Diarra Traoré (1935 – 8 July 1985) was a Guinean soldier and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Guinea briefly in 1984 as a member of a junta led by Lansana Conté. In 1985, after Traoré attempted a coup d'état against President Conté, Conté had him executed.
Diarra Traoré | |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister of Guinea | |
| In office 5 April 1984 – 28 December 1984 | |
| President | Lansana Conté |
| Preceded by | Louis Lansana Beavogui |
| Succeeded by | Sidya Touré |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1935 Kankan |
| Died | 8 July 1985 (aged 49–50) Kindia Central Prison |
| Nationality | Guinean |
| Political party | Democratic Party of Guinea – African Democratic Rally |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Guinea |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
Career
Traoré received his military training at the French school in Fréjus.[1] After Guinea gained its independence in 1958, he was first given command of the garrison at Koundara, then the Futa Jalon region.[1] However, President Ahmed Sékou Touré did not trust him, so he was discharged from the army.[1]
Traoré became a regional governor, being moved around regularly to various postings.[1] In the late 1970s, he joined the Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG, Parti Démocratique de Guinée).[1]
At the death of Ahmed Sékou Touré in March 1984, on 3 April, Traoré supported a coup d'état led by Lieutenant Colonel Lansana Conté.[2] The coup ousted interim President Louis Lansana Beavogui and the PDG. Conté made himself President and appointed Traoré Prime Minister.[1] Conté, Traoré and others governed Military Committee of National Recovery (CMRN).[3]
A few months later, however, Conté demoted Traoré to Minister of State for National Education.[1][4][5] On 4 July 1985, Traoré attempted to overthrow Conté, who was attending a summit in Togo, but was quickly thwarted by loyal troops.[6] Traoré went into hiding,[6] but Conté's forces swiftly captured him and showed him on television being brutally assaulted.[5] Traoré and about one hundred other military personnel, many of them also Malinké, were executed.[3][5][7]