Cheick Modibo Diarra (born 1952) is a

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

an astrophysicist, businessman, and politician who was acting Prime Minister of Mali from April 2012 to December 2012. On 11 December 2012, Diarra presented his resignation on state television in a broadcast at 4 a.m. local time, hours after soldiers who led the 2012 Malian coup d'état arrested him at his home in

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the 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 the Niger Rive ...

Life and career

Diarra was born in

Nioro du Sahel Nioro du Sahel, often referred to as simply Nioro, is a town and urban commune in the Kayes Region of western Mali, 241 km from the city of Kayes. It is located 275 miles (by road) north-west of the Malian capital Bamako. As of 1998, the co ...

, Mali. He is a Bambara and the son-in-law of former 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 ...

. After graduating high school in Mali, Cheick Modibo Diarra studied mathematics,

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

, and analytic mechanics in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

at the University of Pierre and Marie Curie. He then received a Masters in aerospace engineering and a PhD in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

, both from

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He was recruited by

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...

, a NASA Federally Funded Research and Development Center ( FFRDC) operated under contract by the California Institute of Technology, where he played a role in several

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

programs, including the

Magellan probe The ''Magellan'' spacecraft was a robotic space probe launched by NASA of the United States, on May 4, 1989, to map the surface of Venus by using synthetic-aperture radar and to measure the planetary gravitational field. The ''Magellan'' p ...

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

, the Ulysses probe to the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

, the Galileo spacecraft to

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...

, and the

Mars Observer The ''Mars Observer'' spacecraft, also known as the ''Mars Geoscience/Climatology Orbiter'', was a robotic space probe launched by NASA on September 25, 1992, to study the Martian surface, atmosphere, climate and magnetic field. During the int ...

and

Mars Pathfinder ''Mars Pathfinder'' (''MESUR Pathfinder'') is an American robotic spacecraft that landed a base station with a roving probe on Mars in 1997. It consisted of a lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a lightweight, wheeled robot ...

. He later became the director of education and public outreach for NASA's Mars Exploration program. Dr. Diarra also served as an executive for the Microsoft Corporation. He also obtained American citizenship. In 1999, he obtained permission from NASA to work part-time in order to devote himself to education development in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, founding the Pathfinder Foundation. He took a further sabbatical in 2002 to found a laboratory in

, Mali for the development of solar energy. In 2000 and 2001 he also served as a goodwill ambassador for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. In 2002 and 2003 he served as CEO of the

African Virtual University The African Virtual University (AVU) is a pan-African effort to create an open and affordable distance learning institution to serve the African continent. The AVU began in 1997 as a project of the World Bank and later developed into an autonomous i ...

, based in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. Cheick Modibo Diarra was the chairman of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

from 2006 until the end of 2011. Turning to Malian politics, he founded the Rally for the Development of Mali, a political party, in March 2011, and he intended to stand as a candidate in the 2012 presidential election.

Acting Prime Minister

Cheick Modibo Diarra was appointed interim Prime Minister of Mali on 17 April 2012 to help restore civilian rule after the March 2012 ''coup d'état''. His government, composed of 24 members, was appointed on 25 April 2012. Three of the most important posts—the ministries for defense, internal security, and territorial administration—were assigned to officers associated with the military junta that seized power in March and retained an important role even after formally returning power to civilians. Otherwise, the government was composed of technocrats rather than political figures. On 11 December 2012, soldiers reportedly sent by coup leader Captain

Amadou Sanogo Amadou Haya Sanogo (born 1972 or 1973) is a Malian military officer who was leader of the 2012 Malian coup d'état against President Amadou Toumani Touré. He proclaimed himself the leader of the National Committee for Recovering Democracy and Res ...

arrested Diarra as he prepared to leave the country for a medical check-up in France. Shortly after his arrest, Diarra appeared on state television and announced his resignation and that of his government. On 1 December 2013, ALN, an alliance of independent top tier African law firms, announced the appointment of Diarra as its Chairman. Diarra succeeded John Miles, the CEO of J Miles & Co.

References

External links

Pathfinder Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diarra, Cheick Modibo 1952 births Living people Malian Muslims Howard University alumni Malian astronomers Malian astrophysicists Malian prisoners and detainees Malian scientists Prime Ministers of Mali University of Paris alumni People from Kayes Region UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors Malian expatriates in France 21st-century Malian people