Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga Appointed Interim Prime Minister of Mali

On 13 August, Mali's prime minister, Choguel Maiga, suffered a stroke and was ordered by his doctor to rest after months of intense exertion, according to prime minister’s office.

On Sunday, Colonel Abdoulaye Idrissa Maiga was appointed interim head of government in Mali. Maiga is also the government spokesman as well as its minister of territorial administration and decentralization.

"Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, minister of territorial administration and decentralization is designated to ensure the continuation of the government of Choguel Kokalla Maiga, prime minister," said a decree read on state television on Sunday.

Abdoulaye Maiga has held a number of ministerial positions in the past and has run for the presidential elections in 2002, 2013 and 2018, but without success. He is standing in for Choguel Maiga, who was forced to rest by his doctor.

The Republic of Mali has experienced two military coups since August 2020. During the first, which took place on 18 August 2020, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was removed from power. A military group led by Colonel Assimi Goita appointed Bah Ndaw as interim President of Mali. However, on 26 May 2021, he was ousted by the same military group and by a decree of the Constitutional Court of Mali, Goita was appointed head of state for a transitional period.