Robert Guéï (; 16 March 1941 – 19 September 2002) was an Ivorian politician who served as the third president of the

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 ...

from 24 December 1999 to 26 October 2000. He succeeded President Henri Konan Bédié after the 1999 Ivorian coup d'état and lost to Laurent Gbagbo in the ensuing 2000 Ivorian presidential election. Guéï, his wife Rose Doudou Guéï, and his children were killed on 19 September 2002 on the first day of the

First Ivorian Civil War The First Ivorian Civil War was a Civil war, civil conflict in the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) that began with a Armed Forces of the Republic of Ivory Coast, military rebellion on 19 September 2002 and ended with a peace agreement on 4 March 20 ...

Biography

Guéï was born in Kabakouma, a village in the western Man Department, and was a member of the Yacouba ethnic community. He was a career soldier: under the French administration, he was trained at the

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou or Wagadugu (, , , ) is the capital city of Burkina Faso, and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic centre of the nation. It is also the List of cities in Burkina Faso#Largest cities, country's largest city, wi ...

military school and the St Cyr military school in France. He was an ardent supporter of longtime President

Félix Houphouët-Boigny Félix Houphouët-Boigny (; 18 October 1905 – 7 December 1993), affectionately called Papa Houphouët or Le Vieux ("The Old One"), was an Ivorian politician and physician who served as the first List of heads of state of Ivory Coast, pr ...

, who in 1990, had him chief of the army following a

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

. After the death of Houphouët-Boigny in 1993, Guéï became distanced from the new leader Henri Konan Bédié. Guéï's refusal to mobilize his troops to resolve a political struggle between Bédié and the opposition leader

Alassane Ouattara Alassane Dramane Ouattara (; ; born 1 January 1942) is an Ivorian politician and economist who has been List of heads of state of Ivory Coast, President of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) since 2010. An economist by profession, he worked for the I ...

in October 1995 led to his dismissal. He was made a minister but sacked again in August 1996 and forced out of the army in January 1997. Bédié was overthrown in a coup on Christmas Eve, 1999. Although Guéï had no role in the coup, the popular general was encouraged out of retirement to head the junta until the next elections. On 4 January 2000, he became President of the Republic. Guéï stood in the October 2000 presidential election as an independent. He only allowed one opposition candidate, Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivorian Popular Front, to run against him. Guéï was soundly defeated by Gbagbo but refused to recognize the result. It took a spate of street protests to bring Gbagbo to power. Guéï fled to Gouessesso, near the

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

n border, but remained a figure in the political scene. He was included in a reconciliation forum in 2001 and agreed to refrain from undemocratic methods. Guéï withdrew from the forum agreement in September 2002, but was killed along with his wife, former First Lady Rose Doudou Guéï, and their children on 19 September 2002, in the

Cocody Cocody (, ) is a suburb of and one of the 10 urban communes of Ivory Coast, communes of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It is upmarket and has an abundance of mansions. Cocody is where most of the wealthy businesspeople, ambassadors, and other affluent peop ...

district of

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

during the first hours of the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. The circumstances of his death remain mysterious, although generally attributed to forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo. Several members of his family and the interior minister, Émile Boga Doudou, were also killed. Following Guéï's death, his body stayed in a morgue until a funeral was held for him in Abidjan on 18 August 2006, nearly four years after his death."IVORY COAST: Funeral for former military ruler Robert Guei, nearly four years after he was shot dead during the coup of 2001"
ITN Source: 19 August 2006. Retrieved 11 April 2011.

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guei, Robert 1941 births 2002 deaths Presidents of Ivory Coast Assassinated Ivorian politicians People murdered in Ivory Coast People from Montagnes District Ivorian military personnel Government ministers of Ivory Coast Independent politicians in Ivory Coast 2000s murders in Ivory Coast 2002 crimes in Ivory Coast 2002 murders in Africa African politicians assassinated in the 2000s Assassinated presidents in Africa 20th-century Ivorian politicians 20th-century presidents in Africa Politicians assassinated in 2002 National presidents assassinated in the 21st century

Biography

Footnotes

See also

References