Mamadi Doumbouya

Mamady Doumbouya (N'Ko: , born 5 December 1980) is a Guinean military officer serving as the current president of Guinea since 5 September 2021. Doumbouya led a coup d'état on 5 September 2021 that overthrew the previous president, Alpha Condé.

He is a member of the Special Forces Group of the Guinean military and a former French legionnaire. On the day of the coup, Doumbouya issued a broadcast on state television declaring that his faction had dissolved the government and constitution. On 1 October 2021, Doumbouya was sworn in as interim president.

At the head of the military junta that seized power following the coup d'état, he is responsible for the disappearances of human rights activists, such as Foniké Menguè, and journalists, such as Habib Habib Marouane Camara

Early life

Doumbouya was born on 5 December 1980 in the Kankan Region of Guinea. He is of Mandinka origins.

Military career

Doumbouya was a French legionnaire holding the rank of corporal before he returned to Guinea to lead the Special Forces Group, an elite military unit created by President Alpha Condé. When he took office, receiving promotion to the rank of battalion commander, his international experience was cited, including training he had completed in a number of different countries. In 2018, he met Assimi Goïta, from Mali, in Burkina Faso at a US Army training session for regional special forces commanders. Both he and Assimi Goïta would later launch military coups against their governments. He worked in this role for country's intelligence services, based in Forécariah. He was further promoted to lieutenant colonel in 2019 and to colonel in 2020. In 2021, he was said to have been seeking more authority for the Special Forces Group. During his presidency, he was promoted to general in 2024 and at the same time, resigned from his command of the Special Forces Group.

Doumbouya was deployed on missions to Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Central African Republic, Israel, Cyprus, the UK and Guinea, during his 15-year career.

He was one of 25 officials from Guinea that the European Union threatened to sanction over allegations of human rights abuses.

In May 2021, there were rumors stemming from the government of a possible arrest of Doumbouya while he was in Conakry on unknown accusations or charges.

2021 coup d'état

Doumbouya was the instigator of the 5 September 2021 Guinean coup d'état, in which the president of Guinea, Alpha Condé, was detained. Doumbouya issued a broadcast on state television declaring that his faction had dissolved the government and constitution. He also said that the "National Committee of Reconciliation and Development (CNRD), as forcedto take its responsibility" after "the dire political situation of our country, the instrumentalization of the judiciary, the non-respect of democratic principles, the extreme politicization of public administration, as well as poverty and corruption." In justifying the military's actions, Doumbouya quoted the former Ghanaian president Jerry Rawlings, who said that "if the people are crushed by their elites, it is up to the army to give the people their freedom."

Interim president of Guinea (2021–present)

After taking power, he had told ministers to not revolt against him during his first meeting, or otherwise, he would consider it an act of rebellion. Then during his broadcast he would announce that ex-president Alpha Condé would not be released and that they would still give him healthcare. Doumbouya downplayed possible economic sanctions by ECOWAS, saying through a spokesman that "as soldiers, their work is in Guinea and there is nothing to freeze in their accounts." The ECOWAS representatives also urged the junta to allow ousted president Condé to leave Guinea; the junta has refused to do so.

On 1 October 2021, Doumbouya was sworn in as interim president at in Conakry. He announced plans to "refound the state" introducing "free, credible and transparent" elections and respecting "all the national and international commitments to which the country has subscribed".

On Mali's 62nd anniversary of independence, Doumbouya met with Malian president Assimi Goïta in which he was welcomed by him. They discussed about many issues during his visit.

Doumbouya met with Paul Kagame of Rwanda in his country of Guinea which he was the first to meet him since 2021 Guinean coup d'état. He was inspired by him to reform and reconcile his nation like how Kagame did to Rwanda.

Anti-government protestors have been threatened with life in prison by Doumbouya and the junta.

On 19 February 2024, Doumbouya and the National Committee of Reconciliation and Development ordered the dissolution of the interim government in preparation of the new presidential elections to be held on a later date.

On 22 July 2024, after the disappearance of the political activists Foniké Menguè and Billo Bah, who are associated with the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC), their families filed a complaint in Paris, France against Mamadi Doumbouya.

On 28 March 2025, Doumbouya granted a pardon on health grounds to former president Moussa Dadis Camara, who was convicted over the killing of 156 people during the 2009 Guinean protests.

Personal life

Doumbouya is married to Lauriane Darboux, who is an active duty member of the French National Gendarmerie. The couple has four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doumbouya, Mamady
Year of birth unknown
Living people
Guinean Muslims
Guinean military personnel
Leaders who took power by coup
People from Kankan Region
People of Mandinka descent
Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion
Presidents of Guinea
1980 births
21st-century Guinean politicians