Konaré, Alpha Oumar

Alpha Oumar Konaré

President of Mali (1992-2002)

Date and Place of Birth:

2 February 1946, Kayes (Mali).

Education:

Alpha Oumar Konare earned a Teaching degree in Bamako, Mali, and a Doctorate in History and Archaeology in Varsovia, Poland.

Professional Experience:

Mr. Konaré was a History professor at a Teaching school in Badalabougou and was a researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences of Mali. He was President of the Council of Museums and founded the independent periodical Les Echos in 1984. He was President of the Workers Association of the Education and Cultural Sector in 1987. Mr. Konaré was also an advisor to various international organizations, including UNESCO, the United Nations Development Program and the UN Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation. He was also President of the West African Archaeological Association. 

Political Career:

Alpha Oumar Konaré was Director of the Division of Historical and Ethnographic Heritage within the Ministry of Culture, and was Minister for Youth, Culture and Sports from 1978 to 1980. In 1980, he resigned from the Ministry in protest of the continued reign of General Traoré. He then founded the National Democratic Popular Front which began to mobilize opposition against Traoré in cooperation with other democratic organizations.

In 1990, Mr. Konaré founded the Alliance for Democracy in Mali, an umbrella movement that used non-violent means to protest against the regime and which became a political party in 1991. Following the fall of Traoré and the drafting of a new constitution, Konaré was elected President of Mali in 1992 and served until 2002 as the first democratically elected President since Mali’s independence from France in 1960.  

Mr. Konaré was a mediator in the 1997 conflict between the Central African Republic and Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo). He was President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from 1999 to 2000, and has been the Chairman of the Commission of the African Union (AU) from 2003 until 2008.