Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (; 29 January 1945 – 16 January 2022), often known by his initials IBK, was a Malian politician who served as the president of Mali from September 2013 to August 2020, when he was forced to resign in the 2020 Malian coup d'état. He served as Mali's prime minister from February 1994 to February 2000 and as president of the National Assembly of Mali from September 2002National Assembly page for Keïta ., Bamanet.net, 20 April 2007 . to September 2007."L'EFFET "IBK"" , L'Essor, number 16,026, 4 September 2007 .
Keïta founded the centre-left political party Rally for Mali (RPM) in 2001.National Political Bureau of the RPM . After a number of unsuccessful campaigns, he was elected president in the 2013 presidential election and reelected in 2018. He was deposed by mutinous elements of the Malian Armed Forces on 18 August 2020 and officially resigned the following day.
Early life and education Keïta was born in Koutiala, in what was then French Sudan. His great-grandfather reportedly fought on the French side during World War I and was killed at the Battle of Verdun. He is a relative of Mali's founding father Modibo Keïta and he is a descendant of the Keita princes of the Empire of Mali. Keïta 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 graduated with a master's degree in history and postgraduate degrees in political science and international relations.
After his studies, he was a researcher at the CNRS and taught Third World politics at the University of Paris I. Returning to Mali in 1986, 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.
Early political career 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 25–26 May 1991."Membres du conseil exécutif de l'Adéma-PASJ élus au congrès constitutif du 25 et 26 Mai 1991.", ADEMA website . 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, based in Abidjan and with non-resident accreditation in Gabon, Burkina Faso and Niger.
In November 1993, Keïta was appointed to the Malian government as minister of external affairs, Malians abroad, and African integration. On 4 February 1994, President Konaré named him prime minister, a position he held until February 2000. At ADEMA's first ordinary congress, held in September 1994, Keïta was elected as the president of ADEMA."Membres du conseil exécutif de l'Adéma-PASJ élus au premier congrès ordinaire de Septembre 1994.", ADEMA website . Following presidential and parliamentary elections held in 1997, he resigned from his post as prime minister on 13 September 1997"Mali: Prime Minister Keita resigns", Radio France Internationale (nl.newsbank.com), 14 September 1997. and was promptly reappointed by Konaré, with a new government appointed on 16 September."Mali: President Konare forms new cabinet", RTM radio, Bamako (nl.newsbank.com), 17 September 1997. Keïta was re-elected as ADEMA president in October 1999,"DIRECTION NATIONALE: Comité exécutif 1999 - 2000", ADEMA website . and in November 1999, he was named vice-president of the Socialist International.
Disagreements within ADEMA forced him to resign as prime minister on 14 February 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 30 June 2001."L'ancien Premier ministre, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, crée son parti" , Afrique Express, number 231, 2 July 2001 . 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."Mali's Muslim leaders back ex-premier", BBC News, 26 April 2002. In the first round of the election, held on 28 April, he received about 21% of the vote and took third place, behind Amadou Toumani Touré and Soumaïla Cissé."1er tour de l'élection présidentielle au Mali : Verdict de la Cour Constitutionnelle", L'Essor, 9 May 2002 . He denounced the election as fraudulent, alleging that he was deliberately and falsely excluded from the second round, and along with other candidates sought the invalidation of results.Joan Baxter, "Mali court reviews 'vote-rigging'", BBC News, 7 May 2002."MALI: Malians await court's decision", IRIN, 7 May 2002. On 9 May 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."Mali: Constitutional Court affirms second round", IRIN, 10 May 2002."Mali's opposition backs general", BBC News, 10 May 2002. According to the Constitutional Court, Keïta won 21.03% of the vote, only about 4,000 votes less than Cissé. On the same day, Keïta announced the support of his Espoir 2002 alliance for Touré in the second round; regarding the Court's ruling, he described himself as "a law-abiding person" and said that the Court had followed the law. The second round was won by Touré.2002 timeline on the official site of the Malian presidency.
In the July 2002 parliamentary election, Keïta was elected to a seat in the National Assembly from Commune IV in Bamako District"Législatives au Mali: la mouvance présidentielle en tête au 1er tour" , AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), 6 July 2007 . in the first round. He was then elected as President of the National Assembly on 16 September 2002,Francis Kpatindé, "Retour triomphal pour Ibrahim Boubacar Keita", Jeune Afrique, 7 October 2002 ."Démission du gouvernement, Ahmed Mohamed Ag Hamani reconduit au poste de premier ministre" , Afrique Express, number 257, 17 October 2002 . receiving broad support, including the backing of ADEMA. He received 115 votes from the 138 participating deputies; the only other candidate, Noumoutié Sogoba of African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence (SADI), received eight votes, while 15 deputies abstained.
Keïta was also elected as President of the Executive Committee of the African Parliamentary Union on 24 October 2002 at its Khartoum Conference.
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 28 January 2007."IBK investi par son parti candidat à l’élection présidentielle prochaine au Mali" , African Press Agency, 28 January 2007 . Touré won the election by a landslide, while Keita took second place and 19.15% of the vote."Présidentielle au Mali: la Cour constitutionnelle valide la réélection de Touré" , AFP, 12 May 2007 . 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 the annulment of the election, alleging fraud."Mali: l'opposition conteste la présidentielle sans attendre les résultats" , AFP, 1 May 2007 . On 19 May, he said that the FDR would abide by the decision of the Constitutional Court to confirm Touré's victory."Mali opposition concedes Toure's re-election", Reuters, 21 May 2007.
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,B. S. Diarra, "Faut-il abattre IBK ?" , Aurore, 18 June 2007 . on an RPM list together with Abdramane Sylla."Commune IV : DUEL SINGULIER" , L'Essor, 19 July 2007 . Keïta's list received 31.52% of the vote in the first round, held on 1 July, slightly ahead of the list of independent candidate Moussa Mara, which received 30.70%. In the second round on 22 July, Keïta's list narrowly prevailed, winning 51.59% of the vote according to provisional results.M. Kéita, "2è tour des législatives à Bamako : AVANTAGE À L'ADEMA ET AU CNID" , L'Essor, number 15,996, 24 July 2007 . He was not a candidate for re-election as President of the National Assembly at the opening of the new National Assembly on 3 September; the position was won by ADEMA President Dioncounda Traoré."Mali: Dioncounda Traoré élu président de l'Assemblée nationale" , AFP, 3 September 2007 .
Keïta was a member of the Pan-African Parliament from Mali.List of members of the Pan-African Parliament . As of 2007–2008, he was a member of the Commission of Foreign Affairs, Malians Living Abroad, and African Integration in the National Assembly."Liste des députés membres de la commission Affaires Etrangères-Maliens de l'extérieur et Intégration Africaine" , National Assembly website . In addition to serving in the National Assembly, Keïta was a member of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States."Liste des députés Membres du Parlement de la CEDEAO" , National Assembly website .
President of Mali
Keïta again ran for president in the July–August 2013 presidential election and was considered a front-runner. He won the election in a second round of voting, defeating Soumaïla Cissé, and was sworn in by the Supreme Court of Mali as president on 4 September 2013.Tiemoko Diallo and Adama Diarra, "Mali's new president promises to bring peace, fight graft", Reuters, 4 September 2013.
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."New Mali president names banker as first prime minister", Reuters, 6 September 2013. After Oumar Tatam Ly's resignation, Keïta appointed Moussa Mara (5 April 2014 to 9 January 2015) and Modibo Keita (9 January 2015 to 7 April 2017). Upon Keita's resignation, Soumeylou Boubéye Maïga was appointed prime minister (31 December 2017 – 18 April 2019) but resigned on 18 April 2019 amid public protests following the Ogossagou massacre. Keita named Boubou Cissé as Maïga's replacement on 22 April.