Assimi Goïta
Assimi Goïta | |
|---|---|
 Goïta in 2023 | |
| 6th President of Mali | |
| Assumed office 8 July 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Choguel Kokalla Maïga Abdoulaye Maïga (interim) |
| Preceded by | Bah Ndaw (interim) |
| Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs | |
| Assumed office 4 May 2026 | |
| President | Himself |
| Prime Minister | Abdoulaye Maïga (interim) |
| Preceded by | Sadio Camara |
| President of the Confederation of Sahel States | |
| In office 6 July 2024 – 24 December 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Ibrahim Traoré |
| Chairman of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People | |
| In office 18 August 2020 – 25 September 2020 | |
| Vice Chairman | Malick Diaw |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Interim Vice President of Mali | |
| In office 25 September 2020 – 24 May 2021 | |
| President | Bah Ndaw (interim) |
| Preceded by | Malick Diaw |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 November 1983 Bamako, Mali |
| Party | Independent |
| Spouse | Lala Diallo |
| Education | Joint Military School Prytanée militaire de Kati |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Mali |
| Branch/service | Malian Army |
Years of service | 2002–present |
| Rank | Général d'Armée |
| Unit | Autonomous Special Forces Battalion |
| Battles/wars | Mali War War in the Sahel |
Assimi Goïta (born 9 November 1983) is a Malian military officer who has ruled Mali since 2021. He has served as the sixth president of Mali since 2025, previously serving as the interim vice president under Interim President Bah Ndaw from 2020 to 2021 and then as the interim president until 2025. He also served as the president of the Alliance of Sahel States from 2024 to 2025.
Born in Bamako, Goïta graduated from the Joint Military School in 2002 and was later assigned to the 134th Reconnaissance Squadron in Gao. Goïta also attended advanced military training and courses in Germany, Gabon, France and the United States. Following a coup in August 2020, Goïta became Mali's de facto leader as chairman of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, a military junta that seized power from former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. The following month, Goïta was appointed the interim vice president under the new interim president Bah Ndaw, to whom Goïta had transferred power in response to international pressure.
In May 2021, following a dispute in the government, Goïta seized power from Ndaw in another coup and was subsequently appointed interim president. His rule has seen increased authoritarianism domestically, as well as strained relations with ECOWAS, the United Nations, and France. Goïta's government cut military ties with France and became allied with Russia and the Wagner Group. In January 2024, Goïta announced Mali's withdrawal from ECOWAS and later formed the Alliance of Sahel States with the military leaders of Burkina Faso and Niger.