Summary of experience and qualifications
A career diplomat, skilled negotiator and proven mediator with over 20 years' experience in highly strategic and political positions at national and international level, Mali's current head of diplomacy, HE Abdoulaye DIOP, is a man of challenges and solutions.
As Mali's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in a difficult security and geopolitical context, Mr. DIOP is strongly committed to defending Mali's sovereignty and strategic interests on all fronts, at sub-regional, regional and international levels.
A true craftsman and skillful chief negotiator on behalf of the Mali government, Mr. Abdoulaye DIOP played a leading role in the reconciliation of positions and the cessation of hostilities between Mali and the former rebel movements.
Like any good diplomat, Ambassador Abdoulaye DIOP has a rich address book that opens many doors for the mission entrusted to him by Mali's highest authorities at a time of heightened geopolitical and geostrategic maneuvering.
A former Director of Cabinet to the Chairman of the African Union Commission, former Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) Africa office in Addis Ababa, WFP Country Director in Malawi, and having served as Mali's Ambassador to the United States and Diplomatic Advisor to two Presidents of Mali, he is a connoisseur of international issues, both bilateral and multilateral, geopolitical and geostrategic.
The native of Nioro's holds a master's degree in international relations from the International Institute of Public Administration (Paris, France) and an honorary doctorate in public service from Chatham University, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, USA. Mr. DIOP is bilingual and speaks fluent English and French.


Ambassador Abdoulaye DIOP
DIPLOMAT
-
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mali (2021 – Ongoing)
-
Director of Cabinet of the Chairman of the African Union Commission (2019 – 2021)
-
Special Advisor to the Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and representative to the African Union (2018 – 2019)
-
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mali (2014 – 2017)
-
Africa Director, UN World Food Program (2009 – 2014)
-
Ambassador of Mali to the United States (2003 – 2009)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2021-Ongoing
Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation
TRANSITION GOVERNMENT, THE REPUBLIC OF MALI, Bamako, Mali
2019-2021
Director of Cabinet
AFRICAN UNION COMISSION
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2018-2019
Special Advisor
AFRICAN UNION
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and representative to the African Union
2014-2017
Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and African Integration
GOVERNMENT, THE REPUBLIC OF MALI, Bamako, Mali
2013-2014
Director, Africa Office
UNITED NATIONS WORLD FOOD PROGRAM (WFP), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Representative to the African Union Commission, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD Secretariat)
2009-2012
Representative and Country Director
UNITED NATIONS WORLD FOOD PROGRAM (WFP), Lilongwe, Malawi
2003-2009
Ambassador of Mali to the United States of America and Latin America
GOVERNMENT OF MALI, Washington, DC
2000-2003
Ambassador and Senior Diplomatic Adviser
MALI’S PRESIDENT’S OFFICE, Bamako, Mali
1999-2000
Political and Diplomatic Adviser
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, Bamako, Mali
1992-1998
Coordinator for Mali/European Union Partnership and Programs
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, Bamako Mali
1990-1992
Program Officer at the Directorate for International Cooperation
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, Bamako, Mali
EDUCATION
1994
M.A., International Relations, with Honors
International Institute of Public Administration (IIAP), Paris, France
1994
M.A. in Diplomacy and Management of International Organizations
Jean Monnet School for International Studies, University Paris XI, France
1989
B.A. in Diplomacy (Political Science & International Relations), with Honors
National School of Administration (ENA), Algiers, Algeria
HONORS

Commander of the National Order of the Republic of Mali (2022)
Golden Cowries Award (Cauris d’Or) for African Integration by the Movement of Senegalese Enterprises, Senegal (2017)
Former Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the "Partnership for the Reduction of Hunger and Poverty in Africa", an independent research and advocacy group based in Washington, DC, USA
Officer of the National Order of the Republic of Mali (2017)
Doctor Honoris Causa in Public Service, Chatham University, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania (2009)
Former Chairman of the Committee of African Ambassadors on Trade and Economic Development in Washington, DC, USA
ABDOULAYE DIOP IN THE MEDIA
November 26, 2017
TV5 Monde
November 08, 2017
FOCAC (Forum sur la coopération sino-africaine)
October 08, 2017
Sahelien.com
June 17, 2017
Studio Tamani
June 17, 2017
The Permanent Mission of the Rebublic of Mali to the United Nations
May 21, 2017
Embassy of China in Grenada
January 27, 2017
Par Le360 (avec MAP)
June 15, 2016
UN Web TV
March 09, 2015
Le Monde Afrique