Amadou Toumani Touré (b. November 4, 1948 in Mopti, Mali) is the president of Mali. He overthrew a military ruler, Moussa Traoré in 1991, then handed power to civilian authorities the next year. He won the presidential elections in 2002, with a broad coalition of support. Ousmane Issoufi Maïga is his prime minister.

Biography

Amadou Toumani Touré was born on November 4, 1948, in Mopti, where he attended primary school. Between 1966 and 1969, he attended Badalabougou Standard Secondary School in Bamako in order to become a teacher.

Eventually, he joined the army and attended the Kita Inter-Military College. As a member of the Parachute Corps, he rose quickly through the ranks and after numerous training courses in the Soviet Union and France, he became the commander of the parachute commandos in 1984.

In March 1991, after public demonstrations were violently quelled, he participated in a coup d'etat against Moussa Traoré and became leader of the Transitional Committee for the Welfare of the People, and performed the functions of the head of state during the transitional period towards democracy.

He organized the national conference (between July 29 and August 12, 1991) and the legislative and presidential elections in 1992. When the results of the election became known he relinquished power to the newly elected president, Alpha Oumar Konaré. Because of this, he gained the nickname "The Soldier of Democracy."

In June 2001, he became the special envoy of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to the Central African Republic after the failed coup attempt there.

In September of 2001 he asked for and was granted his expected retirement from the army. He decided to restart his political career by becoming a candidate in the upcoming presidential election. He was elected President of Mali in the 2002 presidential elections, obtaining 64.35% of the vote in the second runoff vote. His primary opponent, Soumaila Cissé , a former cabinet minister, obtained 35.65% of the vote.

His presidency has been rather atypical; he is not a member of any political party and his government has members from all of the political parties in the country. Following his 2002 election, he appointed Ahmed Mohamed ag Hamani to the post of Prime Minister. On April 28, 2004, he was replaced by Ousmane Issoufi Maiga.

He founded and directs a children's foundation.

See also

• List of national leaders.