Mamadi Keïta (1933 – July 1985) was a leading Guinean politician and member of the

Politburo of the First Republic of Guinea The Cabinet of the First Republic of Guinea was the governing body of Guinea from independence on 28 September 1958 until the death of President Ahmed Sékou Touré on 26 March 1984, followed by a bloodless coup by Colonel Lansana Conté on 3 Apri ...

Early years

Mamadi Keïta was born in

Kankan Kankan ( Mandingo: Kánkàn; N’ko: ߞߊ߲ߞߊ߲߫) is the largest city in Guinea in land area, and the third largest in population, with a population of 1 980 130 people as of 2020. The city is located in eastern Guinea about east of ...

French Guinea French Guinea (french: Guinée française) was a French colonial possession in West Africa. Its borders, while changed over time, were in 1958 those of the current independent nation of Guinea. French Guinea was established by France in 1891, ...

in 1933. He went to

Paris, France 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 ...

for his higher education, where he studied philosophy. After becoming leader of the West African Student's Organization, he was expelled from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

in 1961. He earned a doctorate in philosophy from the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...

. Returning to Guinea, he became in turn professor, dean and president of the

University of Conakry Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry (in French ''L'Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry'', UGANC), is the largest university in Guinea and located in Dixinn Commune, Conakry, Guinea. The name is generally shortened to the University of ...

Political career

Mamadi Keïta was the half-brother of President

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 t ...

's wife, Andrée, which gained him admission to the inner circle of power in the Touré regime. He became a member of the Central Committee for ideological affairs of the

Democratic Party of Guinea Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. In January 1971 he was reported to have been a member of the firing squad that shot the former politician Ms.

Camara Loffo Loffo Camara ( 1925 – 25 January 1971) was a senior Guinean politician and a member of the Politburo of the First Republic of Guinea in the years immediately following independence. After falling out with the President Sékou Touré, she was d ...

. He assisted in the interrogation of

Diallo Telli Boubacar Diallo Telli (1925 – February 1977) was a Guinean diplomat and politician. He helped found the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and was the second secretary-general of the OAU between 1964 and 1972. After serving as Minister of Jus ...

, who was starved to death at

Camp Boiro Camp Boiro or Camp Mamadou Boiro (1960 – 1984) is a defunct Guinean concentration camp within Conakry city. During the regime of President Ahmed Sékou Touré, thousands of political opponents were imprisoned at the camp. It has been estimated t ...

in March 1977. In 1972, he was leader of the left-wing faction in the Politburo, and was engaged in a struggle with

Ismaël Touré Ismaël Touré (1925/1926 – 8 July 1985) was a Guinean political figure and the half brother of President Ahmed Sékou Touré. He was the chief prosecutor at the notorious Camp Boiro. Early career Ismaël Touré was born in Faranah, Guinea i ...

to be recognized as the next in line to succeed the president. At the 9th party congress that year, the right-center took control. Sékou Touré remained president and Lansana Beavogui was given the newly created title of prime minister. Ismaël Touré gained the powerful position of Minister of the Economy and Finance, while Mamadi Keïta was relegated to Minister of Culture and Education. His brother Seydou Keïta became ambassador to Western Europe. In the summer of 1974 he attended the Sixth

Pan-African Congress The Pan-African Congress was a series of eight meetings, held in 1919 in Paris (1st Pan-African Congress), 1921 in London, Brussels and Paris (2nd Pan-African Congress), 1923 in London (3rd Pan-African Congress), 1927 in New York City (4th Pan-Afr ...

in Dar es Salaam,

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, where he was chairman of the Political Committee, with

Marcelino dos Santos Marcelino dos Santos (20 May 1929 – 11 February 2020) was a Mozambican poet, revolutionary, and politician. As a young man he travelled to Portugal, and France for an education. He was a founding member of the ''Frente de Libertação de Mo� ...

FRELIMO FRELIMO (; from the Portuguese , ) is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It is the dominant party in Mozambique and has won a majority of the seats in the Assembly of the Republic in every election since the country's first ...

as vice-chairman. In October 1980, as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research he attended an executive board meeting of

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. I ...

, held in Belgrade, where he was appointed to the Special Committee for the triennium and the Committee on International Non-Governmental Organizations. In November 1982, he attended the first session of the executive council of

ISESCO The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO, formerly ISESCO) is a specialized organization that operates under the aegis of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and is concerned with fields of educatio ...

(Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in Rabat,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

. He was present at the third ISESCO session held in Casablanca in June 1983. In December 1983 he was elected a vice-chairman of the UNESCO executive board. After the political coup that followed the death of Sekou Toure, he was arrested on 3 April 1984. In July 1985 he was executed by

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

after the attempted coup led by

Diarra Traoré Diarra Traoré (1935 – 8 July 1985) was a Guinean soldier and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Guinea briefly in 1984 as a member of a junta led by Lansana Conté. In 1985, after Traoré attempted a coup d'état against President C ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keita, Mamadi Government ministers of Guinea 1933 births 1985 deaths People from Kankan Executed Guinean people 20th-century executions by Guinea University of Geneva alumni Academic staff of Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry Politicide perpetrators