Amadou Toumani Touré

Amadou Toumani Touré
President of Mali
In office 8 June 2002 – 22 March 2012
Prime Minister	Ahmed Mohamed ag Hamani Ousmane Issoufi Maïga Modibo Sidibé Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé
Preceded by	Alpha Oumar Konaré
Succeeded by	Amadou Sanogo (Chairperson of the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State)
In office 26 March 1991 – 8 June 1992
Prime Minister	Soumana Sacko
Preceded by	Moussa Traoré
Succeeded by	Alpha Oumar Konaré
Personal details
Born	4 November 1948 Mopti, French Sudan (now Mali)
Political party	Independent
Spouse(s)	Lobbo Traore
Military service
Service/branch	Army

Amadou Toumani Touré (born 4 November 1948;^[1] also known as "ATT") is a Malian politician who was President of Mali from 2002 to 2012.

Touré was head of President Moussa Traoré's personal guard (and parachute regiment) when a popular revolution overthrew the regime in March 1991 and Colonel Touré arrested the President and led the revolution. He presided over a year-long military-civilian transition process that produced a new Constitution and multiparty elections; Touré handed power to Mali's first democratically elected president, Alpha Oumar Konaré, on 6 June 1992. Konaré promoted Touré to the rank of General.

Ten years later, after retiring from the army, he entered politics as a civilian and won the 2002 presidential election with a broad coalition of support. He was easily re-elected in 2007 to a second and final term. On 22 March 2012, shortly before his scheduled departure from office, disgruntled soldiers initiated a coup d'état that forced him into hiding.^[2] As part of the agreement to restore constitutional order to Mali, Touré resigned from the presidency on 8 April, and eleven days later he went into exile.

Touré is member of the Earth Charter International Commission.

Early life

Amadou Toumani Touré was born on 4 November 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 Kati 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.

Political and military career

Amadou Touré with President Lula da Silva and government ministers of Brazil.

In March 1991, after the violent suppression of anti-government demonstrations turned into a popular revolution against 23 years of military rule, the armed forces refused to fire any longer on the Malian people and Touré - head of the presidential guard - arrested President Moussa Traoré. Known universally by his initials ATT, Colonel Touré (as he then was) became leader of the Transitional Committee for the Welfare of the People and acting head of state throughout the committee's efforts to transition the country's government to democracy. He presided over the national conference that between 29 July and 13 August 1991 drew up the Constitution of Mali and scheduled the legislative and presidential elections of 1992. After the results of the elections became known, Touré handed over power to the newly elected president, Alpha Oumar Konaré. Following his voluntary departure from office, he gained the nickname "The Soldier of Democracy."^[3]

In June 2001, Touré served briefly as a special envoy of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to the Central African Republic, after the failed coup attempt that had occurred there.

In September 2001, he requested and was granted retirement from the military, entering politics as a candidate in the 2002 presidential election. In the first round of voting, he placed first with 28.71% of the vote,^[4] while in the second round he won 64.35% of the vote, defeating the ADEMA candidate, former cabinet minister Soumaïla Cissé, who obtained 35.65%. Touré was sworn in on 8 June 2002.

His presidency has been viewed by some observers as atypical, in part due to the fact that he is not a member of any political party and that he has included members from all of the country's political parties in his government. Following his 2002 election, he appointed Ahmed Mohamed ag Hamani as Prime Minister, but on 28 April 2004, Hamani he was replaced by Ousmane Issoufi Maiga, who in turn was replaced on 28 September 2007 by Modibo Sidibé.

Before he entered electoral politics, Touré also founded a children's foundation named Fondation pour l'enfance – a name shared with a similar organization created by Danielle Mitterrand, the wife of French president François Mitterrand. During Touré's presidency, the foundation was managed by First Lady Toure Lobbo Traore, serving as Touré's proxy.

Touré meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush

Touré announced on 27 March 2007, that he would run for a second term in the April 2007 presidential election.^[1] According to final results announced on 12 May, Touré won the election with 71.20% of the votes. The main opposition candidate, National Assembly President Ibrahima Boubacar Keïta, won 19.15%;^[5] the Front for Democracy and the Republic, a coalition including Keïta and three other candidates, rejected the official results.^[6] Foreign observers, however, endorsed the election as free and fair.^[7] Touré was sworn in for his second term as President on 8 June 2007, at a ceremony attended by seven other African presidents.^[8]

Conforming to the constitution of Mali, which has a two-term presidential limit, Touré confirmed at a press conference on 12 June 2011, that he would not stand in the 2012 presidential election.^[9]

2012 coup d'état

Early in 2012, elements of the Malian military protested the Touré government's handling of the 2012 insurgency in northern Mali. The brutal massacre in Aguel Hoc (frontier with Niger) of more than 80 Malian soldiers led to unrest in the army, with soldiers and army wives accusing President Touré of mismanagement because of ammunition shortages. On 21 March, soldiers at a barracks in Kati, near Bamako, launched a revolt against the visiting defense minister, and their revolt turned into a coup d'État.^[10] A group of sergeants and corporals seized several locations in Bamako, including the presidential palace, state television headquarters, and some military barracks. They then formed a provisional governmental authority, the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State (CNRDRE), under the leadership of Captain Amadou Sanogo, and declared that they had overthrown Touré, accusing his government of incompetence. President Touré was not taken into custody by the rebels.^[11][12]

For more than two weeks Touré's whereabouts were unknown and CNRDRE never indicated that he was in its custody. The CNRDRE did, however, state that Touré was in "good health"^[13] and a statement from the Nigerian government, though supportive of Touré, claimed that he had been "detained" by the mutineers.^[14] According to soldiers loyal to Touré, however, he was safe, and guarded by pro-government military forces at a barracks somewhere outside of Bamako.^[12]

On 3 April, the junta announced that it was considering charges of treason and financial misconduct against Touré.^[15]

On 8 April, Touré reemerged to announce his resignation in accordance with an agreement brokered by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to return Mali to constitutional rule,^[16] telling ECOWAS mediators, "More than anything, I do it out of the love I have for my country".^[17] On 19 April, Touré went into exile in neighboring Senegal.^[18]

Honours

•  Mali: Grand Master & Grand Cross of the National Order of Mali

Foreign honours

•  Austria: Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (2009) ^[19]
•  Luxembourg: Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau (11/2005) ^[20]
•  Monaco: Grand Cross of the Order of Saint-Charles (13 February 2012) ^[21]

See also

• Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-IV), 2008

References

1. "Malian President announces his candidacy for next elections", African Press Agency, 27 March 2007.
2. Mali Army' New York Times; 22 March 2012
3. Country profile: Mali
4. "1er tour de l'élection présidentielle au Mali : Verdict de la Cour Constitutionnelle", L'Essor, 9 May 2002 (French).
5. "Présidentielle au Mali: la Cour constitutionnelle valide la réélection de Touré", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), 12 May 2007 (French).
6. "Mali: l'opposition conteste la présidentielle sans attendre les résultats", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), 1 May 2007 (French).
7. Nick Tattersall, "Toure camp claims election win", Reuters (IOL), 1 May 2007.
8. "Re-elected Malian president sworn-in, 7 peers attend ceremony", African Press Agency, 8 June 2007.
9. Walet, Fadima. "ATT face à la presse : Anniversaire d’investiture, l’heure du bilan".
10. "Mali soldiers loot presidential palace after coup". BBC News. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
11. "Soldiers overthrow government in Mali". Associated Press. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
12. "France suspends co operation with Mali after coup topples Amadou Toumani Touré". RFI. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
13. Ahmed, Baba (22 March 2012). "Mali coup leader: Ex-president in 'good health'". The Associated Press. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
14. Ojeme, Victoria (22 March 2012). "FG orders Malian coupists to restore democracy immediately". Vanguard. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
15. "Mali's junta 'may charge' President Toure with treason". BBC News. 3 April 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
16. Associated Press (8 April 2012). "Mali's President, Ousted in Coup, Steps Down". New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
17. "Mali awaits next step after president, coup leader resign". The Daily Star. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
18. "Mali's ex-leader Amadou Toumani Toure flees to Senegal". BBC News. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
19. "Reply to a parliamentary question about the Decoration of Honour" (pdf) (in German). p. 1923. Retrieved November 2012.
20. Agency photo taken during the state visit (French) of Malian President Amadou Toumani Touré in Luxembourg in November 2005.
21. Nomination by Sovereign Ordonnance n°3668 of 13 February 2012 (French)