Modibo Keïta (4 June 1915 – 16 May 1977) was the first

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, ...

(1960–1968) and the Prime Minister of the

Mali Federation The Mali Federation ( ar, اتحاد مالي) was a federation in West Africa linking the French colonies of Senegal and the Sudanese Republic (or French Sudan) for two months in 1960. It was founded on 4 April 1959 as a territory with self-ru ...

. He espoused a form of

African socialism African socialism or Afrosocialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a traditional African way, as distinct from classical socialism. Many African politicians of the 1950s and 1960s professed their support for African socialism, althou ...

Youth

Keïta was born in Bamako-Coura, a neighborhood of Bamako, which was at the time the capital of

French Sudan French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

. His family were Malian Muslims who claimed direct descent from the Keita dynasty, the founders of the medieval

Mali Empire The Mali Empire ( Manding: ''Mandé''Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', p. 57. University of California Press, 1997. or Manden; ar, مالي, Māl ...

. His nickname after primary schooling was Modo. He was educated in Bamako and at the école normale William-Ponty in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

, where he was top of his class. Beginning in 1936, he worked as a teacher in Bamako,

Sikasso Sikasso ( Bambara: ߛߌߞߊߛߏ tr. Sikaso) is a city in the south of Mali and the capital of the Sikasso Cercle and the Sikasso Region. It is Mali's second largest city with 225,753 residents in the 2009 census. History Sikasso was founded ...

and Tombouctou. He married Mariam Travélé, who was also a teacher, in September 1939.

Entering politics

Modibo Keïta was involved in various associations. In 1937, he was the coordinator of the art and theater group. Along with

Ouezzin Coulibaly Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly (1 July 1909 – 7 September 1958) was the president of the governing council of the French colony of Upper Volta, today's Burkina Faso, from 17 May 1957 until his death on 7 September 1958 in Paris. A native of Pouy, to ...

, he helped found the Union of French West African Teachers. Keïta joined the Communist Study Groups (GEC) cell in Bamako. In 1943, he founded the ''L'oeil de Kénédougou'', a magazine critical of colonial rule. This led to his imprisonment for three weeks in 1946 at the ''Prison de la Santé'' in Paris. In 1945 Keïta was a candidate for the Constituent Assembly of the

French Fourth Republic The French Fourth Republic (french: Quatrième république française) was the Republicanism, republican government of France from 27 October 1946 to 4 October 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of ...

, supported by GEC and the Sudanese Democratic Party. Later the same year, he and

Mamadou Konaté Mamadou Konate (1897 in Kati, Mali - May 11, 1956 in Bamako) was a politician from Mali who served in the French National Assembly from 1946-1956.Jean Clauzel La France d'outre-mer ( 1930 - 1960 ): Témoignages - 2003 Page 318 "Mamadou Konaté m ...

founded the ''Bloc soudanais'', which developed into the Sudanese Union.

Political life

In October 1946, the

African Democratic Rally African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

(RDA) was created at a conference in Bamako of delegates from across French Africa. While the coalition was led by

Félix Houphouët-Boigny Félix Houphouët-Boigny (; 18 October 1905 – 7 December 1993), affectionately called Papa Houphouët or Le Vieux ("The Old One"), was the first president of Ivory Coast, serving from 1960 until his death in 1993. A tribal chief, he wo ...

, Keïta assumed the post of RDA Secretary-General in

, and head of the Soudanese affiliate: the US-RDA. In 1948, he was elected general councilor of French Sudan. In 1956, he was elected mayor of Bamako and became a member of the

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...

. He twice served as secretary of state in the governments of

Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury Maurice Jean Marie Bourgès-Maunoury (; 19 August 1914 – 10 February 1993) was a French Radical politician who served as the Prime Minister in the Fourth Republic during 1957. Bourgès-Maunoury was born in Luisant, Eure-et-Loir. He is famo ...

and

Félix Gaillard Félix Gaillard d'Aimé (; 5 November 1919 – 10 July 1970) was a French Radical politician who served as Prime Minister under the Fourth Republic from 1957 to 1958. He was the youngest head of a French government since Napoleon. Career A ...

. Modibo Keïta became the premier of

in 1959. He was elected constituent assembly president of the

on 20 July 1960, which consisted of French Sudan and Senegal. Senegal would later leave the federation.

President of Mali

After the collapse of the federation, the US-RDA proclaimed the Sudanese Republic's complete independence as the Republic of Mali. Keïta became its first president, and soon afterward declared the US-RDA to be the only legal party. As a socialist, he led his country towards the progressive socialization of the economy; at first starting with agriculture and trade, then in October 1960 creating the SOMIEX (Malian Import and Export Company), which had a monopoly over the exports of the products of Mali, as well as manufactured and food imports (e.g.

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

powdered milk Powdered milk, also called milk powder, dried milk, or dry milk, is a manufactured dairy product made by evaporating milk to dryness. One purpose of drying milk is to preserve it; milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and do ...

) and their distribution inside the country. The establishment of the Malian franc in 1962, and the difficulties of provisioning, resulted in a severe inflation and dissatisfaction of the population, particularly the peasants and the businessmen. The authorities are also trying to introduce tough anti-slavery policies, which persist in some parts of the country despite the official ban. In June 1961, he paid a state visit to the United Kingdom, where Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

invested him as an honorary Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Saint Michael and Saint George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

. Although Keïta was initially viewed with some wariness by the United States because of his socialist views, he made it clear that he sought good relations with Washington. In September 1961, he travelled to America in the company of

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

and met with President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

. Keïta, afterward, felt that he had a friend in Kennedy. JFKWHP-KN-C18793 (cropped)

On the political level, Modibo Keïta quickly imprisoned opponents like Fily Dabo Sissoko. The first post-independence elections, in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, saw a single list of 80 US-RDA candidates returned to the National Assembly, and Keïta was duly reelected to another term as president by the legislature. From 1967, he started the "revolution active" and suspended the constitution by creating the National Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CNDR). The exactions of the "milice populaire" (the US-RDA militia) and the devaluation of the Malian franc in 1967 brought general unrest. On 19 November 1968, General

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 ...

overthrew Modibo Keïta in a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

, and sent him to prison in the northern Malian town of

Kidal Kidal ( Tuareg Berber: ⴾⴸⵍ, KDL, Kidal) is a town and commune in the desert region of northern Mali. The town lies northeast of Gao and is the capital of the Kidal Cercle and the Kidal Region. The commune has an area of about and includes ...

. After being transferred back to the capital Bamako in February 1977 in what was claimed to be an action by the government towards national reconciliation in preparation for his release, Modibo Keïta died, still a prisoner, on May 16, 1977. His reputation was rehabilitated in 1992 following the overthrow of Moussa Traoré and subsequent elections of 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 ...

. A monument to Modibo Keïta was dedicated in Bamako on June 6, 1999.

As a Pan-Africanist

Modibo Keïta devoted his entire life to African unity. He first played a part in the creation of the Federation of Mali with

Léopold Sédar Senghor Léopold Sédar Senghor (; ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who was the first president of Senegal (1960–80). Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician o ...

. After its collapse, he moved away from Léopold Sédar Senghor, but with

Sékou Touré Sekou, also spelled Sékou or Seku, is a given name from the Fula language. It is equivalent to the Arabic ''Sheikh''. People with this name include: Given name * Seku Amadu (1776–1845), also known as Sékou Amadou or Sheikh Amadu, founder of th ...

, the president of Guinea, and

Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...

, the President of Ghana, he formed the Union of the States of Western Africa. In 1963, he played an important role in drafting the charter of the

Organization of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

(OAU). In 1963, he invited the king of Morocco and the president of Algeria to Bamako, in the hope of ending the

Sand War The Sand War or the Sands War () was a border conflict between Algeria and Morocco in October 1963. It resulted largely from the Moroccan government's claim to portions of Algeria's Tindouf and Béchar provinces. The Sand War led to heighten ...

, a frontier conflict between the two nations. Along with

Emperor Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

of Ethiopia, Keïta was successful in negotiating the Bamako Accords, which brought an end to the conflict. As a result, he won the

Lenin Peace Prize The International Lenin Peace Prize (russian: международная Ленинская премия мира, ''mezhdunarodnaya Leninskaya premiya mira)'' was a Soviet Union award named in honor of Vladimir Lenin. It was awarded by a pane ...

that year. From 1963 to 1966, he normalized relations with the countries of Senegal, Upper Volta and Côte d'Ivoire. An advocate of the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath o ...

, Modibo defended the nationalist movements like the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN).

In literature

Malian author

Massa Makan Diabaté Massa Makan Diabaté (June 12, 1938 – January 27, 1988) was a Malian historian, author, and playwright. Biography Born in 1938 in Kita, Massa Makan Diabaté was the descendant of a long line of West African poets (griots). His uncle, Kélé ...

satirizes Keïta's presidency in his 1979 novel '' Le boucher de Kouta'' (''The Butcher of Kouta''), which features a socialist, dictatorial president named "Bagabaga Daba" (literally, "ant with a big mouth"), who is later removed by a military coup.Sangare, Mamadou. ''L'histoire et le roman dans la trilogie Kouta de Massa Makan Diabate.'' Paris: Septentrion, 1999, p. 128.

Notes

References

* Portions of this article were translated from the French-language Wikipedia article :fr:Modibo Keïta.
memorialmodibokeita.org: Biographie

"Modibo Keita." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2008
Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 6 October 2008.
The Big Read : Modibo Keïta: A devoted pan-africanist
''The Daily Observer'' (Gambia), Friday, 4 September 2008. *Francis G. Snyder. "The Political Thought of Modibo Keita". ''The Journal of Modern African Studies'', Vol. 5, No. 1 (May 1967), pp. 79–106 *John N. Hazard. "Mali's Socialism and the Soviet Legal Model". ''The Yale Law Journal'', Vol. 77, No. 1 (November 1967), pp. 28–69
Modibo Keita (1915 - 1977)
The Presidency of South Africa (2006). *A N'fa Diallo
Mali, 48 ans après : Socialisme, dictature, révolte et révolution
''Le National'' (Bamako), 16 September 2008.
22 septembre : Le souvenir d’un grand jour
Hady Barry, ''Nouvel Horizon'' (Bamako), 19 September 2008. *Abdrahamane Dicko
"De l’Union française à l’indépendance : Que de chemins parcourus !"
'' Les Echos'' (Bamako), 19 September 2008
Modibo Kéita: MALI
Francis Kpatindé, ''

Jeune Afrique ''Jeune Afrique'' (English: ''Young Africa'') is a French-language pan-African weekly news magazine, founded in 1960 in Tunis and subsequently published in Paris. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It is also a book publisher, unde ...

'', 25 April 2000. *Rosa De Jorio,
"Narratives of the Nation and Democracy in Mali. A View from Modibo Keita’s Memorial"
'' Cahiers d'études africaines'', 172, 2003.
page on the French National Assembly website

External links

modibokeita.free.fr: Site devoted to Modibo Keita : portrait, discussion, photos, and videos.Article du journal Le Flambeau
Bamako, Mali.(Organe de la Jeunesse Union Africaine - Mali): Modibo Keita "Notre liberté serait un mot vide de sens si nous devions toujours dépendre financièrement de tel ou tel pays". {{DEFAULTSORT:Keita, Modibo 1915 births 1977 deaths People from Bamako People of French West Africa

Modibo 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 ...

Malian Muslims Sudanese Union – African Democratic Rally politicians Presidents of Mali Prime Ministers of Mali Foreign Ministers of Mali Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic African socialism Malian pan-Africanists Leaders ousted by a coup Malian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Mali Lenin Peace Prize recipients Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo Heads of government who were later imprisoned Muslim socialists