Former Guinean Prime Minister and opposition leader Sidya Touré has died in Paris, his party said. He was 81.
Touré, president of the Union of Republican Forces (UFR), died on Thursday, 25 September, in a hospital in Paris after an illness, Guinean media reported. The announcement was made early on Friday.
An iconic figure in modern Guinean politics, Touré served as prime minister from 1996 to 1999 under President Lansana Conté, where he earned a reputation as a technocratic reformer tasked with reviving Guinea’s economy.
A former senior official at the Ministry of Finance, he later went into opposition, founding the UFR and becoming one of Guinea’s most prominent opposition leaders for more than two decades.
He ran for president several times, including in the landmark 2010 election that was won by Alpha Condé, when he positioned himself as a kingmaker after accepting defeat in the first round. He was also a key figure in the opposition protests against Conté’s rule and later against the constitutional changes under Condé.
In September 2021, he returned to Guinea after 10 months of exile in Europe, following the military coup that toppled Condé.
His death comes at a time of continued political transition in Guinea under junta leader Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power in 2021 and has scheduled a constitutional referendum and elections in the coming months.
Tributes have begun to pour in from across Guinea’s political class.
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