Prof. El Boukhari Ben Essayouti was born in 1963 and graduated in modern letters, training engineering and French didactics. A professor of literature and linguistics, he directed the Timbuktu Museum from 1990 to 2011 before becoming head of the Timbuktu Cultural Mission in charge of the conservation, management and promotion of Tombouctou cultural property including three mosques dating from medieval times and 16 mausoleums in addition to the ancient fabric of the city of Timbuktu and thirty libraries of manuscripts.

Prof. Ben Essayouti has been one of Mali's representatives on the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

A prolific writer, he has published numerous plays and documentary studies in the UNESCO journal. He is secretary-general the Malian Association for Human Rights and president of the Malian Coalition for Human Rights for the Timbuktu region.