AssimiGoïta is a Malian army general who has ruled Mali since 2021. He has served as the sixth president ofMali since 2025, previously serving as the interim vice president under Interim President Bah Ndaw from 2020 to 2021 and then as the interim president until 2025. Since attaining independence in 1960, Mali has experienced 5 coups d’etat. Two of these happened in 2020 and 2021, in a space of just nine months. AssimiGoita, the leader ofMali'smilitary government, meets with Russian officials, including Russian ambassador Igor Gromyko, according to Mali's presidency, at Koulouba Palace in Bamako, Mali, in this handout photo released April 28, 2026. Malian Colonel AssimiGoita on Friday said a new prime minister will be appointed within days, in his first remarks since seizing power this week.Political turmoil in Mali has worried the country's neighbors, which have led efforts to defuse the crisis. When AssimiGoïta, the leader ofMali’smilitary junta, sat down with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in the Kremlin last summer, it symbolised Moscow’s commanding sway over Maliatthe expense of the west.Mali in turmoil after insurgents seize towns and kill defence minister. Mali’smilitary government says its security forces thwarted an attempted coup, led by army officers and supported by an unnamed Western state, last week. The government’s announcement on Monday comes after years of turmoil in Mali, where Colonel AssimiGoita led coups in 2020 and... Goita is the son of a militaryofficer and director of themilitary police who grew up in themilitary barracks near Bamako. As a child, he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the Malianmilitary. He attended the Prytanee Militaire de Kati near Kati, Mali. Colonel AssimiGoita in military uniform, surrounded by soldiers. Mali's junta leader, Colonel AssimiGoita: Themilitary coup in May 2021 under his leadership drew international criticism Image: Fatoma Coulibaly/REUTERS.