The former president of Mali Amadou Toumani Touré died at the age of 72 on Tuesday in a hospital in Turkey to which he was evacuated after undergoing heart surgery in Bamako, according to local media.
Touré, who ruled the country between 2002 and 2012, when he was overthrown by a military coup, went into exile in Senegal for seven years and returned permanently to Mali in December 2019.
A career military man, Touré was in charge of directing the transition after the coup that overthrew Mousa Traoré – who died in September – between 1991 and 1992, then handing over the witness to Alpha Oumar Konaré, elected in presidential elections.
Traoré returned to power in 2002, this time as president-elect, winning his re-election five years later. Finally, he was overthrown by a military coup in March 2012, the main trigger for the insecurity situation that the country is currently experiencing.
