Bah Ndaw

Bah Ndaw (also spelled N'Daw, N'Dah, and N'Daou; born 23 August 1950) is a Malian retired military officer and politician who served as the president of Mali between 25 September 2020 and 24 May 2021 when he was overthrown during the 2021 Malian coup d'état. Between May 2014 and January 2015 he was Minister of Defense. Early life and education Ndaw was born on 23 August 1950 in San, Mali. He joined the Malian Armed Forces as a volunteer in 1973 and graduated from the Joint Military School (EMIA) in Koulikoro the same year. In 1974 he was sent to the Soviet Union to receive helicopter training. Military and political career In 1977, Ndaw became a member of the Malian Air Force. At one point Ndaw served as an aide-de-camp to Malian President Moussa Traoré. He resigned from this position in 1990 in protest of interference by Traoré's wife with government affairs. Under President Alpha Oumar Konaré Ndaw served as deputy chief of staff of the Malian Air Force between 1992 and 2002. In 1994 he graduated from the École de guerre in Paris, France. In 2003 Ndaw became chief of staff of the Malian Air Force. During his career he also served as deputy chief of staff of the Malian National Guard. From 2008 until his retirement in 2012 he was head of the Bureau for veterans' affairs and war victims. He retired with the rank of Colonel-major. On 28 May 2014 Ndaw succeeded Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga as Minister of Defense under President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. During his time in office he signed a defense agreement with France. He also worked on a reorganization of the Malian Armed Forces. When Prime Minister Modibo Keita took over from Moussa Mara in January 2015 Ndaw left office, supposedly for disagreeing with some conditions regarding the integration of deserting former combatants stipulated by the .