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Mali became independent from colonial power France
in 1960. Soon thereafter, Mali became a socialist
one-party state. In 1968, Moussa Traoré took power in a
military coup. In the late 1980s, demands for democratic
reforms grew, and in 1991 Traoré was deposited in a new
military coup, led by Amadou Toumani Touré. The coup
makers promised multi-party systems, which became a
reality in 1992. Ten years later, Touré returned to
power in a presidential election, but in 2012 he was
deposed in yet another coup. It became the starting
point for insurgency from both Tuareg and Islamists in
northern Mali.
Under Independent Mali's first President Mobido Keïta,
the country became a socialist one-party state. The only
allowed party was the Sudanese Union-African Democratic
Assembly (US-RDA). All companies in Mali were
nationalized and the economy was centrally controlled.
The aim was to break the continued French influence, but
the result was instead a comprehensive government
bureaucracy and an inefficient economy.
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ABBREVIATIONFINDER: List of most commonly used
acronyms containing Mali. Also includes historical,
economical and political aspects of the country.
President Keïta was overthrown in a military coup in
1968. The socialist regime was replaced by a military
dictatorship under Lieutenant Moussa Traoré. He promised
to introduce civilian rule within five years but never
fulfilled the promise. Under Traore's regime, all
political and trade union organizations were banned
except for the ruling party of the Malian People's
Democratic Union (UDPM) and its trade union branch.
The dictator Traoré pursued a more market economy
policy than his predecessor, but the economy did not
improve significantly. Recurring drought and erroneous
agricultural policies meant that food production could
not keep up with population growth.
 Democratization
demands
The poor economy caused the Traoré regime to turn to
lenders. International lending institutions and Western
countries granted loans during the first half of the
1980s in exchange for the Mali economy being
deregulated, the state budget tightened and a number of
state companies wound up.
At the end of the 1980s, the demands for democratic
reforms, both from donors and the population, also
increased. Popular dissatisfaction grew as new hard
savings programs led to increased unemployment and
higher food prices. In 1990 several protests were made
against Traore's rule and a number of opposition groups
were formed. One of these was the Alliance for Democracy
in Mali (Adéma).
At the same time, the Berber people rebelled in
northern Mali. They demanded autonomy and accused the
regime of withholding aid. The government responded with
harsh reprisals. The Tuaregs fled in thousands across
borders. An agreement on ceasefire and significant
self-government for Tuaregs was signed in 1991 between
Traoré and two of the Tuareg organizations.
In the capital Bamako, later that year, more than 100
people were killed by security forces during a
demonstration for democracy. The riots ended with Traoré
being deposed in a military coup, after 23 years in
power.
New constitution
The coup makers promised free elections and a
transition to multi-party systems, which was also
implemented. A national conference of 1,800 delegates
from across the Malian community devised a new
constitution that came into force in 1992. The same
year, parliamentary elections were held and Adéma won by
far. Adéma's leader, archaeologist Alpha Oumar Konaré,
won the presidential election that year with 70 percent
of the vote. In the elections, however, only one-fifth
of voters voted.
Despite the peace agreement between the government
and Tuaregic rebels, the unrest in the north continued
during the early 1990s. Only in the middle of the decade
was a more stable peace agreement reached, partly
through successes for the government army and partly
through negotiations supported by local organizations
and foreign aid donors.
At a 1996 ceremony, thousands of weapons were fired
from rebel groups and militia. Five Tuareg organizations
declared dissolved and thousands of rebels were
integrated into the regular forces. Most of the refugees
in neighboring countries were able to return home. In
accordance with the peace agreement, new districts were
created in the north and power was decentralized.
In 1997, parliamentary elections were held which
could be rescheduled following accusations of electoral
fraud, as well as presidential boycotts boycotted by
many within the opposition. President Konaré won clearly
in the presidential election and in the parliamentary
elections, Adéma eventually gained a large majority.
After the election, President Konaré proposed that a
broad coalition government be formed. But the
contradictions persisted, despite the fact that some
representatives of moderate opposition parties got a
seat in the government.
Touré wins election
Preparations for the 2002 presidential election began
as early as the turn of the millennium. As the
constitution did not allow Konaré to stand for
re-election, Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
resigned to prepare his presidential candidacy for
Adéma. When it emerged that Keïta did not have enough
support within Adéma, he formed a new party, the
Collection for Mali (RPM), and brought with him some 40
of Adéma's MPs. Adéma's presidential candidate became
former finance minister Soumaïla Cissé.
Favorite for the presidential post, however, was the
popular ex-general Amadou Toumani Touré, who was the
coup leader when Traoré crashed. Touré had a good
reputation in both Mali and abroad by quickly leaving
power after the coup in 1991. Touré, who was not
affiliated with any party, won by 64 percent of the
votes in the second round of Cissé.
As President, Touré became successful in his quest
for consensus in politics and he came to lead unity
governments in which all major parties in parliament
were members. At times, almost no opposition was
possible, as all parties were involved in Touré's
politics.
In 2007, Touré was re-elected, with 71 percent of the
votes already in the first round. An election alliance
supporting Touré took home a satisfactory majority in
the parliamentary elections that year.
Tuareg and Islamist insurgency
Domestic politics under President Touré was dominated
by the conflict with the Tuaregs. The peace treaty with
the rebels lasted largely during the first years of the
21st century. When on several occasions disputes erupted
between different peoples groups on grazing land and
water, the government managed to mediate instead of
being drawn into the conflict.
In 2006, however, Tuaregrebels began to attack
government forces again. A peace agreement was concluded
after mediation from Algeria the same year, but new
strife flared up in the following years. Alongside the
Tuareg secularism, there was a new ingredient in the
unrest: the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda in the
Islamic Maghreb (Aqim) had gained a foothold in the
region. With Aqim came attacks against the Malian
military and against Westerners, as well as increased
smuggling of drugs, among other things.
In the fall of 2011, hundreds of well-armed
Tuaregians began to return from Libya, where they served
in the overthrown leader Muammar Gaddafi's army. Many
joined a newly formed group, the National Movement for
the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), which called for an
independent state in Mali's northern desert region. The
Tuaregs call the Azawad region.
In early 2012, the MNLA attacked several smaller
cities in the north. The poorly equipped army was
quickly pushed back and over 100,000 civilians were
escaped. Several militant Islamist groups joined the
armed uprising. Alongside Aqim, there was the Unity and
Jihad Movement in West Africa (Mujao), a breakout group
from Aqim, as well as Ansar al-Din (Tron's defender)
who, like the MNLA, predominantly consisted of Tuar
rule.
Military coup and Islamist advancement
The acute situation in the north resulted in a
military coup, since the government's inability to deal
with the uprising caused street protests in Bamako and
great dissatisfaction within the army. In March, a group
of military deposed President Touré. It was about a
month before the presidential election was held, in
which Touré, according to the constitution, was not
allowed to stand.
The international protests against the military coup
became powerful. The West African cooperation
organization Ecowas imposed such severe sanctions that
Mali was totally isolated. After only a few weeks, the
junta gave up and allowed Parliament's President
Dioncounda Traoré (not related to Moussa Traoré) to take
over as provisional president. Touré secretly left the
country.
In the chaotic situation that arose at the coup, the
MNLA quickly advanced and occupied all the important
cities in the north and retreated the army. By the
beginning of April, the rebel movements had taken
control of the entire northern part of Mali, or
two-thirds of the country.
Soon there were reports that the Islamists in the
north forced the people to strictly interpret Islam,
with the ban on, for example, music and TV, as well as
corporal punishment for petty crimes. Accusations of war
crimes occurred. The Islamists also destroyed
world-class Muslim cultural treasures, which they
considered to be "idolatry".
Foreign intervention
During the summer, Ansar al-Din took control of the
entire area and introduced sharia laws. By the end of
the summer, nearly half a million people were reported
to have moved from northern Mali since the militia took
over the area. The humanitarian situation was very
serious.
President Traoré appealed for military intervention
against the rebels. Ecowas decided to send 3,300 troops
to Mali, which the UN Security Council approved. But
when the rebels around the turn of the year 2012/2013
moved south, the crisis became acute. French soldiers
were quickly dispatched to Mali and Ecowas accelerated
their intervention.
With the help of the foreign troops, in just a few
months, the Islamists could be forced back into
inaccessible mountain areas in the north. Thereafter,
the French began a gradual retreat, while the Ecowas
force was transformed into a regular UN force, Minusma,
which formally assumed responsibility for the continuing
war against the Islamists on July 1, 2013. The MNLA had
then abandoned its weapons and positioned itself on the
side of the army in hope. about being able to develop a
long-sought self-government for the Tuaregic areas. A
smaller organization, the High Council of Azawad's Unity
(HCUA), also made peace with the government.
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