Alpha Condé, Guinean politician, President of Guinea
Alpha Condé (N'Ko: ߊߟߑߝߊ߫ ߞߐ߲ߘߍ߫; born 4 March 1938) is a Guinean politician who served as the fourth president of Guinea from 2010 to 2021.
Condé spent decades in opposition to a succession of regimes in Guinea, unsuccessfully running against President Lansana Conté in the 1993 and 1998 presidential elections and leading the Rally of the Guinean People (RPG), an opposition party. Standing again in the 2010 presidential election, Condé was elected president in a second round of voting. Upon his election, he said he would strengthen Guinea as a democracy and fight corruption.When Condé took office in December 2010, he became the first freely elected president in the country's history. He was reelected in 2015 with about 58% of the vote, and again in 2020 with 59.5% after a constitutional referendum which allowed Condé to "reset" his term limit and seek two more terms. The move had been controversial and sparked massive protests before and after the referendum, which were brutally repressed. Condé's critics have claimed there was fraud in the 2015 and 2020 elections. On 30 January 2017, Condé succeeded Chad's Idriss Déby as head of the African Union. He was succeeded by Rwandan President Paul Kagame on 28 January 2018. On 5 September 2021, the Guinea Armed Forces arrested Condé and overthrew him.