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Ahmed Sékou Touré
Historical figureGN1922-1984

Ahmed Sékou Touré

First President of Guinea (1958-1984) · Leader of the Democratic Party of Guinea

Guinea's first president, who led it to a defiant 1958 vote for independence from France, nationalized trade and built a one-party state notorious for Camp Boiro and mass repression.

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Profile on 12 axes8 of 12 documented
ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign
Where they stood

Ahmed Sékou Touré, axis by axis

  1. 01Ownership-70
    PublicPrivate

    Export trade was nationalized in 1959 and internal trade in 1960, though foreign capital was still welcomed in bauxite mining.

  2. 02Markets-70
    PlannedFree
  3. 03Welfare-45
    SharedSelf-reliant

    The 1960 Triennial Plan stressed public services, but detailed welfare programs are not documented, so the score is moderate.

  4. 04Authority+85
    DemocraticStrong leader

    Guinea was a one-party state with a permanent 'state of plots' and thousands imprisoned, so this is scored near the top.

  5. 05Security+85
    LibertyOrder
  6. 06Structure+65
    LocalCentral
  7. 07MoralityNo clear record
    ProgressiveTraditional
  8. 08ReligionNo clear record
    SecularReligious
  9. 09TechnologyNo clear record
    EmbraceCaution
  10. 10CultureNo clear record
    MulticulturalNational identity
  11. 11Trade+35
    GlobalProtected

    State control of trade points toward protection, but he also sought foreign investment and aid from several powers, so the score is moderate.

  12. 12Foreign policy-15
    CooperationStrength

    He championed African unity, anti-imperialism and nonalignment, and his foreign aid came from China, the Soviet Union and the United States.

4 axes have no clear record, so matching leaves them out.

Who was Ahmed Sékou Touré?

Touré was born in 1922 in Faranah, in a Malinke peasant family. He became a union organizer, joined the Democratic Party of Guinea and became its secretary-general in 1952. He was mayor of Conakry from 1955 and won a seat in the French National Assembly in 1956. In 1958 he urged a No vote on de Gaulle's French Community, and Guinea became the only French African territory to reject it. He was president from 1958 until his death in 1984, ruling as a one-party state, and he died in a Cleveland hospital.

Political views

  • In the 1958 referendum he urged a No vote on de Gaulle's French Community, and about 95 percent of voters agreed.Source: ebsco.com
  • Export trade was nationalized in 1959 and internal trade in 1960, and in 1960 Guinea created its own currency and took control of banking and insurance.Source: ebsco.com
  • At the 1967 party congress socialism became the official goal, and society was described as divided into the people and the antipeople.Source: ebsco.com
  • After 1964 the party became a stricter cadre party reaching into factories, the army and the civil service, and in 1978 he declared a one-party state.Source: ebsco.com
  • The regime lived in a state of plots: nine major plots were exposed between 1960 and 1976, each followed by crackdowns on dissenters.Source: ebsco.com
  • After a 1971 Portuguese-backed mercenary attack, thousands were arrested and dozens were hanged, including former ministers.Source: ebsco.com
  • Camp Boiro held thousands of intellectuals, critics and perceived rivals, who were tortured and killed there.Source: hrw.org
  • Abroad he stressed African unity, anti-imperialism and nonalignment, and signed the Ghana-Guinea Union with Kwame Nkrumah in 1958.Source: ebsco.com

Legacy

Admirers credit Touré with leading Guinea to independence in 1958 by saying No to France, with backing African liberation movements and with pan-African unity. Critics charge that his government became a one-party dictatorship that suppressed expression and opposition, ran Camp Boiro, where thousands were tortured and killed, and drove thousands of intellectuals into exile. Human Rights Watch cites estimates of as many as one million Guineans fleeing the country. His last decade saw less diplomatic isolation, but the fear and distrust left by his rule lasted well beyond 1984.

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Ahmed Sékou Touré: questions

Why did Guinea say No to France in 1958?

Touré urged a No vote on de Gaulle's French Community constitution and about 95 percent of voters agreed, making Guinea the only French African territory to reject it.

Was Sékou Touré a dictator?

Human Rights Watch calls his government a one-party dictatorship. He ruled Guinea until 1984 and thousands were tortured and killed in Camp Boiro.

Was Sékou Touré a socialist?

He pursued a planned, noncapitalist path, nationalized trade, and in 1967 made socialism the official goal, though he welcomed foreign investment in bauxite.

Sources