Simple directory > Regional > Guinea

Country :Guinea Official name: République de Guinée (Republic of Guinea) Head of State: President General Lansana Conté (PUP) (since 1984; re-elected 21 Dec 2003) Head of government: Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo (from 9 Dec 2004) Ruling party: Parti de l'Unité et du Progrès (PUP) (Party of Unity and Progress) (since 1995; re-elected 30 Jun 2002) Area: 245,857 square km Population: 8.47 million (2004) Capital: Conakry Official language: French Currency: Guinean franc (Gf) Exchange rate: Gf2,708.00 per US$ (Nov 2004) GDP per capita: US$413 (2003) GDP real growth: 3.60% (2003) Labour force: 3.00 million (2003) Inflation: 6.20% (2003) Balance of trade: US$165.00 million (2003) Foreign debt: US$3.40 billion (2003)

Historical profile

From the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries Guinea was part of the Mali empire which covered a large part of West Africa.

1450s The coastal region began to be settled by European traders.

1891 The country became a French colony.

1958 Formerly French Guinea, Guinea became independent under the leadership of Sekou Touré.

1960s Touré modelled Guinea on the Chinese system; French financial and technical aid was cut off.

1977 The Market Women's Revolt (against state plans to discourage private trading) led to a change in government policy.

1984 Touré died. A group of army colonels launched a military coup. Lansana Conté became president and introduced IMF-backed austerity measures as well as a new currency, the Guinean franc, which replaced the syli.

1993 Conté won the presidential election.

1995 The Parti de l'Unité et du Progrès (PUP) (Party of Unity and Progress), led by President Conté, won the multi-party legislative elections.

1996 An army mutiny almost led to the end of President Lansana Conté's rule, but order was restored within a few days. In July, the post of prime minister was created by the president who appointed Sidya Touré (a leading Guinean businessman) as Guinea's first prime minister. The 22-strong cabinet was essentially made up of technocrats. Touré's appointment led to increased co-operation with the IMF and the World Bank.

1998 President Lansana Conté was re-elected.

1999 Lamine Sidime (PUP) was appointed prime minister, replacing Sidya Touré.

2001 Sierra Leone's war spread deeper into Guinea, displacing a number of refugees. There were also rebel attacks on the border between Guinea and Liberia. A constitutional referendum permitted President Lansana Conté to retain the presidency and run for a third extended term in 2003.

2002 The ruling PUP won the parliamentary elections, which had been delayed by two years, allegedly due to the fighting that had been going on between Sierra Leone and Liberia.

2003 Guinea chaired the UN Security Council in March. Incumbent Lansana Conté won the 21 December presidential elections. In November, the National Assembly voted unanimously for a political amnesty for those previously convicted of political crimes, allowing them to stand for future positions in national politics.

2004 On 23 February, Foreign Minister François Lonseny Fall was named prime minister. There was a change in prime minister in December, when Cellou Dalein Diallo was appointed to take over the post.

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