biography
pronunciation:
[kontay]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (c.1945– )
|
| biography:
| Guinean soldier, politician and president (1984– ). Formerly military commander of the Boke Region of West Guinea, on the death of President Seke Toure in 1984 he led a bloodless coup and set up a Military Committee for National Recovery, with himself as president. He did much to restore Guinea's international standing, and thousands of exiles returned. In 1985 an attempt to overthrow him was thwarted by loyal troops. He was re-elected as president in 1993 and 1998. A referendum in 2001approved a constitutional amendment that would permit him to run for an extended term in 2003. |
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