Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
{{infobox president|name	Modibo Keïta
Nationality	Malian
Order	1st President of Mali
Term start	July 20, 1960
Term end	November 19, 1968
Predecessor	''None''
Successor	Moussa Traoré
Birth date	June 04, 1915, Bamako, Upper Senegal and Niger
Death date	May 16, 1977
Death place	Bamako, Mali
Party	Sudanese Union-African Democratic Rally
Religion	Islam }}

Modibo Keita (or Kéïta); (Bamako, 4 June 1915 - Bamako, 16 May 1977) was the first President of Mali (1960–1968) and the Prime Minister of the Mali Federation. He espoused a form of African socialism.

Youth

He was born in Bamako-Coura, a neighborhood of Bamako, which was at the time the capital of French Sudan. His family were Malian and practising Muslims. He was educated in Bamako and at the École normale supérieure William Ponty in Dakar, where he was top of his class. Beginning in 1936, he worked as a teacher in Bamako, Sikasso and Tombouctou.

Entering politics

Modibo Keïta was involved in various associations. In 1937, he was the coordinator of the art and theater group. Along with 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 Soundanese 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 was elected constituent assembly president of the Mali Federation on July 20, 1960, which consisted of French Sudan, and Senegal. Senegal would later leave the federation.

President of Mali

After the collapse of the federation, the US-RDA proclaimed the Soudanese Republic's complete independence as the Republic of Mali. Keita became its first president.

As a socialist, he led his country towards the progressive socialization of the economy; at first starting with agriculture and trade, then on 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.

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. Although Keita was initially viewed by the United States as a socialist, he made it clear that he sought good relations with Washington. In September 1961, he travelled to America in the company of Sukarno and met with President John F. Kennedy. Keita, afterward, felt that he had a friend in Kennedy.

On the political level, Modibo Keïta quickly imprisoned opponents like Fily Dabo Sissoko. From 1967, he started the "revolution active" and suspended the constitution by creating the National Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CNDR). The exactions of the "milice populaire" (the US-RDA militia) and the devaluation of the Malian franc in 1967 brought a general unrest.

On November 19, 1968, the General Moussa Traoré organized a coup d'état against Modibo Keïta, and sent him to prison in the northern Malian town of Kidal.

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, Modibo Keïta died, still a prisoner, on May 16, 1977. His reputation was rehabilitated in 1992 following the overthrow of Moussa Traoré and subsequent elections of president Alpha Oumar Konaré. A monument for Modibo Keïta, was dedicated in Bamako on June 6, 1999.

As a Panafricanist

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 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 (FLN).

In literature

Malian author Massa Makan Diabaté satirizes Keïta's presidency in his novel ''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.

Notes

References

Portions of this article were translated from the French language Wikipedia article :fr:Modibo Keïta.

memorialmodibokeita.org: Biographie.

"Modibo Keita." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 06 Oct. 2008.

The Big Read : Modibo Keïta: A devoted pan-africanist, The Daily Observer (Gambia), Friday September 5, 2008.

Francis G. Snyder. The Political Thought of Modibo Keita. The Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 5, No. 1 (May, 1967), pp. 79–106

John N. Hazard. Mali's Socialism and the Soviet Legal Model. The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 77, No. 1 (Nov., 1967), pp. 28–69

Modibo Keita (1915 - 1977), The Presidency of South Africa (2006).

Mali, 48 ans après : Socialisme, dictature, révolte et révolution. A N'fa Diallo, Le National (Bamako), 16 September 2008.

22 septembre : Le souvenir d’un grand jour. Hady Barry, Nouvel Horizon (Bamako), 19 September 2008.

De l’Union française à l’indépendance : Que de chemins parcourus !. Abdrahamane Dicko, Les Echos (Bamako), 19 September 2008.

Modibo Kéita: MALI. Francis Kpatindé, Jeune Afrique, 25 April 2000.

Rosa De Jorio, Narratives of the Nation and Democracy in Mali. A View from Modibo Keita’s Memorial, Cahiers d'études africaines, 172, 2003.

page on the French National Assembly website

External links

modibokeita.free.fr: Site devoted to Modibo Keita : portrait, discussion, photos, and videos.

Article du journal Le Flambeau 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".

Category:Malian politicians Category:1915 births Category:1977 deaths Category:Lenin Peace Prize recipients Category:French West Africa Category:Members of the National Assembly of France Category:Leaders ousted by a coup Category:People from Bamako Category:Sudanese Union – African Democratic Rally politicians Category:African Democratic Rally politicians Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George

bm:Modibo Keita br:Modibo Keïta cs:Modibo Keïta de:Modibo Keïta et:Modibo Keïta es:Modibo Keïta eo:Modibo Keïta fr:Modibo Keïta ko:모디보 케이타 hr:Modibo Keita id:Modibo Keïta it:Modibo Keita la:Modibo Keïta nl:Modibo Keïta ja:モディボ・ケイタ pl:Modibo Keita ru:Модибо Кейта fi:Modibo Keïta sv:Modibo Keïta tr:Modibo Keita zh:莫迪博·凯塔

thumb|right|alt=The hip hop artist Didier Awadi| Didier Awadi ''(Photo by Seneweb)''.Didier Awadi is a Senegalese rapper and the most visible figure of Francophone West African Hip Hop. As a founding member of Positive Black Soul (PBS) with Duggy Tee, Awadi toured around the world contributing to the international popularity of Hip Hop Galsen. Awadi works as a solo artist accompanied by his crew PBS Radikal. He participates in the structuring of the musical sector in Senegal through his label, recording studio, and rehearsal space, Studio Sankara. Awadi offers a conscious and revolutionary music strengthened by articulated and rooted messages. His motivation and inspiration stands in the Burkinabé revolutionary, Thomas Sankara's phrase: ''"Let's dare invent our future!"''

Biography

thumb|left|alt=The hip hop artist Didier Awadi| Didier Awadi ''(Photo by Seneweb)''.Born on August 11, 1969 in Dakar, Senegal, Didier Awadi is originally from Benin and Cap Verde. In 1984, while Hip Hop was slowly emerging on the Dakar scene, Awadi created the group Syndikat. In 1989, he formed Positive Black Soul with fellow hip hop musician Duggy Tee with the desire of promoting a positive image of Africa. In 1992, PBS is chosen by the French rapper with Senegalese origins, MC Solaar, to be the first part of his show touring throughout France. With a growing popularity, they record in 1994, a first track "Boul Faale" ("Don't worry") in which they denounce the local corruption of the political system. This track became part of their first album, "Salaam" released in 1995 after a European tour and signed under the label, Island Records. During fourteen years, PBS had multiple international collaborations (KRS-One, Mc Solaar, Princess Erika, K-Mel, Kimani Marley, etc.) and toured worldwide while releasing K7 and CD in Senegal and internationally. Throughout his career, as member of PBS and later as solo artist, Awadi articulated a militant and critical discourse in favour of a brighter panafrican future.

In 2001, the two members decided to start a solo careers. A year later, Awadi released his first solo album, “Kaddu Gor” ("Word of Honour") which received the Radio France Internationale (RFI) World Music Award in 2003. After announcing the formation of his new crew, PBS-Radikal with Baay Sooley, Carlou D and Noumounda Cissoko, Awadi signed with Sony Music. In 2005, he released his second solo album, “Un Autre Monde est Possible” (“Another World is Possible”) in which he calls for the emergence of a better society based on equity, fairness, justice and freedom. In 2006, he released “Sunugaal”, a plea for the development of Senegal and against the illegal immigration. In October 2007, Awadi presented his upcoming project, “Presidents of Africa” on the Bataclan (theatre) stage in Paris with artists coming from all over the continent. This fourth album was released in April 2010.

In 1998, Awadi began to contributing to the musical sector of Dakar with the creation of his first home studio, "Taf-Taf Production" ("Quickly" in wolof - but well-done as Awadi stresses) and the first renting of his PA system. In 2001, he produced a one-hour TV show mirroring the local hip hop culture, "Senerap". In 2003, he created a festival dedicated to the hip hop culture, "Senerap International". That same year, "Taf-Taf Production" became "Studio Sankara", a more formal and professional structure of music production actively producing advertising spots. In 2009, as a joint initiative with music professionals and hip hop artists, Awadi organized the first edition of "72H Hip Hop", a three-day event celebrating Hip Hop Galsen through workshops, conferences, performances and exhibitions.

Discography

PBS cassettes released in Senegal between 1994 and 2001:

Boul Falé

Boul Falé Bou Bess

Daw Thiow

Fo Deuk

New York / Paris / Dakar

Wakh Feign

Révolution 2000

PBS CD released internationally between 1995 and 2001:

1995 – Salaam

1997 – New York / Paris / Dakar (released in Europe in 2003 only)

2001 – Run Cool

Awadi solo albums – from 2002 up to nowadays:

2002 – Kaddu Gor

2005 – Un Autre Monde est Possible

2006 – Sunugaal (released in Europe in 2009)

2010 – Presidents of Africa

Distinctions / Affiliations

2003 – RFI World music award

2004 – Best African rapper – Tamani Awards (Mali)

2005 – Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres – France and Senegal

AURA (United Artists for African Rap) member and actor in the first West African hip hop musical comedy show “The Extraordinary Stories of Poto-Poto Children” in which he represents the soldier-child

See also

Hip Hop Galsen

Positive Black Soul (PBS)

AURA (United Artists for African Rap)

Senegalese hip hop

Music of Senegal

African hip hop

References

Ayoko Mensah, "Because of Age Positive Black Soul. Interview with Didier Awadi,''in Hip-Hop Culture. Africultures'', 1999, No. 21, p. 17-18

Stéphane Davet, "Through their Afro hip-hop, rap griots claim the pain of the African people,''The World'', November 3, 2005

External links

Sankara official website

AURA official website

Didier Awadi, Official website

Kaire Maram

Category:Living people Category:Senegalese musicians Category:People from Dakar

fr:Didier Awadi sv:Didier Awadi

}} Daba Modibo Keïta (born 5 April 1981) is an Malian Taekwondo athlete. Keïta has competed in international competitions since 1996, and in 2007 became the Heavyweight (+84 kg) division 2007 World Taekwondo Champion in Beijing, and in 2008 competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the +80 kg class.

Personal life

Keïta was born in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) to Malian parents, and was named for the first President of Mali, Modibo Keita. He was forced to flee the country with his family in 2000 during the wave of xenophobia which preceded the Ivorian Civil War. Settling in Mali, Keïta had little funding for training, but received an IOC Olympic Solidarity Scholarship to pay for his training with Ivory Coast fighter Patrice Remarck in the United States . With coach Jorge F. Ramos, finances forced Keïta to stay with friends in Beijing during the 2007 world championship and train in a hotel courtyard. Keïta is managed by his older brother, Badra, and has lived and trained in France and the United States. Two of his brothers and two of his five sisters practice taekwondo, with his sisters both blue belts.

2007 world champion

Despite tearing a back muscle before the match, Keïta won the gold medal for the Heavyweight (84 kg) division 2007 World Taekwondo Champion in Beijing by beating Iranian Morteza Rostami 3 to -1 in the final. He is the first Sub-Saharan African to hold the title of Taekwondo World Champion, and has become a national hero in Mali. Keita himself has reflected that “Winning the world title was almost unthinkable for an African, or someone from a developing nation.”

Keïta has become a national figure, making public appearances and meeting several times with the President Amadou Toumani Touré, who personally saw Keïta off to the Olympics. In part through Keïta's success, Taekwondo has exploded in popularity in the nation. In 2008 the Mali boasted over 150 clubs federated to the Fédération malienne de taekwondo (FEMAT) and 500 black belts among the almost 15,000 Malians who practise the sport.

2008 Olympic games

He represented Mali at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and was favoured before the games to win the first Olympic Gold Medal for Mali in history. He was quoted in August saying "For any athlete the Olympic Games are a dream... ...Africa really needs this medal."

Keïta was flag bearer for his nation at the opening ceremony, and competed in the 80 + kg Olympic division, beginning 23 August 2008. In the first round, Keïta defeated Mickael Justin Borot 6-5 to advance to the quarterfinals but was knocked out by eventual bronze medalist Nigerian Chika Yagazie Chukwumerije 3 - 2 in extra time.

Much expectation had been placed on the world champion in Mali, which had never won any Olympic medal. After Keïta's loss, the president of Mali, Amadou Toumani Touré, was quoted in the state run paper l'Essor, saying that this was "A painful day for Mali". The paper announced the loss as "an immense disappointment for the nation."

2009 World Champion

Achievements

1996 : Gold Medal at the West African Championship in Abidjan

1997 : Gold Medal at the West African Championship in Bamako

1999 : Bronze Medal at the West African Championship in Accra

2002, 2004 : champion of Mali

2004 : Gold Medal at the Paris Open Championship, in the Open international Open Championship of Nantes and in the Open Championship of Picardie

2005 : Gold Medal at the Paris Open Championship

2005 : Sportsmanship trophy in the 17th World Taekwondo Championships in Madrid

2005 : Gold Medal at the African Championship Madagascar

2005 : Gold Medal at the Coupe du monde francophone in Niamey (Niger).

2007 : Gold Medal at the 18th World Taekwondo Championships in Beijing (84 kg) as well as the trophy for MVP (''Samsung Blue Passion Award'').

See also

Mali at the 2008 Summer Olympics

References

Portions of this article were translated from the French language Wikipedia article .

Beijing2008 athlete Profile.

Keita eyes Mali's first gold medal, Sports Illustrated, Caitlin C. Rhodes, 22 August 2008.

J.O. Pékin 2008 : Taekwondo : Daba Modibo Kéita mérite d’être soutenu, Le Républicain, 27 June 2008

J.O. de Pékin, Daba Modibo Keïta : "Pour moi, c'est clair, l'objectif c'est la médaille d'or" L'Essor, 13 August 2008

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:Taekwondo practitioners at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic taekwondo practitioners of Mali Category:Malian taekwondo practitioners

fr:Daba Modibo Keïta no:Daba Modibo Keita

Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
Name	Alpha Oumar Konaré
Order	1st
Office	Chairman of the Commission of the African Union
Term start	16 September 2003
Term end	1 February 2008
President	Gertrude Ibengwe Mongella
Predecessor	Amara Essy
Successor	Jean Ping
Order2	3rd President of Mali
Term start2	8 June 1992
Term end2	8 June 2002
Predecessor2	Moussa Traoré Amadou Toumani Touré (acting)
Successor2	Amadou Toumani Touré
Birth date
Birth place	Kayes, French Sudan
Nationality	Malian
Party	ADEMA-PASJ
Spouse	Adame Ba Konaré
Profession	Tutor, Teacher, Researcher, Professor }}

Alpha Oumar Konaré (born 2 February 1946) was the President of Mali for two five-year terms (1992 to 2002), and was Chairperson of the African Union Commission from 2003 to 2008.

Scholarly career

Alpha Oumar Konaré fourth son of a Bambara teacher and a Fula homemaker was born in Kayes, Mali, where he went to primary school. He went on to attend Bamako's ''Lycée Terrasson des Fougères'', the ''Collège de Maristes'' of Dakar, Senegal, the ''Collège Moderne'' of Kayes and, between 1962 and 1964, the ''École Normale Secondaire'' of Katibougou. He completed his advanced studies in history at the ''École Normale Supérieure'' in Bamako (1965–1969) and at the University of Warsaw between 1971 and 1975.

He began his professional career as a tutor in Kayes, then a lycée teacher at Markala and Bamako. In 1974, he did research at the ''Institut des Sciences Humaines du Mali,'' then, from 1975 to 1978, acted as head of historic patrimony and ethnography at the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Arts, and Culture. In 1980, he was named researcher at the ''Institut Supérieur de Formation en Recherche Appliquée'' (I.S.F.R.A), and Professor at the History/Geography department at the ''École Normale Supérieure'' of Bamako. In the course of his career, he headed several professional organizations, including the Association of Historians and Geographers of Mali, the West African Association of Archaeologists, and the Union of West African Researchers. Between 1981 and 1992, Konaré served as a consultant for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Between 1989 and 1992 he was president of ICOM (International Council of Museums; http://icom.museum/founders.html#presidents ).

Political activism

Konaré was involved in politics as early as the age of twenty, when he was elected the 1967 Secretary General of the Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally (US-RDA, the party of President Modibo Keïta) of the École Normale Supérieure of Bamako.

Following the ''coup d'état'' of General Moussa Traoré, he became an activist for the Marxist-Leninist, clandestine Malian Party for Work (''Parti malien du travail'', or PMT).

In 1978, however, he accepted a post in Moussa Traoré's government as Minister of Youth, Sports, Arts, and Culture. Though he resigned in 1980, his term was marked by the formation of many Malian sports organizations. He went on to found and direct the cultural review "Jamana" in 1983, as well as the cultural cooperative of the same name. In 1989 he also founded the daily newspaper "Les échos," and in 1991 began "Radio Bamakan," Mali's first free radio station.

ADEMA and presidency

In 1990, he participated in the creation of the umbrella movement Alliance for Democracy in Mali (''Alliance pour la démocratie au Mali'', or ADEMA), which united the PMT with a number of other anti-Traoré groups. With the 1991 fall of Moussa Traoré, Konaré helped transform ADEMA into ADEMA/PASJ, an official political party, and served as its delegate to the 1991 National Conference of Mali.

By the end of the democratic transition instituted by Amadou Toumani Touré, he was elected as President of the Republic in 1992, receiving 69.01% of the vote in the second round against US-RDA candidate Tiéoulé Mamadou Konaté. He was re-elected for a second term in the 1997 presidential election despite a boycott of the ballot in protest of his annulation of legislative elections, and he was sworn in on June 8, 1997.

His terms are noted for the restoration of democracy in spite of the 1997 difficulties, his management of the Tuareg Rebellion in the north, and his decentralization of the government. However, corruption remained a significant problem under Konaré's administration.

Konaré publicly rendered homage to Mali's first president, Modibo Keïta, and created a memorial to him in Bamako. Opposed to the death penalty, he commuted the death sentences of Moussa Traoré and his wife to life in prison in 2002. He is also remembered as the man who brought the continent's most prestigious football tournament, the African Cup of Nations, to Mali in 2002.

On the international stage, Konaré worked for peace and integration in the West African region. He served as president of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 1999, and of the West African Monetary Union (UEMOA) in 2000.

Term limited to two presidential terms by the constitution, Konaré left office in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou Toumani Touré. On 10 July 2003, he was elected as Chairman of the Commission of the African Union (AU) at a summit in Maputo. He was the only candidate; Amara Essy, who held the post in an interim capacity, withdrew his candidacy prior to the vote. 35 countries voted in Konaré's favor; there were six votes against him, while four countries abstained.

Konaré raised the ire of civil society in Zimbabwe when, during a visit to Harare on October 14, 2006, in his capacity as Chairperson of the AU Commission, he declined invitations to meet with representatives of non-governmental organizations to discuss the situation in Zimbabwe.

On January 25, 2007, Konaré said that he did not intend to seek another term as Chairman of the AU Commission. On February 1, 2008, Jean Ping of Gabon was elected to succeed him; Ping officially succeeded Konaré as Chairperson of the Commission on April 28, 2008.

Konaré is a member of the Club of Madrid.

References

External links

"CURRICULUM VITAE of H.E. ALPHA OUMAR KONARE, Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union"

Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:African Commissioners Category:Chairmen of the Commission of the African Union Category:University of Warsaw alumni Category:Malian democracy activists Category:Presidents of the United Nations Security Council Category:Alliance for Democracy in Mali politicians Category:People from Kayes

bm:Alfa Umar Konare be:Альфа Умар Канарэ be-x-old:Альфа Ўмар Канарэ br:Alpha Oumar Konaré cs:Alpha Oumar Konaré de:Alpha Oumar Konaré et:Alpha Oumar Konaré es:Alpha Oumar Konaré eo:Alpha Oumar Konaré fr:Alpha Oumar Konaré gl:Alpha Oumar Konaré io:Alpha Oumar Konaré rw:Alpha Oumar Konaré la:Alpha Oumar Konaré nl:Alpha Oumar Konaré ja:アルファ・ウマル・コナレ oc:Alpha Oumar Konaré pl:Alpha Oumar Konaré pt:Alpha Oumar Konaré ru:Конаре, Альфа Умар fi:Alpha Oumar Konaré sv:Alpha Oumar Konaré zh:阿尔法·奥马尔·科纳雷

Emmanuel Tettey Mensah, best known as E. T. Mensah (1919, Accra – 1996) was a Ghanaian highlife musician.

He began as a flutist with the Accra Orchestra, a schoolchildren band, in 1930. In 1948 he formed "The Tempos", a group he might be best known for, and toured West Africa. The group gained international attention and in 1956 Mensah performed with Louis Armstrong. The highlife style declined starting in the 1960s, but he remained active for years afterward. He costarred on a highly successful album with the Nigerian trumpeter Dr Victor Abimbola Olaiya.

References

Category:1919 births Category:Ghanaian highlife musicians Category:People from Accra Category:1996 deaths

no:E.T. Mensah sv:E.T. Mensah