and
government ministers of
Brazil. In March 1991, after the violent suppression of anti-government demonstrations turned into a popular revolution against 23 years of military rule, the armed forces refused to fire any longer on the Malian people and Touré – head of the presidential guard – arrested President
Moussa Traoré. Known universally by his initials ATT, Colonel Touré (as he then was) became leader of the Transitional Committee for the Welfare of the People and acting head of state throughout the committee's efforts to transition the country's government to democracy. He presided over the national conference that between 29 July and 13 August 1991 drew up the
Constitution of Mali and scheduled the legislative and presidential elections of 1992. After the results of the elections became known, Touré handed over power to the newly elected president,
Alpha Oumar Konaré. Following his voluntary departure from office, he gained the nickname "The Soldier of Democracy." In June 2001, Touré served briefly as a special envoy of
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to the
Central African Republic, after the failed coup attempt that had occurred there.
Election and presidency (2002–2012) In September 2001, he requested and was granted retirement from the military, entering politics as a candidate in the
2002 presidential election. In the first round of voting, he placed first with 28.71% of the vote, while in the second round he won 64.35% of the vote, defeating the
ADEMA candidate, former cabinet minister
Soumaïla Cissé, who obtained 35.65%. Touré was sworn in on 8 June 2002. His presidency was atypical, in part due to the fact that he was not a member of any political party and that he included members from all of the country's political parties in his government. Following his 2002 election, he appointed
Ahmed Mohamed ag Hamani as Prime Minister, but on 28 April 2004, Hamani was replaced by
Ousmane Issoufi Maiga, who in turn was replaced on 28 September 2007 by
Modibo Sidibé. In 2006 the government signed a peace deal with Tuareg rebels, giving them greater autonomy. Touré announced on 27 March 2007, that he would run for a second term in the
April 2007 presidential election. According to final results announced on 12 May, Touré won the election with 71.20% of the votes. The main opposition candidate, National Assembly President
Ibrahima Boubacar Keïta, won 19.15%; the
Front for Democracy and the Republic, a coalition including Keïta and three other candidates, rejected the official results. Foreign observers, however, endorsed the election as free and fair. Touré was sworn in for his second term as president on 8 June 2007, In addition to improving Mali's infrastructure, Touré established the first national medical insurance system.
2012 coup d'état Early in 2012, elements of the Malian military protested the Touré government's handling of the
2012 insurgency in northern Mali. The brutal massacre in Aguel Hoc (frontier with Niger) of more than 80 Malian soldiers led to unrest in the army, with soldiers and army wives accusing President Touré of mismanagement because of ammunition shortages. On 21 March, soldiers at a barracks in
Kati, near
Bamako, launched a revolt against the visiting defense minister, and their revolt turned into a coup d'état. A group of sergeants and corporals seized several locations in Bamako, including the presidential palace, state television headquarters, and some military barracks. They then formed a provisional governmental authority, the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State (CNRDRE), under the leadership of Captain
Amadou Sanogo, and declared that they had overthrown Touré, accusing his government of incompetence. President Touré was not taken into custody by the rebels. For more than two weeks Touré's whereabouts were unknown and CNRDRE never indicated that he was in its custody. The CNRDRE did, however, state that Touré was in "good health" and a statement from the Nigerian government, though supportive of Touré, claimed that he had been "detained" by the mutineers. According to soldiers loyal to Touré, however, he was safe, and guarded by pro-government military forces at a barracks somewhere outside of Bamako. On 8 April, Touré reemerged to announce his resignation in accordance with an agreement brokered by the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to return Mali to constitutional rule, telling ECOWAS mediators, "More than anything, I do it out of the love I have for my country". On 19 April, Touré went into exile in neighboring
Senegal. Amadou Toumani Touré returned to Mali after five years, on 24 December 2017. == Other work ==