History of Guinea
Encyclopedia
The modern state of Guinea
did not come into existence until 1958, but the history of the area stretches back well before European intervention. Its current boundaries were deterimined during the colonial period by the Conference of Berlin and the French, who ruled Guinea until 1958.
n empires. The Ghana Empire
is believed to be the earliest of these which grew on trade but contracted and ultimately fell due to the hostile influence of the Almoravides. It was in this period that Islam
first arrived in the region.
The Sosso
kingdom (12th to 13th centuries) briefly flourished in the void but the Islamic Mandinka
Mali Empire
came to prominence when Soundiata Kéïta
defeated the Sosso ruler, Soumangourou Kanté
at the semi-historical Battle of Kirina
in c. 1235. The Mali Empire was ruled by Mansa
(Emperors), the most famous being Kankou Moussa
, who made a famous hajj
to Mecca in 1324. Shortly after his reign the Mali Empire began to decline and was ultimately supplanted by its vassal
states in the 15th century.
The most successful of these was the Songhai Empire
, expanding its power from about 1460, and eventually surpassing the Mali Empire in both territory and wealth. It continued to prosper until a civil war over succession followed the death of Askia Daoud
in 1582. The weakened empire fell to invaders from Morocco
at the Battle of Tondibi
just 3 years later. The Moroccans proved unable to rule the kingdom effectively, however, and it split into many small kingdoms.
in Central Guinea and established an Islamic state from 1735 to 1898 with a written Constitution and alternate rulers.
in the predominately Malinké
area of what is now upper Guinea
and southwestern Mali
(Wassoulou). It moved to Côte d'Ivoire
before being conquered by the French.
.
Guinea's colonial period began with French
military penetration into the area in the mid-19th century. French domination was assured by the defeat in 1898 of the armies of Samori Touré, Mansa (or Emperor) of the Ouassoulou state and leader of Malinké descent, which gave France control of what today is Guinea and adjacent areas.
France negotiated Guinea's present boundaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the British
for Sierra Leone
, the Portuguese
for their Guinea colony (now Guinea-Bissau
), and Liberia
. Under the French, the country formed the Territory of Guinea
within French West Africa
, administered by a governor general resident in Dakar. Lieutenant governors administered the individual colonies, including Guinea.
collapsed due to political instability and its failures in dealing with its colonies, especially Indochina
and Algeria
. The founding of a Fifth Republic
was supported by the French people, while France's colonies were given the choice between more autonomy in a new French Community
and immediate independence. The other colonies chose the former but Guinea — under the leadership of Ahmed Sékou Touré
whose Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG) had won 56 of 60 seats in 1957 territorial elections — voted overwhelmingly for independence. The French withdrew quickly, and on October 2, 1958, Guinea proclaimed itself a sovereign and independent republic, with Sékou Touré as president.
De Gaulle withdrew the French administration, with much of the French population following, which took much of the country’s infrastructure and large amounts of capital. Guinea quickly aligned itself with the Soviet Union
and adopted socialist
policies. This alliance was short lived, however, as Guinea moved towards a Chinese
model of socialism. Despite this, however, the country continued to receive aid and investment from capitalist
countries such as the U.S.
. Even the relationship with France improved, after the election of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
as president, trade increased and the two countries exchanged diplomatic visits.
Within a few years of independence, Touré led the nation into one-party rule. Advocating a hybrid African Socialism
domestically and Pan-Africanism
abroad, Touré quickly became a polarising leader, and his government became intolerant of dissent, imprisoning hundreds, and stifling free press. At the same time, the government nationalised land, removed French appointed and traditional chiefs from power, and broke ties with French government and companies. Vacillating between support for the Soviet Union
and (by the late 1970s) the United States, Guinea's economic situation became as unpredictable as its diplomatic line. Alleging plots and conspiracies against him at home and abroad, Touré’s regime targeted real and imagined opponents driving thousands of political opponents into exile.
In 1970, Portuguese forces, from neighboring Portuguese Guinea
, staged Operation Green Sea, a raid into Guinea with the support of exiled Guinean opposition forces. Among other goals, the Portuguese military wanted to kill or capture Sekou Toure due his support of the PAIGC, a guerilla movement operating inside Portuguese Guinea. After several days of fierce fighting, the Portuguese forces retreated without achieving most of their goals. The regime of Sékou Touré increased the number of internal arrests and executions.
Sékou Touré died on March 26, 1984 after a heart operation in the United States, and was replaced in an interim role by Prime Minister
Louis Lansana Beavogui
.
and Diarra Traoré
seized power on April 3, 1984 in a bloodless coup, ending Beavogui's brief rule. Conté assumed the role of president with Traoré as his prime minister.
Conté immediately denounced the previous regime’s record on human rights
, released 250 political prisoners and encouraged approximately 200,000 more to return from exile. He also made explicit the turn away from socialism, but this did little to alleviate poverty and the country showed no immediate signs of moving towards democracy
.
In 1992, Conté announced a return to civilian rule, with a presidential poll in 1993 followed by elections to parliament in 1995 (in which his party - the Party of Unity and Progress - won 71 of 114 seats.) Despite this, Conté's grip on power remained tight. In September 2001 the opposition leader Alpha Condé
was imprisoned for endangering state security, though he was pardoned 8 months later. He subsequently spent a period of exile in France. In 2001 Conté organized and won a referendum to lengthen the presidential term and in 2003 begun his third term after elections were boycotted by the opposition. In January 2005, Conté survived a suspected assassination attempt while making a rare public appearance in the capital Conakry
. His opponents claimed that he was a "tired dictator" whose departure was inevitable, whereas his supporters believed that he was winning a battle with dissidents. Guinea still faces very real problems and according to Foreign Policy
is in danger of becoming a failed state
.
In 2000 Guinea became embroiled in the instability which had long blighted the rest of West Africa
as rebels crossed the borders with Liberia
and Sierra Leone
and it seemed for a time that the country was headed for civil war
. Conté blamed neighbouring leaders for coveting Guinea's natural resources, though these claims were strenuously denied. In 2003 Guinea agreed plans with her neighbours to tackle the insurgents. In 2007 there were big protests
against the government, resulting in the appointment of a new prime minister.
by the military. The junta, under the name National Council for Democracy and Development
(Fr: Conseil National de la Démocratie et du Dévelopement, CNDD), is led by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara
.
On September 28, 2009 an opposition demonstration
was met by troops who fired on demonstrators and raped many women among them.
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
did not come into existence until 1958, but the history of the area stretches back well before European intervention. Its current boundaries were deterimined during the colonial period by the Conference of Berlin and the French, who ruled Guinea until 1958.
West African Empires
What is now Guinea was on the fringes of the major West AfricaWest Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n empires. The Ghana Empire
Ghana Empire
The Ghana Empire or Wagadou Empire was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, and Western Mali. Complex societies had existed in the region since about 1500 BCE, and around Ghana's core region since about 300 CE...
is believed to be the earliest of these which grew on trade but contracted and ultimately fell due to the hostile influence of the Almoravides. It was in this period that Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
first arrived in the region.
The Sosso
Sosso
The Sosso Empire was a twelfth-century Kaniaga kingdom of West Africa.-Medieval Sosso:The modern Sosso people trace their history to a 12th- and 13th-century Kaniaga kingdom known as the "Sosso." With the fall of the Ghana Empire, the Sosso expanded into a number of its former holdings, including...
kingdom (12th to 13th centuries) briefly flourished in the void but the Islamic Mandinka
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
Mali Empire
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I...
came to prominence when Soundiata Kéïta
Sundiata Keita
Sundiata Keita, Sundjata Keyita, Mari Djata I or just Sundiata was the founder of the Mali Empire and celebrated as a hero of the Malinke people of West Africa in the semi-historical Epic of Sundiata....
defeated the Sosso ruler, Soumangourou Kanté
Soumaoro Kanté
Soumaoro Kanté was a thirteenth century king of the Sosso people. Seizing Koumbi Saleh, the capital of the recently-defunct Ghana Empire, Soumaoro Kanté proceeded to conquer several neighboring states, including the Mandinka people in what is now Mali...
at the semi-historical Battle of Kirina
Battle of Kirina
The Battle of Kirina, also known as the Battle of Krina , was a confrontation between the Sosso king Sumanguru Kanté and the Mandinka prince Sundiata Keita...
in c. 1235. The Mali Empire was ruled by Mansa
Mansa
Mansa is a Mandinka word meaning "king of kings". It is particularly associated with the Keita Dynasty of the Mali Empire, which dominated West Africa from the thirteenth to the fifthteenth century...
(Emperors), the most famous being Kankou Moussa
Mansa Musa
Musa I , commonly referred to as Mansa Musa, was the tenth mansa, which translates as "king of kings" or "emperor", of the Malian Empire...
, who made a famous hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
to Mecca in 1324. Shortly after his reign the Mali Empire began to decline and was ultimately supplanted by its vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
states in the 15th century.
The most successful of these was the Songhai Empire
Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire, was a state located in western Africa. From the early 15th to the late 16th century, Songhai was one of the largest Islamic empires in history. This empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai. Its capital was the city...
, expanding its power from about 1460, and eventually surpassing the Mali Empire in both territory and wealth. It continued to prosper until a civil war over succession followed the death of Askia Daoud
Askia Daoud
Askia Daoud was ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1549 to 1582. Daoud came to power unopposed following the death of his brother Askia Ishaq I in 1549. The Empire continued to expand under Daoud's rule, and saw little internal strife.He organised a series of military campaigns against tributary...
in 1582. The weakened empire fell to invaders from Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
at the Battle of Tondibi
Battle of Tondibi
The Battle of Tondibi was the decisive confrontation in Morocco's 16th-century invasion of the Songhai Empire. Though vastly outnumbered, the Moroccan forces under Judar Pasha defeated the Songhai Askia Ishaq II, guaranteeing the Empire's downfall....
just 3 years later. The Moroccans proved unable to rule the kingdom effectively, however, and it split into many small kingdoms.
Kingdoms in Guinea
After the fall of the major West African empires, various kingdoms existed in what is now Guinea.Fouta Djallon
Fulani Muslims migrated to Fouta DjallonFouta Djallon
Fouta Djallon is a highland region in the centre of Guinea, West Africa. The indigenous name is Fuuta-Jaloo...
in Central Guinea and established an Islamic state from 1735 to 1898 with a written Constitution and alternate rulers.
Wassoulou Empire
The Wassoulou or Wassulu empire was a short-lived (1878–1898) empire, led by Samori TureSamori
Samory Toure was the founder of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic state that resisted French rule in West Africa from 1882 until his capture in 1898.-Early life and career:...
in the predominately Malinké
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
area of what is now upper Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
and southwestern Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
(Wassoulou). It moved to Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
before being conquered by the French.
Colonial Era
The slave trade came to the coastal region of Guinea with European adventurers in the 16th century. Slavery had always been part of everyday life but the scale increased as slaves were exported to work elsewhere in the triangular tradeTriangular trade
Triangular trade, or triangle trade, is a historical term indicating among three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come...
.
Guinea's colonial period began with French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
military penetration into the area in the mid-19th century. French domination was assured by the defeat in 1898 of the armies of Samori Touré, Mansa (or Emperor) of the Ouassoulou state and leader of Malinké descent, which gave France control of what today is Guinea and adjacent areas.
France negotiated Guinea's present boundaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
for their Guinea colony (now Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
), and Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. Under the French, the country formed the Territory of Guinea
French Guinea
French Guinea was a French colonial possession in West Africa. Its borders, while changed over time, were in 1958 those of the independent nation of Guinea....
within French West Africa
French West Africa
French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...
, administered by a governor general resident in Dakar. Lieutenant governors administered the individual colonies, including Guinea.
Independence
In 1958 the French Fourth RepublicFrench Fourth Republic
The French Fourth Republic was the republican government of France between 1946 and 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Third Republic, which was in place before World War II, and suffered many of the same problems...
collapsed due to political instability and its failures in dealing with its colonies, especially Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
and Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. The founding of a Fifth Republic
French Fifth Republic
The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, introduced on 4 October 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, replacing the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system...
was supported by the French people, while France's colonies were given the choice between more autonomy in a new French Community
French Community
The French Community was an association of states known in French simply as La Communauté. In 1958 it replaced the French Union, which had itself succeeded the French colonial empire in 1946....
and immediate independence. The other colonies chose the former but Guinea — under the leadership of Ahmed Sékou Touré
Ahmed Sékou Touré
Ahmed Sékou Touré was an African political leader and President of Guinea from 1958 to his death in 1984...
whose Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG) had won 56 of 60 seats in 1957 territorial elections — voted overwhelmingly for independence. The French withdrew quickly, and on October 2, 1958, Guinea proclaimed itself a sovereign and independent republic, with Sékou Touré as president.
Sekou Touré's rule
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and adopted socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
policies. This alliance was short lived, however, as Guinea moved towards a Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
model of socialism. Despite this, however, the country continued to receive aid and investment from capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
countries such as the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Even the relationship with France improved, after the election of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
as president, trade increased and the two countries exchanged diplomatic visits.
Within a few years of independence, Touré led the nation into one-party rule. Advocating a hybrid African Socialism
African socialism
African socialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a "traditional" African way, as distinct from classical socialism. Many African politicians of the 1950s and 1960s professed their support for African socialism, although definitions and interpretations of this term varied...
domestically and Pan-Africanism
Pan-Africanism
Pan-Africanism is a movement that seeks to unify African people or people living in Africa, into a "one African community". Differing types of Pan-Africanism seek different levels of economic, racial, social, or political unity...
abroad, Touré quickly became a polarising leader, and his government became intolerant of dissent, imprisoning hundreds, and stifling free press. At the same time, the government nationalised land, removed French appointed and traditional chiefs from power, and broke ties with French government and companies. Vacillating between support for the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and (by the late 1970s) the United States, Guinea's economic situation became as unpredictable as its diplomatic line. Alleging plots and conspiracies against him at home and abroad, Touré’s regime targeted real and imagined opponents driving thousands of political opponents into exile.
In 1970, Portuguese forces, from neighboring Portuguese Guinea
Portuguese Guinea
Portuguese Guinea was the name for what is today Guinea-Bissau from 1446 to September 10, 1974.-History:...
, staged Operation Green Sea, a raid into Guinea with the support of exiled Guinean opposition forces. Among other goals, the Portuguese military wanted to kill or capture Sekou Toure due his support of the PAIGC, a guerilla movement operating inside Portuguese Guinea. After several days of fierce fighting, the Portuguese forces retreated without achieving most of their goals. The regime of Sékou Touré increased the number of internal arrests and executions.
Sékou Touré died on March 26, 1984 after a heart operation in the United States, and was replaced in an interim role by Prime Minister
Heads of government of Guinea
-List of Heads of Government of Guinea:-Affiliations:-See also:*Guinea**Heads of State of Guinea**Colonial Heads of Guinea*Lists of incumbents-External links:Government *...
Louis Lansana Beavogui
Louis Lansana Beavogui
Louis Lansana Beavogui was a Guinean politician. He was Prime Minister from 1972 to 1984 and was briefly interim President in 1984.-Background and political career:...
.
Lansana Conté's rule
A military junta headed by Lansana ContéLansana Conté
Lansana Conté was the second President of Guinea from 3 April 1984 until his death. He was a Muslim and a member of the Susu ethnic group.-Early life:...
and Diarra Traoré
Diarra Traoré
Diarra Traoré was a Guinean soldier and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Guinea from 1984 to 1985 as a member of a junta led by Lansana Conté. In 1985, after an attempted coup d'état against him, Conté had Traoré executed....
seized power on April 3, 1984 in a bloodless coup, ending Beavogui's brief rule. Conté assumed the role of president with Traoré as his prime minister.
Conté immediately denounced the previous regime’s record on human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, released 250 political prisoners and encouraged approximately 200,000 more to return from exile. He also made explicit the turn away from socialism, but this did little to alleviate poverty and the country showed no immediate signs of moving towards democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
.
In 1992, Conté announced a return to civilian rule, with a presidential poll in 1993 followed by elections to parliament in 1995 (in which his party - the Party of Unity and Progress - won 71 of 114 seats.) Despite this, Conté's grip on power remained tight. In September 2001 the opposition leader Alpha Condé
Alpha Condé
Alpha Condé is a Guinean politician who has been President of Guinea since December 2010. He was a political science professor at the University of Paris and spent decades in opposition to a succession of regimes in Guinea, unsuccessfully running against President Lansana Conté in the 1993 and...
was imprisoned for endangering state security, though he was pardoned 8 months later. He subsequently spent a period of exile in France. In 2001 Conté organized and won a referendum to lengthen the presidential term and in 2003 begun his third term after elections were boycotted by the opposition. In January 2005, Conté survived a suspected assassination attempt while making a rare public appearance in the capital Conakry
Conakry
Conakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea. Conakry is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea with a 2009 population of 1,548,500...
. His opponents claimed that he was a "tired dictator" whose departure was inevitable, whereas his supporters believed that he was winning a battle with dissidents. Guinea still faces very real problems and according to Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
is in danger of becoming a failed state
Failed state
The term failed state is often used by political commentators and journalists to describe a state perceived as having failed at some of the basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government...
.
In 2000 Guinea became embroiled in the instability which had long blighted the rest of West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
as rebels crossed the borders with Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
and Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
and it seemed for a time that the country was headed for civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
. Conté blamed neighbouring leaders for coveting Guinea's natural resources, though these claims were strenuously denied. In 2003 Guinea agreed plans with her neighbours to tackle the insurgents. In 2007 there were big protests
2007 Guinean general strike
The 2007 Guinean general strike began on January 10, 2007. Guinea's trade unions and opposition parties called on President Lansana Conté to resign, accusing him of mismanaging the economy and abusing his authority. The strikers also accused Conté of personally securing the release of Mamadou...
against the government, resulting in the appointment of a new prime minister.
CNDD
Lansana Conté died on December 23, 2008, leading to a coup d'état2008 Guinean coup d'état
The 2008 Guinean coup d'état was a Guinean military coup d'état that occurred in Guinea on 23 December 2008, shortly after the death of long-time President Lansana Conté...
by the military. The junta, under the name National Council for Democracy and Development
National Council for Democracy and Development
The National Council for Democracy and Development were 2008-2010 the ruling junta of Guinea .-Historical background:...
(Fr: Conseil National de la Démocratie et du Dévelopement, CNDD), is led by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara
Moussa Dadis Camara
Captain Moussa Dadis Camara now called Moïse Dadis Camara is an ex-officer of the Guinean army who served as the President of the Republic of Guinea's National Council for Democracy and Development , which seized power in a military coup d'état on 23 December 2008 after the...
.
On September 28, 2009 an opposition demonstration
2009 Guinea protest
The 2009 Guinea protest was an opposition rally in Conakry, Guinea on Monday, 28 September 2009, with about 50,000 participants protesting against the junta government that came to power after the Guinean coup d'état of December 2008...
was met by troops who fired on demonstrators and raped many women among them.
See also
- History of AfricaHistory of AfricaThe history of Africa begins with the prehistory of Africa and the emergence of Homo sapiens in East Africa, continuing into the present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation states. Agriculture began about 10,000 BCE and metallurgy in about 4000 BCE. The history of early...
- History of West AfricaHistory of West AfricaThe partial history of West Africa can be divided into five major periods:#Its prehistory, in which the first human settlers arrived, agriculture developed, and contact made with the Mediterranean civilizations to the north....
- List of heads of government of Guinea
- List of heads of state of Guinea
- Politics of GuineaPolitics of GuineaPolitics of Guinea takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Guinea is both head of state and head of government of Guinea. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly.-History:A...
External links
- André R. Lewin. Sékou Touré’s “No”. African Geopolitics. 2005.
- Bad government, bad neighbour. The Economist. July 21, 2005.
- History of Guinea
- Background Note: Guinea