Bah Ndaw (also spelled N'Daw, N'Dah, and N'Daou; born 23 August 1950) is a Malian
military officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
and politician who served as the
president of Mali
This is a list of heads of state of Mali since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day.
A total of seven people have served as head of state of Mali (excluding three acting presidents). Additionally, two people, ...
between 25 September 2020 and 24 May 2021 when he was overthrown during the
2021 Malian coup d'état
The 2021 Malian coup d'état began on the night of 24 May 2021 when the Malian Army led by Vice President Assimi Goïta captured President Bah N'daw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and Minister of Defence Souleymane Doucouré. Assimi Goïta, the ...
. Between May 2014 and January 2015 he was
Minister of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
.
Early life and education
Ndaw was born on 23 August 1950 in
San, Mali
San ( Bambara: ߛߊߣ tr. San) is an urban commune, town and capital of the Cercle of San in the Ségou Region of Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Ren ...
.
He joined the
Malian Armed Forces
The Malian Armed Forces (french: links=no, Forces Armées Maliennes) consists of the Army (french: Armée de Terre, links=no), Republic of Mali Air Force (french: Force Aérienne de la Republique du Mali, links=no), and National Guard (french: G ...
as a volunteer in 1973 and graduated from the
Joint Military School (EMIA) in
Koulikoro
Koulikoro ( Bambara: ߞߎߟߌߞߏߙߏ tr. Kulikoro) is a town and urban commune in Mali. The capital of the Koulikoro Region, Koulikoro is located on banks of the Niger River, downstream from Mali's capital Bamako.
Koulikoro is the terminus of ...
the same year. In 1974 he was sent to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
to receive helicopter training.
Military and political career
In 1977, Ndaw became part of the
Malian Air Force
The Mali Air Force is the air force of Mali.
History
The Mali Air Force (french: Armée de l'air du Mali) was founded in 1961 with French-supplied military aid. This included MH.1521 Broussard utility monoplane followed by two C-47 transports ...
.
At one point Ndaw served as an aide-de-camp to Malian President
Moussa Traoré
Moussa Traoré (25 September 1936 – 15 September 2020) was a Malian soldier, politician, and dictator who was President of Mali from 1968 to 1991. As a Lieutenant, he led the military ousting of President Modibo Keïta in 1968. Thereafter he ...
.
He resigned from this position in 1990 in protest of interference by Traoré's wife with government affairs.
Under President
Alpha Oumar Konaré
Alpha Oumar Konaré (born 2 February 1946) is a Malian politician, who served as President of Mali for two five-year terms from 1992 to 2002 and was Chairperson of the African Union Commission from 2003 to 2008.
Scholarly career
Alpha Oumar Ko ...
Ndaw served as deputy chief of staff of the Malian Air Force between 1992 and 2002.
In 1994 he graduated from the
École de guerre
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Sav ...
in Paris, France.
In 2003 Ndaw became
chief of staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
of the Malian Air Force.
During his career he also served as deputy chief of staff of the Malian National Guard.
From 2008 until his retirement in 2012 he was head of the Bureau for veterans' affairs and war victims.
He retired with the rank of Colonel-major.
On 28 May 2014 Ndaw succeeded
Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga
Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga (; 8 June 1954 – 21 March 2022) was a Malian politician who was the Prime Minister of Mali between 30 December 2017 and 18 April 2019. The leader of the Alliance for Solidarity in Mali, he had previously served in the ...
as Minister of Defense under President
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
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 co ...
.
During his time in office he signed a defense agreement with France. He also worked on a reorganization of the Malian Armed Forces.[ When Prime Minister ]Modibo Keita Modibo or more correctlyMoodibbo in Fula or Fulfulde Orthography is a given name in some Fulɓe or Fulani regions, while in some regions it's used as a form of respect which means a learned scholar. Others are named moodibbo after one's parents or g ...
took over from Moussa Mara
Moussa Mara (born 2 March 1975 in Bamako) is a Malian politician who was Prime Minister of Mali from 2014 to 2015. Previously he served in the government as Minister of Town Planning, and he was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2013 presidential ...
in January 2015 Ndaw left office, supposedly for disagreeing with some conditions regarding the integration of deserting former combatants stipulated by the .[
]
Transitional interim president
On 21 September 2020, after the coup d'état a few weeks before, Ndaw was named president by a group of 17 electors. Assimi Goïta
Colonel Assimi Goïta (born 1983) is a Malian military officer who has been interim President of Mali since 28 May 2021. Goïta was the leader of the , a military junta that seized power from former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in the 202 ...
was appointed vice president. Their interim government was scheduled to preside over a period of 18 months after the 2020 Malian coup d'état
On 18 August 2020, elements of the Malian Armed Forces began a mutiny. Soldiers on pick-up trucks stormed the Soundiata military base in the town of Kati, where gunfire was exchanged before weapons were distributed from the armory and senior of ...
. A spokesperson for political-religious leader Mahmoud Dicko
Mahmoud Dicko ( ar, محمود ديكو; born around 1954) is a Malian Salafi imam from the Tombouctou Region who chaired the High Islamic Council of Mali (''Haut Conseil islamique malien'', HCIM) from January 2008 to April 2019.
A politico-reli ...
praised his nomination as president.[ Leaders of the M5-RFP, active since the ]2020 Malian protests
Protests in Mali began on 5 June 2020 when protesters gathered in the streets of Bamako, calling for Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta to resign as president of Mali. The protests ended after a coup d'état on 18 August. Both the president and prime mini ...
, also signalled support.[ Ndaw was inaugurated on 25 September.]
After officially assuming office Ndaw stated he would fight against corruption, electoral fraud and to respect previously made international agreements.[ He also indicated that he would continue the fight against terrorist forces and prevent abuse of civilians by the Malian armed forces.] Following Ndaw's inauguration, Jean-Claude Brou
Jean-Claude Kassi Brou (born 1953) is an Ivorian politician and economist. He has been President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission since March 2018. He previously served as Minister of Industry and Mines of Ivory Coast ...
, the President of Economic Community of West African States
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political union, political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an ...
(ECOWAS) Commission, stated that ECOWAS would only lift the embargo against Mali if a civilian Prime Minister was appointed by Ndaw.[ On 27 September Ndaw named ]Moctar Ouane
Moctar Ouane (born 11 October 1955) is a Malian diplomat and politician who served as the acting Prime Minister of Mali from 27 September 2020 to 24 May 2021, between the 2020 Malian coup d'état and the 2021 Malian coup d'état. He also previou ...
as Prime Minister.
On 24 May 2021, Ndaw and Ouane were detained by the military and taken to Kati military base nearby Malian capital Bamako
Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on t ...
. The next day, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Socia ...
called for their immediate release. On 26 May, Ndaw announced his resignation.
On 27 August 2021, Ndaw was released from house arrest.
Awards and honors
He is an officer of the National Order of Mali
The National Order of Mali is the highest of honorific orders of Mali.
History
The National Order of Mali was founded on 31 May 1963 to celebrate the independence of the country acquired in 1960 after decades of French colonisation.
As such, ...
.[ Ndaw is a recipient of the Medal of Military Merit as well as the Medal of National Merit.][
]
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ndaw, Bah
1950 births
Defense ministers of Mali
Living people
Malian military personnel
Officers of the National Order of Mali
People from Ségou Region
Presidents of Mali
21st-century Malian people