5 things Guinea’s first president, Sekou Toure, will be remembered for

One of the main things Sekou Toure, the first president of Guinea, will be remembered for is his commitment to the Pan-African dream. 

Toure, who was born today in 1922 in Faranah, had an interesting rise to politics.  He was one of seven children of Alpha and Aminata Touré and a descendant of the founder and leader of the Wassoulou Empire, Samori Toure.

His first political act was in 1937, when he, at just 15 years old, was expelled for organising a student protest at the Georges Poiret Technical College in Conakry over the quality of food.  With this background, he joined labour unions and slowly went up the ranks and getting into national politics. 

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By 1952, he was the leader of the Democratic Party of Guinea, which agitated for the independence of the country and other French colonies of the time.  In all the positions he earned throughout his life, he was a loud critic of France and their treatment of its colonies.

It was therefore not a surprise that Sekou was the leader of the country when Guinea got independence.  He also was re-elected in 1968, 1974 and 1982, two years before he died.

Here are five things the first president of Guinea will be remembered for.