Choguel Kokalla Maïga is a Mali

Mali

Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...

an politician.

Born in Tabango, in the Gao Region

Gao Region

The Gao Region is located in eastern Mali. The region's capital city is Gao. Gao Region is bordered to the south and east by Niger, to the north by Kidal Region, and to the west by Tombouctou Region. Common ethnicities in the Gao Region include the Songhai, Bozo, Tuareg, Bambara, and Kounta...

, Maïga is a telecommunications engineer by profession, and is a close associate of Moussa Traoré

Moussa Traoré

General Moussa Traoré is a Malian soldier and politician. As a Lieutenant, he led the military ouster of President Modibo Keïta in 1968. Thereafter he served as Head of State from 1968-1979, and President of Mali from 1979 to 1991, when he was overthrown by popular protests and military coup...

. He was once a member of the National Youth Union of Mali

National Youth Union of Mali

The National Youth Union of Mali was a youth organization in Mali. UNJM was the youth wing of the ruling UDPM. UNJM held its first national council meeting in 1979. Mahamadou Baba Diallo served as the general secretary of UNJM.UNJM published a monthly magazine called Sukaabé....

. In February 1997 he became president of the Patriotic Movement for Renewal

Patriotic Movement for Renewal

The Patriotic Movement for Renewal is a political party in Mali.The MPR candidate in the presidential election held on 28 April 2002 was Choguel Kokalla Maïga, who won 2.7 % of the vote....

, a political party in Mali. In 2002 he stood for president

Malian presidential election, 2002

Mali held a presidential election in 2002 to choose the President of Mali. The first round was held on 28 April 2002 and the second round was held on 12 May...

, obtaining 2.73% of the votes in the first round before bowing out and supporting Amadou Toumani Touré

Amadou Toumani Touré

Amadou Toumani Touré is the president of Mali. He overthrew a military ruler, Moussa Traoré in 1991, then handed power to civilian authorities the next year...

. In the legislative election of the same year he aligned himself with Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta

Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta

Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta is a Malian politician. He was Prime Minister of Mali from 1994 to 2000 and President of the National Assembly of Mali from 2002 to 2007. He is currently the President of the Rally for Mali political party....

's Rally for Mali

Rally for Mali

The Rally for Mali is a Malian political party created by Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in June 2001.In October 2000, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, the former prime minister of Mali, resigned from incumbent President Alpha Oumar Konaré's party, the Alliance for Democracy in Mali-African Party for Solidarity...

 party and with the National Congress for Democratic Initiative

National Congress for Democratic Initiative

The National Congress for Democratic Initiative is a political party in Mali, founded in 1990 and led by Mountaga Tall.In the first presidential election following the transition to democracy , Mountaga Tali received 11.41% of votes and placed third.In 1995, a group of militants led by Tiébilé...

, both part of the larger Hope 2002

Hope 2002

Hope 2002 was a coalition of political parties in Mali that won a majority of seats in the parliamentary election of 2002...

 coalition. Maïga was the Minister of Industry and Commerce in the government of Ahmed Mohamed ag Hamani

Ahmed Mohamed ag Hamani

Ahmed Mohamed ag Hamani, born , was the Prime Minister of Mali from 2002 until 2004.Hamani was born in Goundam. He became a technical advisor to the Minister of the Plan in 1975 before entering the government on January 7, 1978 as Minister for the Supervision of Companies and State Enterprises...

, serving in that capacity from October 16, 2002 until April 28, 2004; he remained in that post under Ousmane Issoufi Maïga

Ousmane Issoufi Maïga

Ousmane Issoufi Maïga was the Prime Minister of Mali from 2004 to 2007. Issoufi had previously held several ministerial posts in previous governments.Issoufi was born near Gao, in the north of Mali...

, serving from May 2, 2004 until September 27, 2007.

In December 2005, Maïga was the Malian representative at the Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 WTO Doha Round

Doha round

The Doha Development Round or Doha Development Agenda is the current trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organization which commenced in November 2001. Its objective is to lower trade barriers around the world, which will help facilitate the increase of global trade...

 trade negotiations. With cotton and food subsidies in the developed world dramatically effecting the Malian economy, Maïga was quoted saying "[The US and EU] are like elephants fighting. We are like the grass under their feet."

In the presidential election of 2007

Malian presidential election, 2007

A presidential election was held in Mali on 29 April 2007. President Amadou Toumani Touré ran for re-election against seven other candidates and won in the first round with about 71% of the vote, according to final results.-Pre-campaign:...

, Maïga did not stand as a candidate, instead once again supporting Amadou Toumani Touré.