Mali President Who Led Transition to Democracy Dies at 72

(Bloomberg) -- Amadou Toumani Toure, who led Mali from military rule to democracy in the 1990s before being ousted by soldiers in 2012, has died. He was 72.

His death was confirmed by Senegalese President Macky Sall, who was a friend. Toure was transferred to Turkey after being treated for heart problems at a private hospital in Mali and died on Monday, according to a former government spokesman.

As an army colonel and head of the presidential guard, Toure spearheaded the ouster of military strongman Moussa Traore in 1991 amid a popular revolt triggered by a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters. He presided over a national conference that drew up a new constitution and voluntarily handed over power after organizing parliamentary and presidential elections a year later.

Toure, who was popularly known as ATT, entered politics again in 2001 and was elected president in 2002, marking Mali’s first democratic transition of power. He won a second term in 2007.

Rise of Al-Qaeda

Toure’s final years in office were marred by growing insecurity in Mali’s north, where the militant group al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb expanded its reach through kidnappings and narcotics smuggling. He tried to tighten cooperation with Algeria and accepted U.S. military training for Mali’s army, but was unable to quash an ethnic Tuareg revolt that claimed responsibility for the 2012 massacre of more than 80 soldiers in the town of Aguelhok.

That incident fueled widespread anger within the army, which accused Toure’s government of siphoning off defense funds while sending soldiers to the front-line without proper equipment. Toure was ousted three weeks before 2012 elections despite a pledge to step down.

After the coup Toure went into exile in neighboring Senegal. He returned to Mali late last year. He is survived by his wife and their two daughters.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.