Traore, Moussa (1936– )

Malian army officer and politician who seized power to become president of Mali in 1968 (and prime minister from 1969). He restored civilian government by 1979 and remained as president, but internal unrest continued and he was himself overthrown by the military in 1991. He was sentenced to death in 1993 for human rights abuses, but the sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. In 1999 he was sentenced to death for embezzlement, but the sentence was again commuted to life imprisonment by President Konare.

Traore was educated at the Military Training College, Fréjus, and served first in the French army before joining the army of newly independent Mali in 1960 and rising through the ranks. On 19 November 1968 he led the coup that overthrew President Modibo Keita. He established a one-party state in 1976, but violent demonstrations against this in 1991 brought his downfall.