Education
Born in Bamako, Kouyaté studied medicine at the University of Montpellier in France before returning to Mali.
Born in Bamako, Kouyaté studied medicine at the University of Montpellier in France before returning to Mali.
Under president Modibo Keïta, he wrote the words for Mali"s national anthem, Pour l"Afrique et pour toi, Mali. In the Plan of September 17, 1962 he was named Minister of Economic and Financial Coordination. However, with the coup d"état of 1968, and the rise to the presidency of Moussa Traoré, he was deported to Kidal before being exiled to Dakar, in Senegal.
Kouyaté is also internationally known as a writer
Even before Mali"s independence, in 1957, he had published his first novel, Sous l"orage. This was followed by two other novels, Le Sang des masques in 1976 and Noces sacrées in 1977.
In 2007 his novel Louisiana Saison des pièges was published.
Associated from its beginning with the Sudanese Union-African Democratic Rally, he was removed from the party in 1998 for having opposed part of its plan to refuse recognition to certain institutions participating in contested elections.
