Malick Diaw

Malick Diaw is a Malian soldier and politician. The colonel was one of the leaders of the Military Junta that organized the 2020 Malian coup d'état and a member of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People. On December 5, 2020, he was elected president of the National Transitional Council of Mali [fr], the de facto Malian legislative body.

Colonel Malick Diaw was a student at the Prytanée militaire de Kati [fr] then joined the Joint Military School in Koulikoro in 1998. He became deputy director of the Prytanée militaire de Kati [fr] at the time of the coup. He was also Subjete of the General Staff of the National Guard in the 3rd Military Region of Kati.

As an artillery officer, he participated in the Mali War between 2013 and 2017.

He was one of the soldiers present at the massive rally to celebrate the fall of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and is considered one of the masterminds of the 2020 Malian coup d'état that overthrew the president. He became second in command of the Military Junta led by Assimi Goïta, interim vice president in the transition of Mali. He also played a key role in negotiations with the Economic Community of West African States to lift sanctions in October.

Diaw was elected president of the National Transitional Council of Mali [fr] with 111 votes in favor and 7 abstentions, in a body in which the military occupies 22 of the 121 seats.