Choguel Kokalla Maïga
Choguel Kokalla Maïga is a Malian politician and President of the Patriotic Movement for Renewal, a political party in Mali. He served in the government as Minister of Industry and Trade from 2002 to 2007 and later as Minister of the Digital Economy, Information and Communication from 2015 to 2016.Life and career
Born in Tabango, in the Gao Region, Maïga is a telecommunications engineer by profession, and is a close associate of Moussa Traoré. He was once a member of the National Youth Union of Mali. In February 1997 he became president of the Patriotic Movement for Renewal, a political party in Mali. In 2002 he stood for president, obtaining 2.73% of the votes in the first round before bowing out and supporting Amadou Toumani Touré. In the legislative election of the same year he aligned himself with Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta's Rally for Mali party and with the National Congress for Democratic Initiative, both part of the larger Hope 2002 coalition. Maïga was the Minister of Industry and Commerce in the government of Ahmed Mohamed ag Hamani, serving in that capacity from October 16, 2002 until April 28, 2004; he remained in that post under Ousmane Issoufi Maïga, serving from May 2, 2004 until September 27, 2007.
In December 2005, Maïga was the Malian representative at the Hong Kong WTO Doha Round trade negotiations. With cotton and food subsidies in the developed world dramatically affecting the Malian economy, Maïga was quoted saying " are like elephants fighting. We are like the grass under their feet."
In the 2007 presidential election, Maïga did not stand as a candidate, instead once again supporting Amadou Toumani Touré. Following Touré's re-election, Maïga was appointed as Director of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission in January 2008. He remained in that post until he was appointed to the government as Minister of the Digital Economy, Information and Communication on 10 January 2015. He was dismissed from the government on 7 July 2016.
