Tiéman Hubert Coulibaly

Tiéman Hubert Coulibaly is a Malian politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mali between 2012 and 2013 and 2017 and 2018. Coulibaly also served as the Minister of State Domains and Land Affairs between 2013 and 2014, and the Minister of Defense between 2015 and 2016.

Biography Coulibaly was born in Bamako, Mali, and graduated from Jean Monnet University and Stendhal University in France. He first entered politics at university, joining the Union of Communist Students while at Jean Monnet University. He then joined the Socialist Party of France, and supported Michel Rocard, along with forming the Malian Students of Saint-Etienne student association.

As foreign minister, Coulibaly expressed the need for stronger ties with Niger over counter-terrorism efforts in the early years of the Mali War, and claimed that "conventional war is over" in 2013. His first priority as foreign minister was the recapture of Azawad from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA). Coulibaly also served as Minister of Defense between 2015 and 2016, but was sacked after a deadly jihadist attack in Boni. He returned as the Minister of Foreign Affairs again in 2017, but was sacked in favor of Kamissa Coumara in 2018.

Following the 2021 Malian coup d'état, Coulibaly was forced to flee the country into Côte d'Ivoire and later France. He became an outspoken critic of the Malian junta led by Assimi Goïta, and has referred to him as a dictator. In August 2022, the junta released an international arrest warrant for Coulibaly and former colleagues of the Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (IBK) administration for forgery and corruption.