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By Tiemoko Diallo

BAMAKO, June 9 (Reuters) - Mali's new President Ahmadou Toumani Toure named a surprise choice for prime minister on Sunday, appointing Ahmed Mohammed Ag Amani who served under the dictator ousted by the former general in 1991.

Toure, who restored civilian rule during his last brief spell as the West African country's ruler, took office again on Saturday after winning an election landslide in what is now seen as a beacon of democracy.

The official statement announcing that Amani had been named as prime minister said that his predecessor, Modibo Sidibe had been appointed as secretary-general to the presidency.

Amani held several ministerial posts under Moussa Traore, the army ruler who ran Mali for 23 years before being ousted by Toure in 1991 after the bloody repression of pro-democracy protests left more than 100 people dead.

By that time Amani had left the government and become a diplomat, heading the Organisation for the Development of the Senegal River -- a regional grouping of Mali and its western neighbours Senegal and Mauritania.

Since then, he has continued to serve abroad and has not been a big player on Mali's political landscape for many years.

Popularly known by his initials "ATT", Toure pledged to work for reconciliation between the people of the landlocked former French colony on the edge of the Sahara desert.

Although Toure stood as an independent and beat the candidate of the ruling Adema party in last month's election, his relations are cordial with former President Alpha Oumar Konare.

Konare stepped down after serving the 10 years he was allowed under the constitution, joining a select club of African leaders prepared to bow out without trying to change the law to keep hold of power.

One of Konare's last acts as president was to pardon Traore and his wife, serving life sentences for murder and corruption. But Traore refused the gesture, demanding to be given his privileges as a former head of state.

Toure has yet to say what he plans to do about Traore, whose case still arouses deep emotions among those whose relatives or friends were killed in the 1991 protests. Nampa-Reuters

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