Berthé Aïssata Bengaly

Berthé Aïssata Bengaly was born in Koutiala, Mali, in 1957.^[1][2][3] After getting her bachelor's degree from the Lycée Notre-Dame du Niger in 1978, she graduated with a master's in chemistry from the École Normale Supérieure of Bamako in 1985.^[1] She later studied at Tulane University in the United States, where she obtained a master's in nutrition in 1995.^[1][2]

From 1985 to 1986, Bengaly taught chemistry at the Lycée Notre-Dame du Niger in Bamako.^[3] She then worked as a researcher at the Institut d'Economie Rurale in Bamako from 1990 to 1995 and at Texas A&M University in the U.S. from 1996 to 2001.^[1][2] While at the Bamako institute, she notably developed Deliken, a sorghum-based nutritional biscuit, among other food products and techniques.^[1][2][4]

Under the presidency of Amadou Toumani Touré, she was appointed minister for the promotion of women, children, and the family from 16 October 2002, to 20 June 2005.^[3] She later served under President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta as minister of the craft industry and tourism, from 8 September 2013, to 10 January 2015.^[1][2][3] At one point a member of the Union for Democracy and Development party, she served on its executive committee and headed its women's wing.^[1] She was also a onetime member of the Rally for Mali party.^[2]

Bengaly was named a Knight of the National Order of Merit for her contributions.^[5] She died in 2024, after a short illness, at age 67.^[2]