Mamadi Keïta (1933 – July 1985) was a leading

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

n politician and member of the Politburo of the First Republic of Guinea.

Early years

Mamadi Keïta was born in

Kankan Kankan ( Mandingo: Kánkàn; N’ko: ߞߊ߲ߞߊ߲߫) is the largest city in Guinea in land area, and the third largest in population, with a population of 198,013 people as of 2020. The city is located in eastern Guinea about east of the ...

French Guinea French Guinea () was a French colonial possession in West Africa. Its borders, while changed over time, were in 1958 those of the current independent nation of Guinea. French Guinea was established by France in 1891, within the same borders as ...

in 1933. He went to

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

for his higher education, where he studied philosophy. After becoming leader of the West African Student's Organization, he was expelled from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1961. He earned a doctorate in philosophy from the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

. Returning to Guinea, he became in turn professor, dean and president of the University of Conakry.

Political career

Mamadi Keïta was the half-brother of President

Sékou Touré Sekou, also spelled Sékou or Seku, is a given name from the Fula language. It is equivalent to the Arabic ''Sheikh''. People with this name include: People * Sekou (singer), British singer Given name * Seku Amadu (1776–1845), also known as S� ...

's wife, Andrée, which gained him admission to the inner circle of power in the Touré regime. He became a member of the Central Committee for ideological affairs of the

Democratic Party of Guinea Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. In January 1971 he was reported to have been a member of the firing squad that shot the former politician Ms. Camara Loffo. He assisted in the interrogation of

Diallo Telli Boubacar Diallo Telli (1925 – February 1977) was a Guinean diplomat and politician. He helped found the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and was the second secretary-general of the OAU between 1964 and 1972. After serving as Minister of Just ...

, who was starved to death at

Camp Boiro Camp Boiro or Camp Mamadou Boiro (1960–1984) is a defunct Guinean concentration camp in the city of Conakry. During the regime of President Ahmed Sékou Touré, thousands of political opponents were imprisoned at the camp. It has been estimated t ...

in March 1977. In 1972, he was leader of the left-wing faction in the Politburo, and was engaged in a struggle with

Ismaël Touré Ismaël Touré (1925/1926 – 8 July 1985) was a Guinean political figure and the half brother of President Ahmed Sékou Touré. He was the chief prosecutor at the notorious Camp Boiro. Early career Ismaël Touré was born in Faranah, Guinea in ...

to be recognized as the next in line to succeed the president. At the 9th party congress that year, the right-center took control. Sékou Touré remained president and Lansana Beavogui was given the newly created title of prime minister. Ismaël Touré gained the powerful position of Minister of the Economy and Finance, while Mamadi Keïta was relegated to Minister of Culture and Education. His brother Seydou Keïta became ambassador to Western Europe. In the summer of 1974 he attended the Sixth

Pan-African Congress The Pan-African Congress (PAC) is a regular series of meetings which first took place on the back of the Pan-African Conference held in London in 1900. The Pan-African Congress first gained a reputation as a peacemaker for decolonization in ...

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, where he was chairman of the Political Committee, with

Marcelino dos Santos Marcelino dos Santos (20 May 1929 – 11 February 2020) was a Mozambique, Mozambican poet, revolutionary, and politician. As a young man he travelled to Portugal, and France for an education. He was a founding member of the FRELIMO, ''Frente de ...

FRELIMO FRELIMO (; from , ) is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It has governed the country since its independence from Portugal in 1975. Founded in 1962, FRELIMO began as a nationalist movement fighting for the self-determination ...

as vice-chairman. In October 1980, as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research he attended an executive board meeting of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, held in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, where he was appointed to the Special Committee for the triennium and the Committee on International Non-Governmental Organizations. In November 1982, he attended the first session of the executive council of

ISESCO The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO, formerly ISESCO) is a specialized organization that operates under the aegis of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and is concerned with fields of education ...

(Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. He was present at the third ISESCO session held in

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

in June 1983. In December 1983 he was elected a vice-chairman of the UNESCO executive board. After the political coup that followed the death of Sekou Toure, he was arrested on 3 April 1984. In July 1985 he was executed by

firing squad Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method of ...

after the attempted coup led by

Diarra Traoré Diarra Traoré (1935 – 8 July 1985) was a Guinean soldier and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Guinea briefly in 1984 as a member of a junta led by Lansana Conté. In 1985, after Traoré attempted a coup d'état against President C ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keita, Mamadi Government ministers of Guinea 1933 births 1985 deaths People from Kankan Executed Guinean people 20th-century executions by Guinea University of Geneva alumni Academic staff of Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry Politicide perpetrators People executed by Guinea by firing squad