Hadja Andrée Touré was the first to gain the title of First Lady of the

Republic of 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 ...

as the wife of

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 ...

, the country's first president when it gained independence in October 1958. She retained the title until her husband died in March 1984. She and her son were then arrested and in 1987, she was sentenced to eight years of forced labour. She was able to leave the country, but returned in 2000.

Biography

Born in 1934 in

Kankan Kankan ( Mandingo: Kánkàn; N’ko: ߞߊ߲ߞߊ߲߫) is the largest city in Guinea in land area, and the third largest in population, with a population of 198,013 people as of 2020. The city is located in eastern Guinea about east of the ...

, Andrée Touré is the daughter of the French physician Paul-Marie Duplantier and Kaïssa Kourouma, a

Maninka Maninka (also known as Malinke), or more precisely Eastern Maninka, is the name of several closely related languages and dialects of the southeastern Manding subgroup of the Mande language family (itself, possibly linked to the Niger–Congo ...

. After her father left the country at the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Andrée was raised by the family of her uncle, Mory Sinkoun Kaba. Shortly after completing her schooling with the primary school certificate, she met her husband to be,

Sékou Touré Sekou, also spelled Sékou or Seku, is a given name from the Fula language. It is equivalent to the Arabic ''Sheikh''. People with this name include: People * Sekou (singer), British singer Given name * Seku Amadu (1776–1845), also known as S� ...

. The couple were married on 18 June 1953 at the Mosque of Kankan, although in accordance with Muslim rites, they did not attend the ceremony. On 12 March 1961, their son Mohamed was born. When Guinea gained independence in October 1958 and Sékou Touré became president, Andrée performed her role as First Lady with exemplary support for her husband. She was always at his side at key meetings with world leaders, including

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

, in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba (3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian politician and statesman who served as the Head of Government of Tunisia, prime minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia from 1956 to 1957, and then as the first president of Tunisia from 1 ...

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. After her husband died following an unsuccessful heart operation on 26 March 1984, Andrée Touré was arrested and her property confiscated. In 1987, she was sentenced to eight years of forced labour but was released in January 1988 and allowed to leave the country. After living in Morocco, the Ivory Coast and Senegal, she returned to Guinea in 2000. She has since constantly spoken of her husband's success in establishing and developing the independent state. Her son Mohamed Touré has been appointed secretary-general of the party founded by his father, the Democratic Party of Guinea.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toure, Andree First ladies of Guinea Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Kankan Living people Year of birth missing (living people)