Sidya Touré, Guinea’s Former Prime Minister and Leading Opposition Figure, Dies in Paris at 81

Sidya Touré, a former prime minister of Guinea and one of the country’s most prominent opposition leaders, has died in Paris at the age of 81. Sources close to his family told AFP that he died on Friday, September 25, 2026, after being hospitalised for about two weeks at the American Hospital of Paris following an illness he suffered in Abidjan.

Touré had lived in exile in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since leaving Guinea after the September 2021 military coup that brought Mamady Doumbouya to power. He led the Union of Republican Forces (UFR), one of Guinea’s main opposition parties, from exile. The UFR was among 40 political parties dissolved in March 2026 in a major crackdown on civil liberties under Doumbouya’s government.

Born in 1945 in Ivory Coast, Touré built part of his career in that country’s economic and financial administration before entering Guinean politics. President Lansana Conté appointed him prime minister in July 1996, a role he held until March 1999. His tenure was marked by administrative and economic reforms and efforts to strengthen Guinea’s relations with international financial institutions.

After leaving government, Touré became head of the UFR in 2000 and gradually emerged as a leading figure opposing Conté and subsequent governments. He ran for president as the UFR candidate in 2010 and 2015, losing both times.

Tributes have poured in from across Guinea’s political class. Cellou Dalein Diallo, leader of the UFDG who also lives in exile, said he had lost “a friend and companion in the struggle” for Guinea. He described Touré as sharing the same dream of transforming “our country, with all its vast potential, into a prosperous economy governed by the principles of democracy and the rule of law”.

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Former President Alpha Condé said in a statement that it remained “deeply regrettable that a man who gave so much to his country should have endured the ordeal of exile at the end of his life”. Current Guinean Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah remembered Touré on X as a “pragmatic reformer” and “a prominent figure in Guinea’s political life for three decades”.

Former Prime Minister François Louncény Fall described Touré’s death as a “destiny unfortunately unfinished”. Ousmane Kaba of the PADES party said he regretted the loss of a “big brother”. Fodé Baldé, national secretary for communication of the UFR, confirmed the death and spoke of the deep emotion it had caused. “It is with great pain that we learned of the passing of President Sidya Touré. This man gave me everything, he did everything for this country,” he said.

Barry Boubacar, a member of the UFR’s political bureau, said Touré’s death was a loss of immense institutional knowledge. “When this kind of competence leaves, it is a library that leaves,” he said.

Touré’s death comes amid a broader crackdown on political opposition in Guinea. Doumbouya, who seized power in the 2021 coup, was elected president in December 2025 in a vote that did not include any significant opposition, including the UFR, the UFDG and the RPG. The UFR’s dissolution in March 2026 was part of a wider purge of civil society and political parties that critics say has stifled dissent in the West African nation.

Arrangements for Touré’s funeral will be announced later, in consultation with his family and Guinean authorities, according to a statement from the UFR.

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