President Modibo Keita of Mali is deposed by the army

Date: 19 Nov 1968
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

President Modibo Keita of Mali is deposed by the army in a bloodless coup. Modibo was the first president of the Republic of Mali after it gained independence from France in 1960. Five years earlier, Modibo was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize for his attempts to rebuild his country’s economy on socialist principles. However, Mali was overwhelmed by growing financial and economic problems, made worse by an especially poor harvest in 1968. In March 2012, Mali experienced another coup when a group of mutinous soldiers attacked and overthrew the ruling President of Mali, President Amadou Toumani Touré.

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How we know this

01Boddy-Evan A. ‘This Day in African History: 19 November’, from About African History, [online], available at www.africahistory.about.com (Accessed: 11 October 2012)
02Your Dictionary, ‘Modibo Keita Biography’, [online], available at https://biography.yourdictionary.com (Accessed: 11 October 2012)
03AfroEuro, (2012) ‘President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Touré overthrown by Rebellious Soldiers’, 23 March, [online], available at https://afroeuro.org (Accessed: 11 October 2012)

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2012, November 14). President Modibo Keita of Mali is deposed by the army. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094200

South African History Online (2012) 'President Modibo Keita of Mali is deposed by the army', South African History Online, 14 November. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094200 (Accessed: 24 July 2026).

South African History Online, President Modibo Keita of Mali is deposed by the army [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094200, (accessed 24 July 2026).

"President Modibo Keita of Mali is deposed by the army." South African History Online, 14 Nov. 2012, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094200. Accessed 24 July 2026.

South African History Online. "President Modibo Keita of Mali is deposed by the army." South African History Online. November 14, 2012. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094200.