Internationales Contemporaines (IHRIC; Institute of the Modern History of International Relations). He has a Master's degree in History and an additional graduate degree in Political Science and International Relations.

After his studies, he was a researcher at the CNRS and taught courses on Third World politics at the University of Paris I. Returning to Mali, he became a technical consultant for the European Development Fund, putting together the first small-scale development program for the European Union's aid activities in Mali. He went on to become Mali director for the French chapter of Terre des hommes, an international NGO aiding children in the developing world.

1990s

Upon the founding of the Alliance for Democracy in Mali (ADEMA-PASJ), Keïta became its Secretary for African and International Relations at its constitutive congress, held on May 25–26, 1991.^[5] He was the deputy director of ADEMA candidate Alpha Oumar Konaré's successful presidential campaign in 1992. The new president named Keïta as his senior diplomatic adviser and spokesman in June 1992, and then in November 1992 Konaré appointed Keïta as Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Burkina Faso and Niger.^[1][2]

In November 1993, Keïta was appointed to the Malian government as Minister of External Affairs, Malians Abroad, and African Integration. On February 4, 1994, President Konaré named him Prime Minister, a position he held until February 2000.^[1][2] At ADEMA's first ordinary congress, held in September 1994, Keïta was elected as the President of ADEMA.^[6] Following presidential and parliamentary elections held in 1997, he resigned from his post as Prime Minister on September 13, 1997^[7] and was promptly reappointed by Konaré, with a new government appointed on September 16.^[8]

Keïta was re-elected as ADEMA President in October 1999,^[9] and in November 1999, he was named Vice-President of the Socialist International.^[1]

2000s

Disagreements within ADEMA forced him to resign as Prime Minister on February 14, 2000, and then from the leadership of the party in October 2000. He then founded his own party, the Rally for Mali (RPM), which he has led since its creation was announced on June 30, 2001.^[1][10] He stood as a candidate in the 2002 presidential election, receiving the strong backing of many Muslim leaders and associations. Despite this support, some people doubted that Keïta's policies were particularly compatible with Islam, pointing to the creation of casinos and lotteries while he was Prime Minister.^[11] In the first round of the election, held on April 28, he received about 21% of the vote and took third place, behind Amadou Toumani Touré and Soumaïla Cissé.^[12] He denounced the election as fraudulent, alleging that he was deliberately and falsely excluded from the second round, and along with other candidates sought for the results to be invalidated.^[13][14] On May 9 the Constitutional Court ruled that the second round should proceed with Touré and Cissé as the top two candidates, despite acknowledging significant irregularities and disqualifying a quarter of the votes because of the irregularities.^[15][16] According to the Constitutional Court, Keïta won 21.03% of the vote, only about 4,000 votes less than Cissé.^[12][16] On the same day, Keïta announced the support of his Espoir 2002 alliance for Touré in the second round;^[15][16] regarding the Court's ruling, he described himself as "a law-abiding person" and said that the Court had followed the law.^[16] The second round was won by Touré.^[17]

In the July 2002 parliamentary election, Keïta was elected to a seat in the National Assembly from Commune IV in Bamako District^[1][2][18] in the first round.^[2][18] He was then elected as President of the National Assembly on September 16, 2002,^{[1][17][19][20]} receiving broad support, including the backing of ADEMA.^[19] He received 115 votes from the 138 participating deputies;^[19][20] the only other candidate, Noumoutié Sogoba of African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence (SADI), received eight votes, while 15 deputies abstained.^[19]

Keïta was also elected as President of the Executive Committee of the African Parliamentary Union on October 24, 2002 at its Khartoum Conference.^[1]

He ran for President again, as the candidate of the Rally for Mali, in the April 2007 election, having been designated as the party's candidate on January 28, 2007.^[21] Touré won the election by a landslide, while Keita took second place and 19.15% of the vote.^[22] As part of the Front for Democracy and the Republic (FDR), a coalition that included Keita as well as three other presidential candidates, Keita disputed the results and sought for the election to be annulled, alleging fraud.^[23] On May 19, he said that the FDR would abide by the decision of the Constitutional Court to confirm Touré's victory.^[24]

In the July 2007 parliamentary election, Keïta ran for re-election to the National Assembly from Commune IV in Bamako, where 17 lists competed for the two available seats,^[25] on an RPM list together with Abdramane Sylla.^[26] Keïta's list received 31.52% of the vote in the first round, held on July 1,^[18][26] slightly ahead of the list of independent candidate Moussa Mara, which received 30.70%.^[26] In the second round on July 22, Keïta's list narrowly prevailed, winning 51.59% of the vote according to provisional results.^[27] He was not a candidate for re-election as President of the National Assembly at the opening of the new National Assembly on September 3; the position was won by ADEMA President Dioncounda Traoré.^[3][28]

Keïta was a member of the Pan-African Parliament from Mali.^[29] As of 2007–2008, he was a member of the Commission of Foreign Affairs, Malians Living Abroad, and African Integration in the National Assembly.^[30] In addition to serving in the National Assembly, Keïta was a member of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States.^[31]

2010s

Keïta again ran for President in the July–August 2013 presidential election and was considered a front-runner.^[32][33] He won the election in a second round of voting, defeating Soumaïla Cissé, and he was sworn in as President on 4 September 2013.^[34] 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.^[35] After Oumar Tatam Ly's resignation, Keïta appointed Moussa Mara (5 April 2014 to 9 January 2015) and later on Modibo Keita (9 January 2015 to present).

Personal life

Keïta is married to Keïta Aminata Maiga, the First Lady of Mali, and has four children.^[36] His son Karim is a member of the National Assembly and married to a daughter of Issaka Sidibé, President of the National Assembly.^[37]

References

1. National Assembly page for Keïta.
2. Candidate profile, Bamanet.net, April 20, 2007 (French).
3. "L'EFFET "IBK"", L'Essor, number 16,026, September 4, 2007 (French).
4. National Political Bureau of the RPM (French).
5. "Membres du conseil exécutif de l'Adéma-PASJ élus au congrès constitutif du 25 et 26 Mai 1991.", ADEMA website (French).
6. "Membres du conseil exécutif de l'Adéma-PASJ élus au premier congrès ordinaire de Septembre 1994.", ADEMA website (French).
7. "Mali: Prime Minister Keita resigns", Radio France Internationale (nl.newsbank.com), September 14, 1997.
8. "Mali: President Konare forms new cabinet", RTM radio, Bamako (nl.newsbank.com), September 17, 1997.
9. "DIRECTION NATIONALE: Comité exécutif 1999 - 2000", ADEMA website (French).
10. "L'ancien Premier ministre, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, crée son parti", Afrique Express, number 231, July 2, 2001 (French).
11. "Mali's Muslim leaders back ex-premier", BBC News, April 26, 2002.
12. "1er tour de l'élection présidentielle au Mali : Verdict de la Cour Constitutionnelle", L'Essor, May 9, 2002 (French).
13. Joan Baxter, "Mali court reviews 'vote-rigging'", BBC News, May 7, 2002.
14. "MALI: Malians await court's decision", IRIN, May 7, 2002.
15. "Mali: Constitutional Court affirms second round", IRIN, May 10, 2002.
16. "Mali's opposition backs general", BBC News, May 10, 2002.
17. 2002 timeline on the official site of the Malian presidency.
18. "Législatives au Mali: la mouvance présidentielle en tête au 1er tour", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), July 6, 2007 (French).
19. Francis Kpatindé, "Retour triomphal pour Ibrahim Boubacar Keita", Jeune Afrique, October 7, 2002 (French).
20. "Démission du gouvernement, Ahmed Mohamed Ag Hamani reconduit au poste de premier ministre", Afrique Express, number 257, October 17, 2002 (French).
21. "IBK investi par son parti candidat à l’élection présidentielle prochaine au Mali", African Press Agency, January 28, 2007 (French).
22. "Présidentielle au Mali: la Cour constitutionnelle valide la réélection de Touré", AFP, May 12, 2007 (French).
23. "Mali: l'opposition conteste la présidentielle sans attendre les résultats", AFP, May 1, 2007 (French).
24. "Mali opposition concedes Toure's re-election", Reuters, May 21, 2007.
25. B. S. Diarra, "Faut-il abattre IBK ?", Aurore, June 18, 2007 (French).
26. "Commune IV : DUEL SINGULIER", L'Essor, July 19, 2007 (French).
27. M. Kéita, "2è tour des législatives à Bamako : AVANTAGE À L'ADEMA ET AU CNID", L'Essor, number 15,996, July 24, 2007 (French).
28. "Mali: Dioncounda Traoré élu président de l'Assemblée nationale", AFP, September 3, 2007 (French).
29. List of members of the Pan-African Parliament.
30. "Liste des députés membres de la commission Affaires Etrangères-Maliens de l'extérieur et Intégration Africaine", National Assembly website (French).
31. "Liste des députés Membres du Parlement de la CEDEAO", National Assembly website (French).
32. R., A. (Jul 29, 2013). "A relatively calm affair". The Economist. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
33. "Voters defy threats as polls close in Mali". Al-Jazeera. 28 Jul 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
34. Tiemoko Diallo and Adama Diarra, "Mali's new president promises to bring peace, fight graft", Reuters, 4 September 2013.
35. "New Mali president names banker as first prime minister", Reuters, 6 September 2013.
36. Issouf Sanogo (13 August 2013). "Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the man to unify troubled Mali". Africa Review. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
37. "Ally of Mali's President Keita elected parliament speaker". Reuters. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2015.