Niankoro Yéah Samaké (Pronunciationⓘ) (born 27 February 1969) is a social entrepreneur and politician from Ouélessébougou, Mali.

[3] Despite their material circumstances, Yéah's father Tiecourafing insisted that all of his children receive an education, not wanting them to suffer the darkness of illiteracy.

[4][5] An exception in a commune where only 15% of the population attended school, Samaké's father's vision contributed greatly to the family's later prominence in Ouélessébougou.

[10] He also worked for the Ouélessébougou-Utah Alliance, an organization founded by Utahns in 1985 to partner with local Malians to improve heath, educational, and economic opportunities in the country.

[12] This brought him in contact with a couple from Colorado who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jeff and Gretchen Winston, who were impressed by Samaké's work ethic and his devotion to his community.

[2][13] At BYU, he earned a master's degree in public policy and served as president of the Black Student Union.

[7] Samaké completed a 4-year bachelor's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language at the university École normale supérieure (ENSUP) in Bamako.

[8][9] On 7 May 2015 Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta appointed Samaké to be the second Ambassador of the Republic of Mali overseeing diplomatic relations with 10 countries: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.

During his tenure, Samaké also focused his efforts on agriculture[16] and increasing cotton processing and export ties with different Indian businesses.

[17][18] Additionally, Samaké worked closely with universities in India and Bangladesh to create scholarship opportunities for Malian students to come study.

[13] Samaké ran for the position of Mayor of Ouélessébougou under the Union for the Republic and Democracy (URD) party.

[11] Two years into Samaké's tenure as mayor, the city now ranks in the top 10 in the country, with a tax collection rate of 68 percent.

[25] On 7 May 2015 President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta appointed Yéah Samaké to be the Ambassador of the Republic of Mali to India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam and Thailand.

[30] Through his work with the Foundation, Samaké has helped build 17 schools in Mali over the last nine years serving more than 2,500 students between the ages of 13 and 17.

[31] In 2011, Samaké and his followers formed the Party for Civic and Patriotic Action (PACP) to support his Presidential run.

[6] The PACP charter emphasizes the values of patriotism, citizenship, decentralization, freedom, democracy, human rights, and good governance.

Based on his experiences as mayor, Samaké stated that the most effective way to govern is to inspire the trust and participation of citizens at the local level.

[35][36] However, the 2012 presidential election failed to happen due to a military coup d'état that overthrew the Malian government.