Mali became a French colony after 20 years of resistance between 1880 and 1900. It gained its independence in 1960. Modibo Keita was the first president of the Mali Republic. Keita was well-known for his vision of a federal Africa and chose to ally himself with the Soviet Union. When Mali’s economy got into trouble, he was pushed out by Moussa Traoré, who came to power in 1968 through a military coup.

Moussa Traoré led Mali from 1968 to 1991, but he was a weak ruler with a corrupt government. The 1970s and 1980s were a time of terrible drought and famine. Moussa Traoré was eventually toppled in 1991 when the military took control. They went on to hold the country’s first ever democratic elections in 1992 when Alpha Konaré was elected President, a position he still holds today.