Robert Guéï

Robert Guéï (born March 16, 1941 in Kabakouma in the Man region ( Ivory Coast ), † September 19, 2002 in Abidjan ) was the military leader of the Ivory Coast from December 24, 1999 to October 26, 2000.

Life

Guéï was born in Kabakouma , a village in the western Man region, as a member of the Yakouba tribe. He was a career soldier: under the French administration, he was trained at the Ouagadougou Military School and the Saint-Cyr Military Academy. He was a great supporter of Félix Houphouët-Boigny and became Commander-in-Chief of the Army in 1990 after a mutiny . After Houphouët-Boigny's death in 1993, Guéï distanced himself from the new ruler Henri Konan Bédié . Guéï's refusal to mobilize his troops to resolve a political dispute between Bédié and opposition leader Alassane Ouattara in October 1995 led to his dismissal. He was then dismissed as a minister in August 1996 and released from the army in January 1997.

Bédié was overthrown on Christmas Eve 1999. Although the coup was not led by Guéï, the popular general was encouraged to lead the country until the next election. However, he lost the October 2000 elections to Laurent Gbagbo from the Populaire Ivorian Front . He refused to accept the result and only after several protests did he hand over power to Gbagbo. Guéï fled to Gouessesso , near the Liberian border, but retained a certain political importance. He was included in the Reconciliation Forum in 2001 and agreed to refrain from undemocratic methods.

Guéï bypassed the Forum's agreements in September 2002 but was killed in an attempted coup. His wife and Interior Minister Emile Boga Doudou were also killed.

Web links

• "Assassinat du général Gueï: trois prévenus condamnés à la perpétuité" , rfi , February 18, 2016