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Lansana Conté (N'Ko: ߟߊ߲߭ߛߣߊ߬ ߞߐ߲ߕߋ߬; 30 November 1934 [2] – 22 December 2008 [3]) was a Guinean politician and military official who served as the second president of Guinea from 1984 until his death in 2008. Conté came to power in the 1984 Guinean coup d'état.
Jan 3, 2009 · The death of the West African dictator Lansana Conté – and the suffering he inflicted on Guinea during his quarter century in power – can't help but bring to mind President Robert Mugabe's ...
Lansana Conté promised to restore stability, improve governance, and prioritize the welfare of the Guinean people. As the head of the ruling military junta, known as the Military Committee of National Recovery (CMRN), he established himself as a key figure in Guinea's political landscape.
- At A Glance…
- Offered An Agenda of Change
- Tension Mounted in Mid-1980S
- An Able Political Leader
- The Transition to Democracy
- Sources
Born c. 1944 in a village about 50 miles north of Conakry, Guinea. Member of the Soussou ethnic group. President of Guinea, 1964–; assumed leadership in a military coup following the death of President Sekou Toure; founder of Military Committee of Recovery (CMRN), 19B4 (dissolved, 1991); founder of Transitional Committee for National Recovery (CTRN...
Sekou Touré died unexpectedly on March 26, 1984, during heart surgery in Cleveland, Ohio. There was no clearly established successor to the Guinean president, so within two weeks the army stepped in and took over the government. The bloodless coup was led by two colonels, Lansana Conté and Diana Traoré. Conté became president, and Traoré became pri...
In December of 1984 Conté abolished the position of prime minister and demoted Traoré to minister of state for national education, one of four newly-created state minister posts. Traoré refused to acknowledge changes in the balance of power and continued to occupy the prime minister’s residence. Animosity between the two leaders continued into 1985...
Following the failed coup attempt in July of 1985, Conté took his time and spent the remainder of the year deciding on a new government and initiating new economic reforms. According to Africa Report, the reason for the delay was Conté’s desire to “deliberate carefully before coming to an important decision.” Although the delay in forming a new gov...
While citing continuing problems with official corruption and embezzlement, Contéannounced the following year that Guinea would make the transition to a multiparty democracy during a five-year period that would follow the adoption of a new constitution. The constitution would be drafted by a commission of Guineans, and the CMRN would be replaced wi...
Books
Africa Contemporary Record, Africana Publishing Company, 1986-1990. Africa South of the Sahara 1994, Europa, 1994. Keesing’s Record of World Events, Longman, 1988-1993. Rake, Alan, Who’s Who in Africa: Leaders for the 1990s, Scarecrow Press, 1992, pp. 134-35.
Periodicals
Africa Report, November-December 1986, p. 21; November-December 1993, p. 11. Business America, April 11, 1988; July 17, 1989, p. 17. —David Bianco
Dec 27, 2008 · Lansana Conte, who took power in 1984, was the only leader who many Guineans had ever known. Though he was widely seen as corrupt and authoritarian, many Guineans saw stability under him as...
Dec 23, 2008 · The President of Guinea, Lansana Conte, has died, aged 74. He had ruled the West African country with an iron fist since 1984, when he took power after a bloodless coup, only the country's...
Dec 23, 2008 · AFP - Guinea's President Lansana Conte, who ruled the West African nation with an iron fist for 24 years, has died after a reign marked by brutal repression in a mineral-rich country that is...
