Mariama Ndoye (married name, Mbengue), was born in Rufisque, Senegal, in 1953. Her mother was a telephone operator and her father a medical doctor. After completing her baccalauréat in 1971, she continued her studies at the University of Dakar, where she was awarded an Arts Degree and later a Doctorate in French language and literature. She also gained a Diploma in Museology from the Louvre School in Paris. Until 1986, she was the Curator of the IFAN Museum of African Arts (Musée de l’Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire) in Dakar. She later moved to the Ivory Coast where she lived for 15 years with her husband and three children. She then went to Tunisia with her family, a country where she lived for many years, spending her time writing, discovering a new culture and enjoying the company of her grandchildren. Following the retirement of her husband, she returned to Senegal where she became Director of Books and Reading at the Senegalese Ministry of Culture, from 2011 to 2013. In February 2014, she was appointed Curator of the Léopold Sédar Senghor Museum located in the President-Poet’s old residence.
