Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta

:"For Malian footballer, See Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (footballer)".Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (born January 29 1945) is a Malian politician. He was Prime Minister of Mali from 1994 to 2000 and President of the National Assembly of Mali from 2002 [http://www.assemblee-nationale.insti.ml/orga_int/president/cv_prdt.htm National Assembly page for Keïta] .] [http://www.bamanet.net/actualite/news/3026.html Candidate profile] , Bamanet.net, April 20, 2007 fr icon.] to 2007. [http://www.essor.gov.ml/jour/cgi-bin/view_article.pl?id=16528 "L'EFFET "IBK""] , "L'Essor", n°16026, September 4, 2007 fr icon.] He is currently the President of the Rally for Mali political party. [ [http://www.rpm.org.ml/mes_photos/BPN-RPM%202007.pdf National Political Bureau of the RPM] fr icon.]

Keïta was born in Koutiala, Mali. He studied at the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly in Paris and Lycée Askia-Mohamed in Bamako, continuing his education at the University of Dakar, the and the "Institut d'Histoire des Relations Internationales Contemporaines" (IHRIC; "Institute of the Modern History of International Relations"). He has a Master's degree in History and an additional graduate degree in Political Science and International Relations.

After his studies, he was a researcher at the CNRS and taught courses on Third World politics at the . Returning to Mali, he became a technical consultant for the European Development Fund, putting together the first small-scale development program for the European Union's aid activities in Mali. He went on to become Mali director for the French chapter of Terre des Hommes, an international NGO aiding children in the developing world.

Upon the founding of the Alliance for Democracy in Mali (ADEMA-PASJ), Keïta became its Secretary for African and International Relations at its constitutive congress, held on May 25–26, 1991. [ [http://www.adema-pasj.org/index.php?milieu=5&detail=comite_mai_1991 "Membres du conseil exécutif de l'Adéma-PASJ élus au congrès constitutif du 25 et 26 Mai 1991."] , ADEMA website fr icon.] He was the deputy director of ADEMA candidate Alpha Oumar Konaré's successful presidential campaign in 1992. The new president named him as his senior diplomatic adviser and spokesman in June 1992, and then in November of the same year appointed him ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Burkina Faso and Niger.

In November 1993, he became the Malian Minister of External Affairs, Malians Abroad, and African Integration. On February 4 1994, President Konaré named him Prime Minister, a position he held until February 2000. At ADEMA's first ordinary congress, held in September 1994, Keïta was elected as the President of the party. [ [http://www.adema-pasj.org/index.php?milieu=5&detail=comite_sept_1994 "Membres du conseil exécutif de l'Adéma-PASJ élus au premier congrès ordinaire de Septembre 1994."] , ADEMA website fr icon.] Following presidential and parliamentary elections held in 1997, he resigned from his post as Prime Minister on September 13 1997 ["Mali: Prime Minister Keita resigns", Radio France Internationale (nl.newsbank.com), September 14, 1997.] and was reappointed by Konaré, with a new government appointed on September 16. ["Mali: President Konare forms new cabinet", RTM radio, Bamako (nl.newsbank.com), September 17, 1997.]

He was re-elected as ADEMA President in October 1999, [ [http://www.adema-pasj.org/index.php?milieu=5&detail=comite_1999_2000 "DIRECTION NATIONALE: Comité exécutif 1999 - 2000"] , ADEMA website fr icon.] and in November 1999, he was named Vice-President of the Socialist International.

Disagreements within ADEMA forced him to resign as Prime Minister on February 14 2000, and then from the leadership of the party in October 2000. He then founded his own party, the Rally for Mali (RPM), which he has led since its creation, announced on June 30 2001. [ [http://www.afrique-express.com/archive/OUEST/mali/malipartis/231creationrpm.htm "L'ancien Premier ministre, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, crée son parti"] , "Afrique Express", No. 231, July 2, 2001 fr icon.] He stood as a candidate in the 2002 presidential election, receiving the strong backing of many Muslim leaders and associations. Despite this support, some people doubted that Keïta's policies were particularly compatible with Islam, pointing to the creation of casinos and lotteries while he was Prime Minister. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1953128.stm "Mali's Muslim leaders back ex-premier"] , BBC News, April 26, 2002.] In the first round of the election, held on April 28, he received about 21% of the vote and took third place, behind Amadou Toumani Touré and Soumaïla Cissé. [http://www.essor.gov.ml/cgi-bin/view_article.pl?id=1652 "1er tour de l'élection présidentielle au Mali : Verdict de la Cour Constitutionnelle"] , "L'Essor", May 9, 2002 fr icon.] He denounced the election as fraudulent, alleging that he was deliberately and falsely excluded from the second round, and along with other candidates sought for the results to be invalidated. [Joan Baxter, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1971576.stm "Mali court reviews 'vote-rigging'"] , BBC News, May 7, 2002.] [ [http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=31806 "MALI: Malians await court's decision"] , IRIN, May 7, 2002.] On May 9 the Constitutional Court ruled that the second round should proceed with Touré and Cissé as the top two candidates, despite acknowledging significant irregularities and disqualifying a quarter of the votes because of the irregularities. [http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=31871 "MALI: Constitutional Court affirms second round"] , IRIN, May 10, 2002.] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1979369.stm "Mali's opposition backs general"] , BBC News, May 10, 2002.] According to the Constitutional Court, Keïta won 21.03% of the vote, only about 4,000 votes less than Cissé. On the same day, Keïta announced the support of his Espoir 2002 alliance for Touré in the second round; regarding the Court's ruling, he described himself as "a law-abiding person" and said that the Court had followed the law. The second round was won by Touré. [http://www.koulouba.pr.ml/article.php3?id_article=795 2002 timeline] on the official site of the Malian presidency.]

In the July 2002 parliamentary election, Keïta was elected to a seat in the National Assembly from Commune IV in Bamako District [http://www.jeuneafrique.com/fluxafp/fil_info.asp?reg_id=0&art_cle=37828 "Législatives au Mali: la mouvance présidentielle en tête au 1er tour"] , AFP ("Jeuneafrique.com"), July 6, 2007 fr icon.] in the first round. He was then elected President of the National Assembly on September 16, 2002,Francis Kpatindé, [http://www.jeuneafrique.com/jeune_afrique/article_jeune_afrique.asp?art_cle=LIN07102retouatiekr0 "Retour triomphal pour Ibrahim Boubacar Keita"] , "Jeuneafrique.com", October 7, 2002 fr icon.] [http://www.afrique-express.com/archive/OUEST/mali/malipol/257demissiongouvernement.htm "Démission du gouvernement, Ahmed Mohamed Ag Hamani reconduit au poste de premier ministre"] , "Afrique Express", N° 257, October 17, 2002 fr icon.] receiving broad support, including the backing of ADEMA. He received 115 votes from the 138 participating deputies; the only other candidate, Noumoutié Sogoba of African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence (SADI), received eight votes, while 15 deputies abstained.

Keïta was also elected President of the Executive Committee of the African Parliamentary Union on October 24 2002 at its Khartoum Conference.

He ran for president again, as the candidate of the Rally for Mali party in the April 2007 election, having been designated as the party's candidate on January 28 2007. [ [http://www.apanews.net/article.php3?id_article=19935 "IBK investi par son parti candidat à l’élection présidentielle prochaine au Mali"] , African Press Agency, January 28, 2007 fr icon.] Touré won the election by a landslide, while Keita took second place and 19.15% of the vote. [ [http://www.jeuneafrique.com/fluxafp/fil_info.asp?art_cle=36776 "Présidentielle au Mali: la Cour constitutionnelle valide la réélection de Touré"] , AFP ("Jeuneafrique.com"), May 12, 2007 fr icon.] As part of the Front for Democracy and the Republic (FDR), a coalition that included Keita as well as three other presidential candidates, Keita disputed the results and sought for the election to be annulled, alleging fraud. [ [http://www.jeuneafrique.com/fluxafp/fil_info.asp?art_cle=36597 "Mali: l'opposition conteste la présidentielle sans attendre les résultats"] , AFP ("Jeuneafrique.com"), May 1, 2007 fr icon.] On May 19, he said that the FDR would abide by the decision of the Constitutional Court to confirm Touré's victory. [ [http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20070520215240812C984842 "Mali opposition concedes Toure's re-election"] , Reuters ("IOL"), May 21, 2007.]

In the July 2007 parliamentary election, Keïta ran for re-election to the National Assembly from Commune IV in Bamako, where 17 lists competed for the two available seats, [B. S. Diarra, [http://www.lemali.fr/politique/actualites_politiques_au_mali/faut-il_abattre_ibk_?_200706184957.html "Faut-il abattre IBK ?"] , "Aurore" (lemali.fr), June 18, 2007 fr icon.] on an RPM list together with Abdramane Sylla. [http://www.essor.gov.ml/jour/cgi-bin/view_article.pl?id=16125 "Commune IV : DUEL SINGULIER"] , "L'Essor", July 19, 2007 fr icon.] Keïta's list received 31.52% of the vote in the first round, held on July 1, slightly ahead of the list of independent candidate Moussa Mara, which received 30.70%. In the second round on July 22, Keïta's list narrowly prevailed, winning 51.59% of the vote according to provisional results. [M. Kéita, [http://www.essor.gov.ml/jour/cgi-bin/view_article.pl?id=16169 "2è tour des législatives à Bamako : AVANTAGE À L'ADEMA ET AU CNID"] , "L'Essor", n°15996, July 24, 2007 fr icon.] He was not a candidate for re-election as President of the National Assembly at the opening of the new National Assembly on September 3; the position was won by ADEMA President Dioncounda Traoré. [ [http://www.jeuneafrique.com/fluxafp/fil_info.asp?art_cle=38997 "Mali: Dioncounda Traoré élu président de l'Assemblée nationale"] , AFP ("Jeuneafrique.com"), September 3, 2007 fr icon.]

Keïta is a member of the Pan-African Parliament from Mali . [ [http://www.pan-africanparliament.org/AboutPAP_PAPMemberCountries.aspx List of members of the Pan-African Parliament] .] As of 2007–2008, he is a member of the Commission of Foreign Affairs, Malians Living Abroad, and African Integration in the National Assembly. [ [http://www.assemblee-nationale.insti.ml/List_dep/comm_ae.html "Liste des députés membres de la commission Affaires Etrangères-Maliens de l'extérieur et Intégration Africaine"] , National Assembly website fr icon.] In addition to serving in the National Assembly, Tall is currently a member of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States. [ [http://www.assemblee-nationale.insti.ml/List_dep/list_cedeao.htm "Liste des députés Membres du Parlement de la CEDEAO"] , National Assembly website fr icon.]

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