Guinea has had only two
presidents since gaining its independence from France in 1958. Lansana
Conte came to power in 1984 when the military seized the government
after the death of the first president, Sekou Toure. Guinea did not
hold democratic elections until 1993 when Gen. Conte (head of the
military government) was elected president of the civilian government.
He was reelected in 1998 and again in 2003, though all the polls have
been marred by irregularities. Guinea has maintained its internal
stability despite spillover effects from conflict in Sierra Leone and
Liberia. As those countries have rebuilt, Guinea's own vulnerability to
political and economic crisis has increased. Declining economic
conditions and popular dissatisfaction with corruption and bad
governance prompted two massive strikes in 2006; a third nationwide
strike in early 2007 sparked violent protests in many Guinean cities
and prompted two weeks of martial law. To appease the unions and end
the unrest, Conte named a new prime minister in March 2007.
French is
the official language, but each ethnic group also has its own language.