West African political leader Modibo Keita (1915-1977) led the fight for independence of the French Sudan and became the first president of the Republic of Mali.

Modibo Keita was born on June 4, 1915, in Bamako, the capital of French Sudan (now Mali), a landlocked nation in western Africa. After primary schooling, he was educated in neighboring Senegal and returned home in 1936 as a teacher.

Political Beginnings

Following World War II, France permitted its African territories to send representatives to the French Constituent Assembly in Paris. This marked the beginning of organized political activity in the Sudan. Keita joined the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (RDA) and in 1947 was elected secretary general of the Union Soudanaise, the Sudan section of the RDA. In 1948 he was elected to the first territorial assembly of the French Sudan.

France opposed the RDA because of its close association with the French Communist party and...