Colonel
Sadio Camara
Camara in March 2022
Minister of Defence
Assumed office
11 June 2021
PresidentCol. Assimi Goïta
Prime MinisterChoguel Kokalla Maïga (interim)
Preceded bySouleymane Doucouré
In office
5 October 2020 – 24 May 2021
PresidentBah Ndaw
Prime MinisterMoctar Ouane (interim)
Preceded byTiéna Coulibaly
Succeeded bySouleymane Doucouré
Personal details
Born (1979-03-22) 22 March 1979 (age 44)
Kati, Koulikoro Region, Mali
Alma materJoint Military School in Koulikoro
Military service
Allegiance Mali
Branch/serviceMalian Armed Forces
RankColonel
Battles/warsMali War

Colonel[1] Sadio Camara (born 22 March 1979[2]) is a Malian military officer currently serving as Minister of Defence, who took active part in the 2020 Malian coup d'état along with Colonel Assimi Goïta that ousted the government of Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.[3]

He served as Minister of Defense between October 2020 and May 2021 when he was replaced. This prompted a new coup and he was reinstated as Minister of Defense on 11 June 2021, serving again in the charge since then.[4]

Biography

Camara is a graduate of the Joint Military School.[5] At the time of the 2020 coup he was serving as head of the Kati Military School,[6] and was receiving military training in Russia.[7] Camara took part in the August 2020 coup and was named Minister of Defense in October 2020 under the interim government of Prime Minister Moctar Ouane.[4] He served in that position until late May 2021 when he was excluded from the newly formed government by Bah Ndaw, the interim leader after the 2020 coup.[4]

His ousting allegedly prompted Colonel Assimi Goïta to launch a "coup within a coup" in May 2021 when Goïta took over power and ordered the arrest of Ndaw and his cabinet during the 2021 Malian coup d'état, which prompted the United Nations and many governments to condemn the coup and ask for the release of the detained leaders.[4][8][9]

On 11 June 2021, Col. Goïta appointed Camara again as Minister of the Defense.[4][1]

The US imposed sanctions on Camara in July 2023, for links to the Wagner Group.[10][11] His designation revealed that he also held French citizenship.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b "Mali coup chief names new cabinet with army officers in key posts". Al Jazeera. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Mali : Le colonel Sadio Camara, un autre maillon dans le putsch du Mardi" [Mali: Colonel Sadio Camara, another link in the Tuesday putsch]. MaliKonokow.com (in French). 20 April 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  3. ^ Diallo, Aïssatou (7 September 2020). "Mali: Who's who in the Bamako coup". The Africa Report. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Mali transitional government restores ousted Camara as defence minister". Reuters. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Assimi Goita: who is Mali's new junta supremo?". APA News. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Mali - Key Junta Figures". Read Cube. August 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  7. ^ Muvunyi, Fred (26 August 2020). "Was Russia behind the coup in Mali?". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  8. ^ "UN mission in Mali calls for immediate release of detained president and PM". France24. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  9. ^ "UN calls for immediate release of Mali President Bah Ndaw". BBC. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  10. ^ "US imposes sanctions on three Malians linked to Wagner group -Treasury Dept website". Reuters. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Russia-related Designations". Office of Foreign Assets Control. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
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