Keïta studied at the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly in Paris and Lycée Askia-Mohamed in Bamako, continuing his education at the University of Dakar, the University of Paris I and the Institut d'Histoire des Relations Internationales Contemporaines (IHRIC; Institute of the Modern History of International Relations).

[8] He went on to become Mali director for the French chapter of Terre des hommes, an international NGO aiding children in the developing world.

[10] Upon the founding of the Alliance for Democracy in Mali (ADEMA-PASJ), Keïta became its Secretary for African and International Relations at its constitutive congress, held on 25–26 May 1991.

Despite this support, some people doubted that Keïta's policies were particularly compatible with Islam, pointing to the creation of casinos and lotteries while he was Prime Minister.

[17] In the first round of the election, held on 28 April, he received about 21% of the vote and took third place, behind Amadou Toumani Touré and Soumaïla Cissé.

[18] He denounced the election as fraudulent, alleging that he was deliberately and falsely excluded from the second round, and along with other candidates sought the invalidation of results.

[35] As of 2007–2008, he was a member of the Commission of Foreign Affairs, Malians Living Abroad, and African Integration in the National Assembly.

[36] In addition to serving in the National Assembly, Keïta was a member of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States.

[38][39] He won the election in a second round of voting, defeating Soumaïla Cissé, and was sworn in by the Supreme Court of Mali as president on 4 September 2013.

He was unwavering in his determination for national dialogue and reconciliation with parties across the country whilst leading efforts against insurgents and terrorists during his presidency.

The cause for this was a 50 million dollar agreement with the World Bank to protect poor Malians and to boost the Country’s recovery from crisis.

The agreement with the world bank will support emergency recovery programs in the country’s Sustainable Recovery Plan, including strengthening social safety net protection for poor and vulnerable families, deepening controls on budget and transparency, and restoring financial sustainability and investment capacity in the power and water irrigation sectors.

When taking office in 2013 the MLNA had ended ceasefire after government forces opened fire on unarmed protesters.

In March 2020, Malian authorities recorded the country's first coronavirus infections, in two nationals who had recently arrived from France.

On 18 March, President Keita suspended flights from affected countries, closed schools and banned large public gatherings.