Colonel Assimi Goïta, born 1983, is the Interim President of Mali and the country’s de facto leader since 2020. A career special-forces officer, he first emerged publicly as the head of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), the military junta that overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in August 2020 amid nationwide protests over insecurity and corruption. In May 2021, Goïta led a second takeover, removing the civilian transitional leadership and consolidating direct military control. He was subsequently sworn in as interim president, overseeing a political transition whose timelines have repeatedly shifted, drawing both regional and international scrutiny. Under Goïta, Mali has undergone a profound geopolitical reorientation. His administration dramatically scaled back cooperation with France, ordered the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers (MINUSMA), and forged new security alliances centred on Russia, including the deployment of Wagner Group fighters. Domestically, he presents himself as a restorer of sovereignty and stability against jihadist insurgencies, though violence persists across much of the country. Regionally, Goïta has aligned Mali with Burkina Faso and Niger in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a bloc asserting military-led governance and rejecting ECOWAS pressure. His rule reflects a wider Sahelian shift toward military nationalism, strategic defiance of Western partners, and contested promises of security reform.