Former Coup Leader Assumes Presidency
Ahmadou Toumani Toure, the former paratroop officer who overthrew a dictator in Mali a decade ago, returned to power after an election landslide in the impoverished West African country.
Toure, 54, took office from President Alpha Oumar Konare, 56, who stepped down after serving 10 years as allowed by the constitution. That rule has come to be seen as a model of democracy in Africa.
With the two men appearing to be on the best of terms, the ceremony was a reversal of the inauguration in 1992 at which Toure handed to Konare the reins of the landlocked former French colony.
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