AAASM.ORG
IMPROVING THE LIVES OF BLACK PEOPLE THROUGH
AWARENESS, KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION
IMPROVING THE LIVES OF BLACK PEOPLE THROUGH
AWARENESS, KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION
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| AAASM Black History Research Project |
| Ahmed Sékou Touré 1922 - March 26, 1984 |
Sékou Touré was born in Faranah, Guinea. His father, a poor farmer, was a member of
the Soussou tribe, and his mother was a member of the Malinke tribe; Touré's father was
a grandson of the great ruler Almami Samory. Touré was educated at the village Koranic
school and primary school at Faranah. At 14 he enrolled in a technical school in Conakry
but was expelled in 1937 for organizing a student strike, and he completed his secondary
education by correspondence.
Touré was employed by a commercial firm in 1940 and in the following year qualified for
a position in the posts and telecommunications department. He was very active in union
affairs and became the head of the Postal Union in 1945 and was one of the founders of
the Union Cégétiste des Syndicats. He became its secretary general in 1946. He was
discharged from his job and spent a brief time in jail in 1947.
Union Leader
Touré had been a founder member of the intraterritorial Rassemblement Démocratique
Africain (RDA) in 1946. However, his prime interest was not politics but trade unionism.
The leading political figure in Guinea at this time was a moderate former schoolteacher,
Yacine Diallo. In 1948 Touré became secretary general of the Confédération Générale
des Travailleurs (CGT), dominated by the French Communist general union. Two years
later he became secretary general of the Coordinating Committee of the CGT for French
West Africa. By 1952 Touré had also risen to the post of secretary general of the Parti
Démocratique de Guinée (PDG), the Guinea branch of the RDA.
The year 1953 was crucial for Touré's career. He led a two-month general strike against
the government which forced the governor general to capitulate, and he was also
elected a member of the Territorial Assembly. Touré was the acknowledged leader of the
young radicals who were dissatisfied with the increasingly moderate policies of the RDA.
In 1954 Yacine Diallo died, and Touré contested the election to fill his vacant seat in the
French Assembly. He lost to Barry Diawadou, the leader of the Bloc Africain de Guinée
party. His stature was, nevertheless, increased because it was widely believed that the
French authorities had tampered with the election. Touré became a member of the
Coordinating Committee in 1954 and was chosen mayor of Conakry the following year.
His conversion to political action was completed by his election to the French Assembly
in January 1956.
Touré had begun to change his attitudes toward the successful application of doctrinaire
Marxism to the problems of Africa. He also questioned the continued association of
African unions with their metropolitan counterparts. Thus he helped establish the
Confédération Générale du Travail Africain (CGTA), which was not affiliated with the
CGT or any other European movement. The new union was so successful that the local
CGT merged with it in 1957 to form the larger, intraterritorial Travailleurs d'Afrique Noire
(UGTAN), which soon attracted most of the unionized workers in French West Africa.
Touré was at first secretary general and then president.
Political Action
The loi cadre of 1956 devolved a major portion of authority to the assembly of each
territory and gave the vice president, the chief elective officer, great power. Before the
elections of 1957 the PDG appealed to the intelligentsia and also urban workers and
villagers. It won a solid victory, and Touré became vice president. He began immediately
to implement government plans for improvement of industry, roads, and railways. He
moved to establish cooperatives and village councils to further undercut the power of
traditional authorities. Touré was still cooperative with the French as long as it was to the
advantage of Guinea. In 1957 he became a member of the Grand Council, the highest
advisory body in the federation, and was elected vice president of the RDA.
Discussions within the RDA over future political evolvement of the territories presaged
the destruction of the party. Felix Houphouët-Boigny of the Ivory Coast emphasized the
development of individual territories within the French community. Touré and many other
leaders believed it necessary to continue the federal structure. In 1958 Touré
inexplicably shifted his position. Three days before his meeting with Charles De Gaulle
on August 28 to discuss the coming plebiscite to decide the future of the French
community, Touré appeared to support a vote in favor of association with France.
Premature Independence
However, pressures within Touré's own party and the radical unions forced a change,
and in September Guinea voted overwhelmingly against continued association. France
announced on September 30 that Guinea was independent and cut off all financial aid,
withdrew its technicians and advisers, and removed all equipment possible. Guinea
entered into independence as a bankrupt nation. No Western power was prepared to
help, and Touré concluded four trade agreements with the Eastern bloc countries.
Two months after independence, Touré negotiated a £10 million loan from Ghana which
enabled him to stabilize Guinea's economy. Touré's government became more
centralized, and he required all Guineans to participate in the economic and social
development of the country. The PDG was declared the only legal party, and a system of
political committees was established on all levels up to the National Committee to help
Touré direct the state.
Touré's meeting with Kwame Nkrumah resulted in a declaration of a Ghana-Guinea
union in 1959. This association, which Touré hoped would be the beginning of a larger
political union, envisioned a gradual uniting of the political and economic institutions of
the two states. In July 1961 the union was expanded with the addition of Mali. Despite the
theory, no specific changes were made in the political institutions of the member states.
The union's major contribution was to provide a base for a common foreign-policy
approach. It formed the nucleus of the radical, anti-Western Casablanca bloc of the early
1960s. However, even in foreign policy there was a significant difference between
Touré's and Nkrumah's attitudes - witness their policies concerning the United Nations in
the Congo.
African Socialism
Touré's emancipation from more radical elements within the PDG and the Soviet Union
did not come until 1961. In November the Teachers Union, in conjunction with officials of
the Soviet embassy, precipitated a crisis throughout Guinea. Touré arrested the strike
leaders and expelled the Soviet ambassador and his key aides from the country. Later
discussions with the Soviet Union restored good relations, but it was apparent that Touré
was not a captive of the Communist bloc. In 1962 he began to seek more contacts with
other African states and increased aid from Western powers.
In 1964 Touré reorganized the government, naming four resident ministers in four major
regions of Guinea who were directly responsible to the central executive. He also
restricted membership in the PDG to the more militant socialists who had proved their
worth. Thus the party reflected more clearly the desires of the executive. In January
1968 elections were held for the National Assembly and for president. Touré was
unopposed in the election, and the prospective members of the Assembly had previously
been nominated by the PDG.
After the overthrow of Nkrumah in January 1966, Touré became more aggressive in his
attitudes toward the West, Senegal, the Ivory Coast, and the new Ghana regime. He
declared Nkrumah honorary president of Guinea and threatened to restore him to power
by force. Houphouët-Boigny replied to Touré's threats by sending troops to his borders
and promising to invoke French aid, and Touré did not follow up his threat with action
against the Ivory Coast. In May 1967, on the twentieth anniversary of the PDG, Touré
denounced Western missionaries and ordered all foreign clergymen deported by June 1.
Touré attempted to end Guinea's self-imposed isolation in 1968. Nkrumah's sanctuary
was continued, but his public statements and appearances were limited. Touré even
moderated the degree and type of denunciation of the Ivory Coast and Senegal. He
attended the Monrovia Conference in April; Guinea became a member of the
Organization of Senegal River States; and he restored diplomatic relations with Britain,
which had been severed in 1965.
Guinea's economic development continued more slowly than the potential wealth of the
state would have indicated. However, after 1965, Touré received aid from Britain,
France, the United States, the Soviet Union, and China. Plans were approved for a dam
and hydro-electric plant on the Konkouré River and for the construction of a smelting
plant, railway, and harbor to exploit the Boké bauxite deposits.
By restricting a legal, open opposition, Touré gained unchallenged control of Guinea,
but he assured that some rivals would attempt to end his rule by violent means. In
November 1965 a plot was discovered to assassinate Touré; a former army lieutenant
and cousin, Mamadou Touré, was implicated. In February 1968 another major coup
directed against the President was discovered, and a further assassination attempt was
foiled in 1969. Despite all his problems, Touré's hold on his country after 12 years of
independence was firm. The coups that occurred during this period against other
political leaders in Africa only underscored the stability of his regime.
Touré held his position as president of Guinea until his death on March 26, 1984. He
died in Cleveland, Ohio. Socialist in economic outlook, Touré ruthlessly suppressed
dissent, and after his death the government of Guinea acknowledged that numerous
human rights violations had occurred during his regime.
the Soussou tribe, and his mother was a member of the Malinke tribe; Touré's father was
a grandson of the great ruler Almami Samory. Touré was educated at the village Koranic
school and primary school at Faranah. At 14 he enrolled in a technical school in Conakry
but was expelled in 1937 for organizing a student strike, and he completed his secondary
education by correspondence.
Touré was employed by a commercial firm in 1940 and in the following year qualified for
a position in the posts and telecommunications department. He was very active in union
affairs and became the head of the Postal Union in 1945 and was one of the founders of
the Union Cégétiste des Syndicats. He became its secretary general in 1946. He was
discharged from his job and spent a brief time in jail in 1947.
Union Leader
Touré had been a founder member of the intraterritorial Rassemblement Démocratique
Africain (RDA) in 1946. However, his prime interest was not politics but trade unionism.
The leading political figure in Guinea at this time was a moderate former schoolteacher,
Yacine Diallo. In 1948 Touré became secretary general of the Confédération Générale
des Travailleurs (CGT), dominated by the French Communist general union. Two years
later he became secretary general of the Coordinating Committee of the CGT for French
West Africa. By 1952 Touré had also risen to the post of secretary general of the Parti
Démocratique de Guinée (PDG), the Guinea branch of the RDA.
The year 1953 was crucial for Touré's career. He led a two-month general strike against
the government which forced the governor general to capitulate, and he was also
elected a member of the Territorial Assembly. Touré was the acknowledged leader of the
young radicals who were dissatisfied with the increasingly moderate policies of the RDA.
In 1954 Yacine Diallo died, and Touré contested the election to fill his vacant seat in the
French Assembly. He lost to Barry Diawadou, the leader of the Bloc Africain de Guinée
party. His stature was, nevertheless, increased because it was widely believed that the
French authorities had tampered with the election. Touré became a member of the
Coordinating Committee in 1954 and was chosen mayor of Conakry the following year.
His conversion to political action was completed by his election to the French Assembly
in January 1956.
Touré had begun to change his attitudes toward the successful application of doctrinaire
Marxism to the problems of Africa. He also questioned the continued association of
African unions with their metropolitan counterparts. Thus he helped establish the
Confédération Générale du Travail Africain (CGTA), which was not affiliated with the
CGT or any other European movement. The new union was so successful that the local
CGT merged with it in 1957 to form the larger, intraterritorial Travailleurs d'Afrique Noire
(UGTAN), which soon attracted most of the unionized workers in French West Africa.
Touré was at first secretary general and then president.
Political Action
The loi cadre of 1956 devolved a major portion of authority to the assembly of each
territory and gave the vice president, the chief elective officer, great power. Before the
elections of 1957 the PDG appealed to the intelligentsia and also urban workers and
villagers. It won a solid victory, and Touré became vice president. He began immediately
to implement government plans for improvement of industry, roads, and railways. He
moved to establish cooperatives and village councils to further undercut the power of
traditional authorities. Touré was still cooperative with the French as long as it was to the
advantage of Guinea. In 1957 he became a member of the Grand Council, the highest
advisory body in the federation, and was elected vice president of the RDA.
Discussions within the RDA over future political evolvement of the territories presaged
the destruction of the party. Felix Houphouët-Boigny of the Ivory Coast emphasized the
development of individual territories within the French community. Touré and many other
leaders believed it necessary to continue the federal structure. In 1958 Touré
inexplicably shifted his position. Three days before his meeting with Charles De Gaulle
on August 28 to discuss the coming plebiscite to decide the future of the French
community, Touré appeared to support a vote in favor of association with France.
Premature Independence
However, pressures within Touré's own party and the radical unions forced a change,
and in September Guinea voted overwhelmingly against continued association. France
announced on September 30 that Guinea was independent and cut off all financial aid,
withdrew its technicians and advisers, and removed all equipment possible. Guinea
entered into independence as a bankrupt nation. No Western power was prepared to
help, and Touré concluded four trade agreements with the Eastern bloc countries.
Two months after independence, Touré negotiated a £10 million loan from Ghana which
enabled him to stabilize Guinea's economy. Touré's government became more
centralized, and he required all Guineans to participate in the economic and social
development of the country. The PDG was declared the only legal party, and a system of
political committees was established on all levels up to the National Committee to help
Touré direct the state.
Touré's meeting with Kwame Nkrumah resulted in a declaration of a Ghana-Guinea
union in 1959. This association, which Touré hoped would be the beginning of a larger
political union, envisioned a gradual uniting of the political and economic institutions of
the two states. In July 1961 the union was expanded with the addition of Mali. Despite the
theory, no specific changes were made in the political institutions of the member states.
The union's major contribution was to provide a base for a common foreign-policy
approach. It formed the nucleus of the radical, anti-Western Casablanca bloc of the early
1960s. However, even in foreign policy there was a significant difference between
Touré's and Nkrumah's attitudes - witness their policies concerning the United Nations in
the Congo.
African Socialism
Touré's emancipation from more radical elements within the PDG and the Soviet Union
did not come until 1961. In November the Teachers Union, in conjunction with officials of
the Soviet embassy, precipitated a crisis throughout Guinea. Touré arrested the strike
leaders and expelled the Soviet ambassador and his key aides from the country. Later
discussions with the Soviet Union restored good relations, but it was apparent that Touré
was not a captive of the Communist bloc. In 1962 he began to seek more contacts with
other African states and increased aid from Western powers.
In 1964 Touré reorganized the government, naming four resident ministers in four major
regions of Guinea who were directly responsible to the central executive. He also
restricted membership in the PDG to the more militant socialists who had proved their
worth. Thus the party reflected more clearly the desires of the executive. In January
1968 elections were held for the National Assembly and for president. Touré was
unopposed in the election, and the prospective members of the Assembly had previously
been nominated by the PDG.
After the overthrow of Nkrumah in January 1966, Touré became more aggressive in his
attitudes toward the West, Senegal, the Ivory Coast, and the new Ghana regime. He
declared Nkrumah honorary president of Guinea and threatened to restore him to power
by force. Houphouët-Boigny replied to Touré's threats by sending troops to his borders
and promising to invoke French aid, and Touré did not follow up his threat with action
against the Ivory Coast. In May 1967, on the twentieth anniversary of the PDG, Touré
denounced Western missionaries and ordered all foreign clergymen deported by June 1.
Touré attempted to end Guinea's self-imposed isolation in 1968. Nkrumah's sanctuary
was continued, but his public statements and appearances were limited. Touré even
moderated the degree and type of denunciation of the Ivory Coast and Senegal. He
attended the Monrovia Conference in April; Guinea became a member of the
Organization of Senegal River States; and he restored diplomatic relations with Britain,
which had been severed in 1965.
Guinea's economic development continued more slowly than the potential wealth of the
state would have indicated. However, after 1965, Touré received aid from Britain,
France, the United States, the Soviet Union, and China. Plans were approved for a dam
and hydro-electric plant on the Konkouré River and for the construction of a smelting
plant, railway, and harbor to exploit the Boké bauxite deposits.
By restricting a legal, open opposition, Touré gained unchallenged control of Guinea,
but he assured that some rivals would attempt to end his rule by violent means. In
November 1965 a plot was discovered to assassinate Touré; a former army lieutenant
and cousin, Mamadou Touré, was implicated. In February 1968 another major coup
directed against the President was discovered, and a further assassination attempt was
foiled in 1969. Despite all his problems, Touré's hold on his country after 12 years of
independence was firm. The coups that occurred during this period against other
political leaders in Africa only underscored the stability of his regime.
Touré held his position as president of Guinea until his death on March 26, 1984. He
died in Cleveland, Ohio. Socialist in economic outlook, Touré ruthlessly suppressed
dissent, and after his death the government of Guinea acknowledged that numerous
human rights violations had occurred during his regime.
