General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sékouba Konaté (; born 6 June 1964) is an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

of the Guinean Army who formerly served as the vice president of its

military junta A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...

, the

National Council for Democracy and Development The National Council for Democracy and Development (, CNDD) was the ruling Military junta, junta of Guinea from 2008 to 2010. Historical background The CNDD seized power in the 2008 Guinean coup d'état on 23 December 2008. This followed the dea ...

. After attending military academy, he received the nickname "El Tigre" for his action in battle, and gained such popularity with the people he was favored to be president of the government. However, he was appointed vice president; but took control of the country when the president was shot in December 2009.

Life

Konaté was born 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 ...

in 1964 to Mandinka parents. He attended the Académie Militaire Royale in the Moroccan city of

Meknes Meknes (, ) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravids as a military settlement, Mekne ...

, graduating in 1990. He suffers from an unknown physical illness, possibly of his liver.

Military career

For his military prowess in combat, Konaté was nicknamed "El Tigre". He was trained as a parachutist, and fought in many battles in the RFDG Insurgency during 2000–2001. Because of his reputation as a soldier, many people supported him to be the junta leader: he is still popular with the people. In October 2021, he was retired from the army.

Political career

Guinea's

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Lansana Conté Lansana Conté (; 30 November 1934 – 22 December 2008

, died after a long illness in December 2008. The day afterwards, Moussa Camara, a military captain, stepped forward and declared Guinea to be under junta rule, with himself as the head. Konaté demanded that he be considered to rule the junta, and Camara and him drew lots to determine who would be president. After drawing twice, due to accusations of Camara cheating, Konaté was made the vice president. He was also made the minister of defense. On 3 December 2009, Camara was shot in an attempted assassination by his aide-de-camp, Aboubacar Diakité. While he was airlifted to Morocco for treatment, Konaté was placed in charge of the country. With Camara still in rehabilitation, the United States government expressed its desire to see Camara kept out of Guinea. Konaté was appointed head of the transition regime tasked with the preparation of the 2010 presidential election. Because: "All of Camara’s actions were ill concealed attempts to take over… we’re not getting that same sense from Konate,” according to the

United States Deputy Secretary of State The deputy secretary of state of the United States is the principal deputy to the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state. If the secretary of state resigns or dies, the deputy secretary of state becomes acting secretary of state unti ...

William Fitzgerald. In 2010, Konaté organized democratic elections, which were won by Alpha Condé. Following the transition of power, Konaté was appointed as the head of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

's military force.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konate, Sekouba 1964 births Living people Presidents of Guinea Leaders who took power by coup Guinean military personnel People from Conakry People of Mandinka descent 21st-century Guinean politicians