Cellou Dalein Diallo
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Cellou Dalein Diallo (3 February 1952
, Xinhua, 14 December 2004 .
) is a
Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
n economist and politician who was
Prime Minister of Guinea This article lists the prime ministers of Guinea, since the establishment of the office of Prime Minister in 1972. List Key ;''Political parties'' * * * * ;''Other factions'' * * Officeholders Notes Timeline See also *Guinea ** List o ...
from 2004 to 2006. Previously he held a succession of ministerial posts in the government from 1996 to 2004. Currently he is President of the
Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea The Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (french: Union des forces démocratiques de Guinée, UFDG) is a social-liberal political party in Guinea. The party was founded in 1991 by a number of opposition parties and groups. In October 2002 it was ...
(UFDG), an opposition party. He was a candidate in the
2020 Guinean presidential election Presidential elections were held in Guinea on 18 October 2020. Incumbent president Alpha Condé was running for a third term. He was challenged by former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, as well as several other candidates. Background The ...
but lost to incumbent Alpha Condé.


Background and early career

Diallo, a member of the Fula ethnic group,Cheikh Yérim Seck
"Cellou Dalein Diallo"
''Jeune Afrique'', 7 January 2007 .
"Guinea: Sacked prime minister speaks out"
IRIN, 7 April 2006.
was born in Labé. He studied at the University of Conakry and the Center for Financial, Economic and Banking Studies in Paris, and in 1976 he became an inspector of trade.Short biography of Diallo and other prime ministers
, Radio Kankan .
He began working at the Bank of Foreign Trade of Guinea in 1982, and from 1985 to 1995 he worked at the
Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea The Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea (french: Banque Centrale de la République de Guinée, BCRG) is the central bank of Guinea. The headquarters of the bank is located in the capital city of Conakry. The current governor is Dr Karamo Kaba ...
. After briefly working at the Administration and Control of Great Projects (''l’Administration et Contrôle des Grands Projets'', ACGP), Diallo joined the government in July 1996 as Minister of Transport, Telecommunications and Tourism. He was subsequently moved to the position of Minister of Infrastructure in October 1997, where he remained until he was appointed as Minister of Public Works and Transport on 12 March 1999., presse-francophone.org . After UTA Flight 141, a flight from Guinea, crashed in
Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...
, Benin in December 2003, Diallo said that there was no proof that his ministry had been neglectful of safety and that he would not resign. Diallo served for five years as Minister of Public Works and Transport before being moved to the position of Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture on 23 February 2004.


Prime Minister

On 9 December 2004, Diallo was appointed as Prime Minister by President
Lansana Conté Lansana Conté (30 November 1934 – 22 December 2008
."Guinea: New prime minister finally appointed after eight-month gap"
IRIN, 10 December 2004.
The position of Prime Minister had previously been vacant since April 2004 due to the resignation of
François Lonseny Fall François Lonseny Fall (born 21 April 1949) is a Guinean diplomat and politician. He briefly served as Prime Minister of Guinea from February 23, 2004 to July 15, 2004, under authoritarian President Lansana Conté. Later, under democraticly elect ...
. Diallo took office as Prime Minister on 13 December. Diallo—who speaks English in addition to French"Guinea in Transition"
''Crisis Group Africa Briefing'', number 37, 11 April 2006, pages 4–5
—played a role in the Conté regime. However, allegations of corruption coupled with disagreements with Conté's top associates, particularly
Fodé Bangoura Fodé Bangoura is a Guinean political figure, once a key aide to president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may ...
, the Secretary-General of the Presidency, and
Mamadou Sylla Mamadou Sylla (born 25 January 1960) is a Guinean politician and business leader. Born in Boké, in 1986 Sylla was one of several people given large amounts of rice by the Government to retail. Becoming wealthy, he moved to Conakry and became a s ...
, a wealthy businessman, culminated in Diallo's removal from his prime minister post. On 4 April 2006, changes to the government which would have greatly increased Diallo's power were announced. These changes would have replaced a number of ministers with Diallo's own allies and would have placed Diallo personally in charge of several portfolios,"Guinea: Prime minister Diallo sacked in possible power struggle"
IRIN, 5 April 2006.
"Guinea PM fired in 'power tussle'"
BBC News, 5 April 2006.
including those of economy, finance, international cooperation, and planning. The decree approving the changes was said to be signed by President Conté, but it was later speculated that Conté might not have realized the significance of what he was signing at the time. A radio broadcast announcing the changes was interrupted by soldiers, which was said to be because Fodé Bangoura had not been notified in advance. On the next day, it was announced that Diallo's changes were reversed, and a few hours later it was announced that Diallo had been dismissed as prime minister "for serious misconduct". Although there were subsequently reports that Diallo had been placed under
house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if al ...
, he denied this in an interview with IRIN and thanked Conté for maintaining confidence in him during his time in the government.


Opposition leader

On 8 November 2007, an opposition political party, the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), announced that it had appointed Diallo as its president, succeeding Mamadou Ba. After he took office as the group's leader, Diallo said on 15 November that he believed that Conté would not run in the 2010 presidential election; he also said that he "always maintained good relations with General Lansana Conté and his family". Following the appointment of
Ahmed Tidiane Souaré Ahmed Tidiane Souaré (born 1951
as prime minister, Diallo was present, along with other former ministers, when Souaré gave a press conference on 22 May 2008. On 28 May, he was one of the party leaders who met with Souaré to discuss the formation of a national unity government. Conté died in December 2008 and soldiers immediately seized power in a military ''coup d'état''. About 20 soldiers searched Diallo's home on 1 January 2009, while holding Diallo and his family at gunpoint. According to Diallo, the search was based on suspicions that Diallo might have weapons and mercenaries as part of a coup plot, but he said that the soldiers did not take anything from his home. A junta delegation met with Diallo on 2 January and condemned the search, saying that "uncontrollable elements out to hurt the junta" were to blame and that the junta had nothing to do with it. Diallo tried to hold a meeting in Kerouane in June 2009, but the junta did not allow him to do so; it also would not let him stay overnight in Kankan. After junta leader
Moussa Dadis Camara Captain Moussa Dadis Camara (; born 1 January 1964), now called Moïse Dadis Camara (),''Le Populaire'', , N°3232, 31 August 2010, p. 2 is an ex-officer of the Guinean army who served as the President of Guinea from 23 December 2008 to 15 Ja ...
suggested in August 2009 that he might stand as a presidential candidate in the planned 2010 election, Diallo urged him not to do so, saying that the election's "transparency and reliability ... require the administration's neutrality and impartiality". After spending time in France and
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, he returned to Conakry on 13 September 2009 and was greeted at the airport by about 60,000 supporters. On 28 September 2009, Diallo participated in a massive opposition protest in Conakry, which was directed against Camara's suspected aspirations to run for president in 2010. He was injured at the protest, in which soldiers opened fire on the protesters and allegedly killed 157 people;"Thousands identify Guinea bodies"
BBC News, 2 October 2009.
three of his ribs were reportedly broken. Subsequently, he was barred from leaving the country for medical treatment on 30 September, but soon afterwards he was transported to
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
aboard the Senegalese presidential plane, and from there he was flown to Paris for treatment. Diallo placed first in the first round of the 2010 presidential election, but he was defeated by Alpha Condé in the second round. On 25 July 2015, Diallo was named as the UFDG's candidate for the 2015 presidential election at a party congress; he was also re-elected to lead the party for another five years. The UFDG nominated Diallo as president in the
2020 Guinean presidential election Presidential elections were held in Guinea on 18 October 2020. Incumbent president Alpha Condé was running for a third term. He was challenged by former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, as well as several other candidates. Background The ...
. Diallo received only 33% of the vote but declared himself the victor. This prompted riots which led to over 30 deaths as well as barricades around Diallo's home and the UFDG's headquarters. Ten days after the election, Diallo's house arrest was lifted. In September 2021, Cellou Dalein Diallo supports the putschists who carried out the 2021 coup.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diallo, Cellou Dalein 1952 births Living people 20th-century Guinean economists Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea politicians People from Labé Fula people Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry alumni 21st-century Guinean economists Environment ministers of Guinea Fisheries ministers of Guinea Infrastructure ministers of Guinea Public works ministers of Guinea Transport ministers of Guinea