Alioune Dramé (born c. 1921 – died 1 March 1977) was a

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

n economist and politician. He also served as an ambassador to

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

Career

Dramé served in the first council of the Politburo of the First Republic of Guinea as Minister of Economy and Finance from 1957. In this role, he signed the first bank notes of the republic, and established the Guinean franc in 1960. Drame was made responsible for the plans for economic development of Guinea for the periods 1960-1963, 1964–1971 and 1973-1979.

United States Relations

On April 24, 1975, Dramé delivered a letter from the president of Guinea,

Ahmed Sékou Touré Ahmed Sékou Touré (var. Sheku Turay or Ture; N'Ko: ; 9 January 1922 – 26 March 1984) was a Guinean political leader and African statesman who was the first president of Guinea from 1958 until his death in 1984. Touré was among the primary ...

, to

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

addressing Guinea's food shortage and requesting assistance from the United States. After the 1976 signing of PL 480 by the American government, Dramé returned to the United States on April 27, 1976 with a letter from the Guinean president to start the agreement between the Guinean and United States governments. During this agreement, Dramé led a team of Guinean representatives to negotiate the Title I and Title II food provided by PL 480.

Arrest

Dramé was Minister of Planning when he was arrested on the night of 18/19 July 1976 and imprisoned at

Camp Boiro Camp Boiro or Camp Mamadou Boiro (1960–1984) is a defunct Guinean concentration camp in the city of Conakry. During the regime of President Ahmed Sékou Touré, thousands of political opponents were imprisoned at the camp. It has been estimated t ...

. At a press conference on 2 August 1976,

announced the arrest in

Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...

of Dramé and several other alleged plotters, including Telli Diallo, Alpha Oumar Barry and

Lamine Kouyaté Lamine is a given name and a surname, a local form of Al-Amin (a title given to the prophet Muhammad which means "the Trustworthy"). Notable people with the name include: First name * Lamine Ba (footballer, born 1997) (born 1997), French-born ...

. On 15 February 1977, Dramé was placed on the "black diet" while in Camp Boiro, which meant he was given no food or water until his death. He died on 1 March 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dramae, Alioune Ambassadors of Guinea to Ivory Coast Finance ministers of Guinea Government ministers of Guinea Deaths by starvation 1920s births 1977 deaths Year of birth uncertain 20th-century Guinean economists Guinean people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Guinean detention 20th-century Guinean politicians