Cercles of Mali

A cercle (French for "circle") is the second-level administrative unit in Mali. Mali is divided into 19 régions and one capital district (Bamako); the régions are subdivided into 159 cercles.[1] These subdivisions bear the name of their principal city.

During French colonial rule in Mali, a cercle was the smallest unit of French political administration that was headed by a European officer. A cercle consisted of several cantons, each of which in turn consisted of several villages. In 1887, the Cercle of Bafoulabé was the first cercle to be created in Mali. In most of former French West Africa, the term cercle was changed to prefecture or department after independence, but this was not done in Mali.

Some cercles (and the district) were, prior to the 1999 local government reorganisation, further divided into arrondissements, especially in urban areas or the vast northern regions (such as Kidal), which consisted of a collection of communes. Since these reforms, cercles are now directly subdivided into rural and urban communes, which in turn are divided in quartiers (quarters, or villages and encampments in rural areas) which have elected councils at each level.[2] There are 819 communes, 36 urban communes (including six in Bamako District) and over 700 rural communes.[3] The cercles are listed below.

Bamako Capital District

Kayes Region

Koulikoro Region

Sikasso Region

Ségou Region

Mopti Region

Tombouctou Region

Gao Region

  • Gao Cercle
  • Bourem Cercle
  • Ansongo Cercle
  • Almoustrat Cercle
  • Bamba Cercle
  • Ouattagouna Cercle
  • Soni Aliber Cercle
  • Djebock Cercle
  • Talataye Cercle
  • Tessit Cercle
  • N'Tillit Cercle
  • Gabéro Cercle
  • Ersane Cercle
  • Tabankort Cercle
  • Tin-Aouker Cercle
  • Kassambéré Cercle

Kidal Region

Taoudénit Region

Ménaka Region

Nioro Region

Kita Region

  • Kita Cercle
  • Sagabari Cercle
  • Sébékoro Cercle
  • Toukoto Cercle
  • Séféto Cercle
  • Sirakoro Cercle

Dioïla Region

  • Dioïla Cercle
  • Banco Cercle
  • Béléko Cercle
  • Fana Cercle
  • Massigui Cercle
  • Ména Cercle

Nara Region

  • Nara Cercle
  • Ballé Cercle
  • Dilly Cercle
  • Mourdiah Cercle
  • Guiré Cercle
  • Fallou Cercle

Bougouni Region

  • Bougouni Cercle
  • Yanfolila Cercle
  • Kolondiéba Cercle
  • Garalo Cercle
  • Koumantou Cercle
  • Sélingué Cercle
  • Ouélessébougou Cercle
  • Kadiala Cercle
  • Fakola Cercle
  • Dogo Cercle

Koutiala Region

San Region

Douentza Region

  • Douentza Cercle
  • Boré Cercle
  • Hombori Cercle
  • N'Gouma Cercle
  • Mondoro Cercle
  • Boni Cercle

Bandiagara Region

See also

References

  1. ^ Administrative divisions of Mali
  2. ^ La Délégation Générale aux Elections, Government of Mali: database of all registered electors in Mali (2007), includes a hierarchical list of every cercle, commune, and quarter in the nation.
  3. ^ Loi N°99-035/ Du 10 Aout 1999 Portant Creation des Collectivites Territoriales de Cercles et de Regions (PDF) (in French), Ministère de l'Administration Territoriales et des Collectivités Locales, République du Mali, 1999, archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2012, retrieved 4 May 2012.

Colonial usage

  • Benton, Lauren: Colonial Law and Cultural Difference: Jurisdictional Politics and the Formation of the Colonial State in Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 41, No. 3 (Jul., 1999)
  • Crowder, Michael: West Africa Under Colonial Rule Northwestern Univ. Press (1968) ASIN: B000NUU584
  • Crowder, Michael: Indirect Rule: French and British Style Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Jul., 1964)
  • Mortimer, Edward France and the Africans, 1944–1960, A Political History (1970)
  • Jean Suret-Canele. French Colonialism in Tropical Africa 1900–1945. Trans. Pica Press (1971)
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