ON August 20, the Malian Constitutional Court confirmed the decision to appoint former Prime Minister Ibrahim Bubakar Keita as the new leader of the country. He will initiate a five-year mandate on September 4.

According to the Supreme Court, Keita – also known as IBK – won the elections with 77.82% of the vote, well ahead of the 22.39% secured by his closest rival, Finance Minister Sumaila Cissé.

The Court, which has retained almost unchanged the advance figures given by the Ministry of Territorial Administration, places the percentage of people who turned out to vote at 45.73%.

Seen by his supporters as the "strong man" needed for the country’s reconstruction, Keita, aged 68 years, must confront the crisis which exploded in Mali after the coup d’état on March 22, 2012, and achieve reconciliation with the Tuaregs in the north of the country, who have led a number of rebellions and are still demanding their own state in the Azawad region.

For most analysts, the presidential elections in Mali mark one more step in the democratic transition process approved mid-2012, after a period of instability in which radical Islamist groups took control of the country’s principal cities, leading to a military intervention by France, its former metropolis, in January of this year, and the dispatch of a UN peace mission a few months later.

But, who is IBK? With the experience of having been Prime Minister from 1994-2000, Keita has emphasized that his central priority will be to attain a peace agreement with the separatist rebels, who signed a ceasefire with the Bamako government in June, but have not abandoned their independence aspirations. He also promised to fight corruption and restore the economy, affected by the political crisis, which has also forced close to 375,000 Malians to flee their homes.

Born in 1945 in the southern locality of Koutiala, Keita studied in Dakar and Paris, where he specialized in History and International Relations. His interest in politics began in France, where he announced his opposition to the then Malian President Moussa Traoré (1968-1991). He also cultivated good friends among French socialists, including current President François Hollande and his Interior Minister Manuel Valls.

In fact, Hollande has already expressed his support for the recently elected leader. "France remains on the side of a democratic Mali. His margin of victory gives him the necessary legitimacy to undertake the effort required for national recovery and the country’s development," he stated. The United States and the European Union also celebrated his victory.

Back in Bamako, Keita was one of the creators of the Association for Democracy in Mali (ADEMA). In 1991, when Traoré was toppled, he was called upon to assume government responsibilities, first as an ambassador, then as Foreign Minister, and finally as Prime Minister. It was clear that the new President Alpha Oumar Konaré (1992-2005) trusted him.

It was during this period that Keita acquired fame as a strong man, as he knew how to lead during the Tuareg rebellion and the agitation of labor unions and student groups demanding farther-reaching reforms.

In 2000, he abandoned ADEMA and founded his own party, Rally for Mali, with which he presented himself for presidential elections in 2002 and 2007. During this period, he also held the posts of Vice President of the International Socialists and President of the National Assembly.

Keita had announced his candidacy for the 2012 elections, which were frustrated by the coup which defeated the government headed by Amadou Toumani Touré (2002-2012). "I condemn the coup, but I understand it," Keita said at that moment.

In addition to the support of a large sector of the army, he was backed by the High Council of Islam, the country’s principal religious institution, and other regional presidents.