Bah Ndaw (also spelled N'Daw, N'Dah, and N'Daou; born 23 August 1950) is a Malian retired

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 (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

and politician who served as the

president of Mali This is a list of Head of state, 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). Additionall ...

between 25 September 2020 and 24 May 2021 when he was overthrown during the

2021 Malian coup d'état On the night of 24 May 2021, 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 head of the junta that led the 20 ...

. Between May 2014 and January 2015 he was

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

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. The town lies south of the Bani River. In the 2009 census the commune had a population of 68,078. History The area of San w ...

. He joined the

Malian Armed Forces The Malian Armed Forces (, FAMa) consists of the Army (), Republic of Mali Air Force (), and National Guard. They number some 7,000 and are under the control of the Minister of Armed Forces and Veterans. The Library of Congress as of January 200 ...

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 Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in A ...

the same year. In 1974 he was sent to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

to receive helicopter training.

Military and political career

In 1977, Ndaw became a member of the

Malian Air Force The Mali Air Force (), established in 1961, serves as the primary aerial warfare branch of Mali's armed forces. The force was initially created with the assistance of the French military, which provided training and equipment to establish the air ...

. 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 military officer, politician, and dictator who served as the second President of Mali from 1968 to 1991. As a lieutenant, he led the military ousting of President Modibo Ke� ...

. 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, professor, historian and archaeologist, 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 ...

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 or Ecole 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 * Éco ...

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 supportin ...

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 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 cou ...

. 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 Moodibbo is a given name in some Fulɓe or Fulani regions. 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 grand parents. Notable people with the given name ...

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 Général d’Armée Assimi Goïta (born 9 November 1983) is a Malian Officer (armed forces), military officer who has served as interim President of Mali since 2021 and the president of the Alliance of Sahel States since 2024. Goïta was the le ...

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, and subsequently undertook a coup d'état. Soldiers on pick-up trucks stormed the Soundiata military base in the town of Kati, where gunfire was exchanged before weapons w ...

. A spokesperson for political-religious leader

Mahmoud Dicko Mahmoud Dicko (; 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-religious leader considered ...

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 2020. Both the president and prime ...

, also signalled support. Ndaw was inaugurated on 25 September. Upon becoming president, he refused to grant his wife the title of First Lady to prevent family members from being involved in public affairs. 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 who has served as the governor of the Central Bank of West African States since 3 July 2022. He was the president of the Economic Community of West African States Commiss ...

, the President of

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as CEDEAO in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of twelve countries of West Africa. Collectively, the present and former members comprise an area ...

(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 previous ...

as Prime Minister. While he was president tensions were high between his government and the military since the handover of power in September. This led to rebel soldiers arresting Keïta and Cissé at gunpoint. The opposition M5 movement, which had spearheaded the

against Keïta, publicly called for the interim government to be dissolved and replaced with a "more legitimate" one. On 14 May, the government announced plans for a new, "broad-based" cabinet. On 24 May 2021, Ndaw and Ouane were detained by the military and taken to Kati military base nearby Malian capital

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

. The next day, the UN Secretary-General

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

called for their immediate release. On 26 May, Ndaw announced his resignation.

Post-presidency (2021-present)

On 27 August 2021, Ndaw was released from house arrest. An international committee, which included representatives of ECOWAS and the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

, had pushed for the authorities to release Ndaw and Ouane from house arrest, and welcomed the decision to do so in a statement.

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 ...

. Ndaw is a recipient of the Medal of Military Merit as well as the Medal of National Merit.

References