Amadou Sanogo

Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo (born 1972 or 1973) is a Malian military officer and the leader of the 2012 Malian coup d'état against President Amadou Toumani Toure. He proclaimed himself the leader of the National Committee for Recovering Democracy and Restoring the State (CNRDRE). Sanogo was also said to be involved in the arrest and resignation of acting Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra, leading to the appointment of former civil servant and Secretary-General to the Presidency Django Sissoko as prime minister. According to Human Rights Watch, Sanogo’s forces have been implicated in serious human rights abuses including torture, sexual abuse, and intimidation against journalists and family members of detained soldiers.

Early and personal life
Sanogo is one of six children born to Mamadou Sanogo and his wife. Amadou Sanogo is nicknamed "Bolly" by relatives.

Sanogo comes from Ségou, one of Mali's largest cities on the Niger River. Sanogo has spent 22 years in the military. Before the coup, Sanogo had held a mid-level army position. A participant in the International Military Education and Training program, he received training "at training programmes in the United States, in Georgia and at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia", but his American instructors "never marked him out as future leadership material". He also studied English at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

CRNDRE
His first actions as de facto head of state included suspending the constitution and activities of some organizations, as well as declaring a curfew and closing the borders. Though the rationale for the coup had been Amadou Toumani Toure's alleged mismanagement of the 2012 Tuareg rebellion, the Malian military lost control of the regional capitals of Kidal, Gao, and Timbuktu within ten days of Sanogo's assuming office, leading Reuters to describe the coup as "a spectacular own-goal". On 4 April, The New York Times reported that he was trying to deflect attention from the coup to the struggles in the north, telling a reporter, "We should forget a little the Committee, the Parliament, the Constitution — that can wait. The serious topic, it’s the north. That’s the most important."

Following the economic sanctions and a blockade by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the country, a deal, brokered in Burkina Faso by President Blaise Compaoré under the auspices of ECOWAS, was signed that would see Sanogo cede power to Dioncounda Traoré assume the presidency in an interim capacity until an election is held.

After the new interim president Dioncounda Traoré and prime minister cheick Modibo Diarra took office, the junta led by Sanogo made it clear that they are stepping aside only temporarily and that the junta will retain supervisory role until the elections. ECOWAS gave the interim government one year to hold elections.

On 24 November, Sanogo joined Malian religious leaders to speak at a Bamako rally against religious extremism.

On 11 December 2012, the prime minister Modibo Diarra was arrested by Sanogo's junta, and forced to resign. The move, which was condemned by Ecowas, was followed the same day by the appointment of Django Sissoko as new Mali prime minister.