Diarra Traoré

Diarra Traoré (1935 – 8 July 1985) was a Guinean soldier and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Guinea briefly in 1984 as a member of a junta led by Lansana Conté. In 1985, after Traoré attempted a coup d'état against President Conté, Conté had him executed.

Diarra Traoré
Prime Minister of Guinea
In office
5 April 1984 – 28 December 1984
PresidentLansana Conté
Preceded byLouis Lansana Beavogui
Succeeded bySidya Touré
Personal details
Born1935
Kankan
Died8 July 1985(1985-07-08) (aged 49–50)
Kindia Central Prison
NationalityGuinean
Political partyDemocratic Party of Guinea – African Democratic Rally
Military service
Allegiance Guinea
RankLieutenant colonel

Career

Traoré received his military training at the French school in Fréjus.[1] After Guinea gained its independence in 1958, he was first given command of the garrison at Koundara, then the Futa Jalon region.[1] However, President Ahmed Sékou Touré did not trust him, so he was discharged from the army.[1]

Traoré became a regional governor, being moved around regularly to various postings.[1] In the late 1970s, he joined the Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG, Parti Démocratique de Guinée).[1]

At the death of Ahmed Sékou Touré in March 1984, on 3 April, Traoré supported a coup d'état led by Lieutenant Colonel Lansana Conté.[2] The coup ousted interim President Louis Lansana Beavogui and the PDG. Conté made himself President and appointed Traoré Prime Minister.[1] Conté, Traoré and others governed as a junta—the Military Committee of National Recovery (CMRN).[3]

A few months later, however, Conté demoted Traoré to Minister of State for National Education.[1][4][5] On 4 July 1985, Traoré attempted to overthrow Conté, who was attending a summit in Togo, but was quickly thwarted by loyal troops.[6] Traoré went into hiding,[6] but Conté's forces swiftly captured him and showed him on television being brutally assaulted.[5] Traoré and about one hundred other military personnel, many of them also Malinké, were executed.[3][5][7]

See also

References
  1. O'Toole, Thomas; Baker, Janice E. (2005). Historical Dictionary of Guinea. Scarecrow Press. p. 203. ISBN 9780810865457.
  2. Diallo, Mamdou Dian Donghol (23 December 2008). "Guinea: President Conte dies at 74". Africa news. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  3. "ISS Africa – Home". ISS Africa. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  4. "Lansana Conté Lansana Conté was the President of Guinea whose two and a half decades in power left his nation mired in poverty and corruption". The Daily Telegraph. London. 30 December 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  5. "Latest International Human Rights News and Information – Amnesty International USA". Amnesty International USA. Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  6. Sarah, Cardinal Robert; Diat, Nicolas (2015). God or Nothing: A Conversation in Faith with Nicholas Diat. Ignatius Press. p. 54. ISBN 9781681496733.
  7. Whiteman, Kaye (24 December 2008). "General Lansana Conté". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
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