Sadio Camara

Sadio Camara (22 March 1979 – 25 April 2026) was a Malian military officer who served as the minister of defence of Mali from 2021 until his assassination in 2026. He took an active part in the 2020 Malian coup d'état along with Colonel Assimi Goïta that ousted the government of Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, and began serving as the country's minister of defence at that time.

Camara served as minister of defence between October 2020 and May 2021 when he was replaced. This prompted a new coup and he was reinstated on 11 June 2021.

== Early life ==

Sadio Camara was born on 22 March 1979 in Kati, Koulikoro Region, Mali. He was a graduate of the Joint Military School, and began his career in the Malian National Guard.

== Career ==

At the time of the 2020 coup, Camara was serving as head of the Kati Military School, and was receiving military training in Russia since 2019. Camara was on leave from his training in Russia when he took part in the August 2020 coup and was named Minister of Defense in October 2020 under the interim government of Prime Minister Moctar Ouane. He served in that position until late May 2021 when he was excluded from the newly formed government by Bah Ndaw, the interim...