Aboubacar Somparé
El Hajj Aboubacar Somparé (born 31 August 1944[1]) is a Guinean politician who was President of the National Assembly of Guinea from 2002 to 2008. He is a member of the Unity and Progress Party (PUP).
Career
Somparé was born in Dakonta, located in Boké Prefecture. He was the Regional Director of Education in Labé from August 1970 to September 1973, Director-General of Secondary Education at the Ministry of Pre-University Education from September 1973 to December 1976, and Director-General of the Information Services from December 1976 to February 1978. Subsequently he was posted to Paris as Guinea's Ambassador to France from February 1978 to September 1984; after his return from Paris, he was an advisor at the Ministry of Administrative Reform and the Civil Service from November 1984 to July 1986. He was then Administrator of the Palace of Nations (the presidential palace) in Conakry from July 1986 to May 1987 and Rector of the University of Conakry from May 1987 to May 1989.[1]
From August 1989 to October 1990, Somparé was the National Coordinator of the Adjustment Programme for the Education Sector; he was then Secretary-General of the Ministry of the Interior and Decentralization from October 1990 to March 1992. Later, he was elected to the National Assembly in the June 1995 parliamentary election, and at that time he became Secretary-General of the PUP as well as President of the PUP/PCN Parliamentary Group. He remained in those positions until 2002.[1]
After Somparé was re-elected to the National Assembly in the June 2002 parliamentary election,[2] he was chosen by President Lansana Conté to become President of the National Assembly. Conté had some difficulty obtaining the necessary support for Somparé among parliamentary deputies, and for that reason he delayed the opening of the National Assembly.[3] Ultimately he was elected as President of the National Assembly at a special session[4] on 23 September 2002,[2][4] receiving the support of 87 of the 106 deputies who voted.[2]
Events of December 2008
In the early hours of 23 December 2008, Somparé on announced on television that President Lansana Conté had died "after a long illness" on the previous day. According to the constitution, the President of the National Assembly was to assume the Presidency of the Republic in the event of a vacancy, and a new presidential election was to be held within 60 days.[5] Somparé requested that the President of the Supreme Court, Lamine Sidimé, declare a vacancy in the Presidency and apply the constitution.[5][6] Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souaré and Diarra Camara, the head of the army, stood alongside Somparé during his announcement.[7][8]
Six hours after Somparé announced Conté's death,[9] a statement was read on television announcing an apparent military coup d'état. This statement, read on behalf of the National Council for Development and Democracy, said that "the government and the institutions of the republic have been dissolved"; it also announced that the constitution was suspended.[10]
References
- ^ a b c CV at National Assembly website (2003 archive page) Template:Fr icon.
- ^ a b c "Aboubacar Somparé élu président de l’Assemblée lors d’une séance boycottée par les ambassadeurs du G7", Afrique Express, N°256, 2 October 2002 Template:Fr icon.
- ^ Abou Bakr and Rukmini Callimachi, "Guinea coup leader parades through capital", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 25 December 2008.
- ^ a b "Aboubacar Somparé élu président de l'Assemblée guinéenne", Panapress, 24 September 2008 Template:Fr icon.
- ^ a b "Guinea's long-time military leader Conte dies", AFP, 23 December 2008.
- ^ "Economie et Politique : Somparé demande au président de la Cour suprême de faire constater la vacance du pouvoir", Guinéenews, 22 December 2008 Template:Fr icon.
- ^ "Guinea's dictator, Lansana Conte, dies", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 23 December 2008.
- ^ "Guinea: Coup Follows Conté's Death", allAfrica.com, 23 December 2008.
- ^ "Military-led group announces coup in Guinea", Associated Press, 23 December 2008.
- ^ "Military seizes power in Guinea", BBC News, 23 December 2008.
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