Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé was the first female president of Mali from 2011 to 2012. Being the first female president in the country’s history, she became the role model and epitome of success. She held the post of executive secretary of CILSS- International committee fighting against desertification and poverty in Sahel countries. She has also been served as country’s Special Advisor to the President, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Rural Development. She is the member of several associations including the Network of Women Ministers and Parliamentarians of Mali, the Alliance against the Hunger and also affiliated with the Association for the Preservation of Timbuktu. At the launch of UNESCO’s Global Partnership for Girls and Women’s Education, she was one of the essential speakers. In 2015 she was named as the ambassador of the Niger Basin Authority NBA held in Paris.

Among her additional qualifications is her participation in industrial relations in an ITC-ILO training activity in 1984. She was awarded a Turin Centre certificate.