View source for Modibo Keïta

{{Short description|First President of Mali from 1960 to 1968}}
{{For|the Malian politician born in 1942|Modibo Keita (born 1942)}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Modibo Keïta
| nationality         = 
| image               = File:Keita, 1966 (cropped).jpg
| image_size          = 200px
| caption             = Keïta in 1966
| order               = 1st [[President of Mali]]
| term_start          = 20 June 1960
| term_end            = 19 November 1968
| predecessor         = ''Office established''
| successor           = [[Moussa Traoré]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1915|06|04|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Bamako|Bamako Coura]], [[Upper Senegal and Niger]]
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1977|05|16|1915|06|04|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Bamako]], [[Mali]]
| spouse              = Polygamous with 3 wives
{{plainlist|
*{{marriage|[[Mariam Travélé]]|1939}}
*{{marriage|Fatoumata "Didi" Haïdara|1952|1976|reason=died}}
*Fatoumata Diallo later known as Keïta Fatoumata Diallo
}}
| party               = [[Sudanese Union-African Democratic Rally]]
| vicepresident       = 
| office1             = President of [[Mali Federation]]
| termstart1          = 17 January 1960
| termend1            = 20 August 1960
| predecessor1        = Office Established
| successor1          = Office abolished
| citizenship         = France (1915–1960)<br />Mali (1960–1977)
}}

'''Modibo Keïta''' (4 June 1915 – 16 May 1977) was a Malian politician who served as the first [[President of Mali]] from 1960 to 1968. He espoused a form of [[African socialism]]. He was deposed in a [[1968 Malian coup d'état|coup d'état]] in 1968 by [[Moussa Traoré]].

Born and raised in [[Bamako]], Keïta began a career as a teacher in 1936 under [[French Sudan|French colonial rule]] before entering politics during the 1940s. In 1945, he co-founded the [[Sudanese Union]] (US) with [[Mamadou Konaté]] which became part of the [[African Democratic Rally]] (RDA) the following year to form the [[US-RDA]]. Being elected to several positions, his political prominence grew in the 1950s, and in 1959, he became Prime Minister of the [[Mali Federation]], a short-lived federation of [[Mali]] and [[Senegal]]. Following the federation's collapse in 1960, [[Mali]] became an independent state, and Keïta became the new country's inaugural [[President of Mali|president]].

As [[President of Mali|President]], Keïta soon established the [[Sudanese Union – African Democratic Rally|US-RDA]] as the [[One-party state|only official party]], and began implementing socialist policies based on extensive nationalization. In foreign affairs, Keïta supported the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] and maintained strong relations with the West despite his socialist leanings. A leading Pan-Africanist, he played important roles in the drafting of the charter of the [[Organization of African Unity]] and the negotiation the 1963 Bamako Accords, which ended the [[Sand War]] between [[Morocco]] and [[Algeria]].

During the late 1960s, dissatisfaction with his regime grew due to progressive economic decline and his repressive responses to dissent. He was overthrown in the [[1968 Malian coup d'état]] by [[Moussa Traoré]], who succeeded him as president and sent him to prison, where he died in 1977.

==Youth==

{{See also|Keita dynasty}}

Keïta was born in [[Bamako|Bamako-Coura]], a neighborhood of Bamako, which was at the time the capital of [[French Sudan]]. His family were Malian Muslims who claimed direct descent from the Keita dynasty, the founders of the medieval [[Mali Empire]]. His nickname after primary schooling was Modo. He was educated in Bamako and at the [[École normale supérieure William Ponty|école normale William-Ponty]] in [[Dakar]], where he was top of his class. Beginning in 1936, he worked as a teacher in Bamako, [[Sikasso]] and [[Timbuktu|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 [[Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly|Ouezzin Coulibaly]], 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]], supported by GEC and the [[Sudanese Democratic Party]]. Later the same year, he and [[Mamadou Konaté]] founded the ''Bloc soudanais'', which developed into the [[Sudanese Union]].

==Political life==

In October 1946, the [[African Democratic Rally]] (RDA)  was created at a conference in Bamako of delegates from across French Africa. While the coalition was led by [[Félix Houphouët-Boigny]], Keïta assumed the post of RDA Secretary-General in [[French Sudan]], 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]]. He twice served as secretary of state in the governments of [[Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury]] and [[Félix Gaillard]]. Modibo Keïta became the premier of [[Mali Federation]] in 1959.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/158851|jstor = 158851|title = Political Integration in Africa: The Mali Federation|last1 = Kurtz|first1 = Donn M.|journal = The Journal of Modern African Studies|year = 1970|volume = 8|issue = 3|pages = 405–424|doi = 10.1017/S0022278X00019923| s2cid=154671339 |url-access = subscription}}</ref> He was elected constituent assembly president of the [[Mali Federation]] on 20 July 1960, which consisted of French Sudan and Senegal. Senegal would later leave the federation.he was exceptional president .

==President of Mali==

{{one source|section|date=January 2017}}
[[File:Keita 001.jpg|thumb|1960s commemorative wraps with Keïta's portrait]]

After the collapse of the [[Mali Federation]], the [[Sudanese Union – African Democratic Rally|US-RDA]] proclaimed the [[French Sudan|Sudanese Republic]]'s complete independence as the [[Mali|Republic of Mali]]. Keïta became its first [[President of Mali|president]], and soon afterward declared the [[Sudanese Union – African Democratic Rally|US-RDA]] to be the only legal party.

[[President of Mali|President]] Keïta, whose [[Sudanese Union-African Democratic Rally]] (US-RDA) party had dominated pre-independence politics (as a member of the [[African Democratic Rally]]), moved quickly to declare a single-party state and to pursue a [[socialist]] policy based on extensive [[nationalization]]. As [[President of Mali|president]], he tasked the ruling political party, the [[Sudanese Union – African Democratic Rally]], with pursuing a policy of consolidating state power in order to modernize the country. The party's ideology was typical of African countries that had gained independence - a synthesis of [[Left-wing politics|leftist ideas]], including [[Marxism]], an emphasis on [[Tradition|national traditions]], and [[Islamism]]. Keïta withdrew from the [[French Community]] and also had close ties to the [[Eastern bloc]]. A continuously deteriorating economy led to a decision to rejoin the Franc Zone in 1967 and modify some of the economic excesses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mali |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/copr/7797108/ |access-date=2023-07-25 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref>

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]], [[tea]], [[powdered milk]]) 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 were also trying to introduce tough anti-slavery policies, which persisted 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]] invested him as an honorary Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of Saint Michael and Saint George]].<ref>''[[The Times]]'', 8 June 1961, p. 16; Issue 55102; col. B.</ref> 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 [[President of Indonesia|President]] [[Sukarno]] and met with [[President of the United States|President]] [[John F. Kennedy]]. Keïta, afterward, felt that he had a friend in Kennedy. He travelled to the United States after the [[1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement]] in [[Belgrade]], [[FPR Yugoslavia]] where the conference delegated him with expressing their common positions to the American administration.

[[File:JFKWHP-KN-C18793 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Modibo Keïta meeting with President Kennedy at the [[White House]] in 1961]]

He also resolved the [[Sand War|Conflict]] between [[Morocco]] and [[Algeria]] and would also try to form a [[Union of African States|union]] between [[Ghana]], and [[Guinea]] and worked tirelessly to improve relations with the countries of [[Senegal]]. He would also win the [[Lenin Peace Prize]] for his attempts on rebuilding the economy of Mali with socialism.  However Mali was dealing with financial and economic problems, made worse by an especially poor harvest in 1968 which would later lead to a [[1968 Malian coup d'état|coup]].<ref>[https://africa.sis.gov.eg/english/figures/politics/modibo-keita/ Modibo Keita]. sis.gov.eg</ref>

[[File:Predsednik republike Mali Modibo Keita s spremstvom v Tovarni avtomobilov in motorjev Maribor 1961.jpg|thumb|left| The President Modibo Keita worked at the Maribor Automobile and Motorcycle Factory in 1961]]

On the political level, Modibo Keïta quickly imprisoned opponents like [[Fily Dabo Sissoko]]. The first post-independence elections, in [[1964 Malian parliamentary election|1964]], 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 22 August 1967,<ref>{{Cite web |title=24. Mali (1960-present) |url=https://uca.edu/politicalscience/home/research-projects/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/mali-1960-present/ |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=uca.edu |language=en-US}}</ref> he started the "revolution active" and suspended the constitution by creating the [[National Committee for the Defense of the Revolution]] (Comité national de défense de la révolution, 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]] overthrew Modibo Keïta in a [[1968 Malian coup d'état|coup d'état]], and sent him to prison in the northern Malian town of [[Kidal]].

[[File:JFKWHP-KN-C18793-A (cropped).jpg|thumb|Keïta in 1961.]]

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,<ref>Imperato, P. J. (1989) ''Mali: a search for direction''. Routledge. p. 69. {{ISBN|9780367156480}}</ref> Modibo Keïta died, still a prisoner, on May 16, 1977.<ref>Diarra, P. (2009) ''Cent ans de catholicisme au Mali''. Karthala. p. 273. {{ISBN|2811102876}}</ref> His reputation was rehabilitated in 1992 following the overthrow of Moussa Traoré and subsequent elections of president [[Alpha Oumar Konaré]]. A monument to Modibo Keïta was dedicated in Bamako on June 6, 1999.

==As a Pan-Africanist==

[[File:Keita and Nasser, 1966.jpg|thumb|right|Keita and Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] (right) in [[Addis Ababa]] for the [[Organisation of African Unity]] conference, November 1966]]

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]]. After its collapse, he moved away from Léopold Sédar Senghor, but with [[Sékou Touré]], the president of Guinea, and [[Kwame Nkrumah]], the President of Ghana, he formed the [[Union of African States|Union of the States of Western Africa]]. In 1963, he played an important role in drafting the charter of the [[Organization of African Unity]] (OAU).

In 1963, he invited the king of Morocco and the president of Algeria to Bamako, in the hope of ending the [[Sand War]], a frontier conflict between the two nations.  Along with [[Emperor Haile Selassie]] 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]] 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]], Modibo defended the nationalist movements like the Algerian [[National Liberation Front (Algeria)|National Liberation Front]] (FLN).

==In literature==

Malian author [[Massa Makan Diabaté]] 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.<ref>Sangare, Mamadou (1999). ''L'histoire et le roman dans la trilogie Kouta de Massa Makan Diabate.'' Paris: Septentrion. p. 128. {{ISBN|2284007996}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==

* Portions of this article were translated from the French-language Wikipedia article [[:fr:Modibo Keïta]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120210201448/http://www.memorialmodibokeita.org/article.php3?id_article=4 memorialmodibokeita.org: Biographie].
*[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/314244/Modibo-Keita "Modibo Keita." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2008]. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 6 October 2008.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120210054922/http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/2008/9/5/the-big-read-modibo-keita-a-devoted-pan-africanist 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.&nbsp;79–106
*John N. Hazard. "Mali's Socialism and the Soviet Legal Model". ''The Yale Law Journal'', Vol. 77, No. 1 (November 1967), pp.&nbsp;28–69
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081219102807/http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/orders/042006/part5.pdf Modibo Keita (1915–1977)], The Presidency of South Africa (2006).
*A N'fa Diallo, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120214125430/http://www.maliweb.net/category.php?NID=35617  Mali, 48 ans après : Socialisme, dictature, révolte et révolution]. ''Le National'' (Bamako), 16 September 2008.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120214125436/http://www.maliweb.net/category.php?NID=35773&intr= 22 septembre : Le souvenir d’un grand jour]. Hady Barry,  ''Nouvel Horizon'' (Bamako), 19 September 2008.
*Abdrahamane Dicko, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120214125458/http://www.maliweb.net/category.php?NID=35746&intr= "De l’Union française à l’indépendance : Que de chemins parcourus !"]. ''[[Les Échos (Mali)|Les Echos]]'' (Bamako), 19 September 2008.
[http://www.jeuneafrique.com/jeune_afrique/article_jeune_afrique.asp?art_cle=LIN25046modibatikob0 Modibo Kéita: MALI]. Francis Kpatindé, ''[[Jeune Afrique]]'', 25 April 2000.
*Rosa De Jorio,  [http://etudesafricaines.revues.org/document1467.html "Narratives of the Nation and Democracy in Mali. A View from Modibo Keita’s Memorial"], ''[[Cahiers d'études africaines]]'', 172, 2003.
*[http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/histoire/biographies/IVRepublique/keita-modibo-04061915.asp  page on the French National Assembly website]

== External links ==

{{Commons category|Modibo Keita}}
*[http://modibokeita.free.fr modibokeita.free.fr: Site devoted to Modibo Keita : portrait, discussion, photos, and videos.]
*[http://leflambeau.africa-web.org/spip.php?article2 Article du journal Le Flambeau]{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} 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".

{{MaliPresidents}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Keita, Modibo}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:1977 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Bamako]]
[[Category:People of French West Africa]]
[[Category:Keita family|Modibo]]
[[Category:Malian Muslims]]
[[Category:Sudanese Union – African Democratic Rally politicians]]
[[Category:Presidents of Mali]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Mali]]
[[Category:Ministers of foreign affairs of Mali]]
[[Category:Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic]]
[[Category:Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic]]
[[Category:African socialism]]
[[Category:Malian pan-Africanists]]
[[Category:Leaders ousted by a coup]]
[[Category:Malian prisoners and detainees]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of Mali]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Lenin Peace Prize]]
[[Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo]]
[[Category:Heads of government who were later imprisoned]]
[[Category:Muslim socialists]]
[[Category:Malian politicians]]