Ahmed Sékou Touré (1922-1984) was an African political leader and president of the Republic of Guinea from 1958 to his death in 1984. His main achievement, besides being the nation's effective dictator for twenty-six years, was his aid in the achievement of Guinean independence from France.

Origins

Sekou Toure was born on January 9, 1922 in the west African country of Guinea. His date of birth has never been formally established; there remains a contention that he was born in 1918. He was born in Faranah in the ethnic group of Malinké http://www.radio-kankan.com and was the grandson of the famous Samory Touré, who had resisted French rule until his capture.

Early life

Sekou's early life was characterized by challenges of authority, including during his education. Sekou was obliged to work to take care of himself; thus, he came to be employed in the society of the PTT. During is youth and after becoming president, Sekou Toure showed some interest in the works of communist philosophers, especially those of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. As president, he is said to have followed the Soviet example of the secret police.

Politics

Sekou's first work in a political group was in the PTT. In 1945, he was one of the founders of the syndicate of workers. Despite his youth, he became the general secretary of the PTT. In 1952, he became the leader of the Guinean Democratic Party which was local section of the RDA, a party agitating for the decolonization of Africa . He was a leader of this organization with Houphoet-Boigny who later became the president of Ivory Coast. Sekou was generally perceived as very charismatic in his country and in the wider African community, although as always exceptions existed. Sekou served for some time as a representative of African groups in France, where he worked to negotiate for the independence of France's African colonies.

As President of Guinea

In his home country, Sekou Toure was a strong president http://www.guineeconakry.info/index.php?action=read&item=1135190294), to the point that some consider him to have been a dictator. The opposition was noted as saying that the government put pressure on them, mainly in the form of fear of detention camps and the secret police. His detractors often had two choices--say nothing or go abroad. From 1965 to 1975 he ended all his relations with France, the former colonial power. Sekou Toure argued that Africa had lost a lot during colonization, and that Africa ought to retaliate by cutting off ties to former colonial nations. In 1978, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the president of France at that time, came to visit Guinea as a sign of reconciliation. Throughout his dispute with France, Guinea maintained good relations with several socialist countries. However, Sekou's attitude toward France was not generally well received, and some African countries ended diplomatic relations with Guinea over the incident. Despite this, Sekou's move won the support of several anti-colonialist groups.

Toure died in the city of Cleveland in the United States while undergoing heart surgery on March 26, 1984.

Controversy

During his presidency Sekou Toure was generally well respected among Guineans, although this is hard to tell given that during elections he did not have meaningful opposition since most of it, at any given point, was jailed. This has led to considerable criticism for failing to institute meaningful democracy. Toure's control extended to the media.http://www.fsa.ulaval.calpersonel/Vernag?leadership/disk/Guinee-dicateur-enfantshtm.

Nevertheless, during the reign of Toure Guinea was relatively stability; even if people were poor everybody was poor. This is often contrasted with economic chasms that have since opened between rich and poor.

The camp Boiro in particular was a place of terror, where political opponents of Toure were jailed. Generally, there was a very small chance of survival for those imprisoned there. Again, the camp's origins may lie in Toure's study of Communist philosophy and government in the Soviet Union. At that time Guinea was very poor and economically it was difficult to live there. Toure is particularly blamed for the "brain drain" exodus of skilled Guineans to other countries where they were able to make more money and live freer lives.

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