Former Guinea PM, Sidya Toure Dies In Paris At 81

Former Guinean Prime Minister and opposition leader, Sidya Toure, has died in Paris at age 81.

Sources close to his family confirmed his death on Friday, September 25, 2026, according to AFP. Toure had reportedly been receiving treatment at the American Hospital of Paris after falling ill in Abidjan, where he had been living in exile.

Toure led the Union of Republican Forces, one of Guinea’s major opposition parties, which was among 40 political parties dissolved by the authorities in March.

Toure left Guinea following the September 2021 military coup that brought Mamady Doumbouya to power and subsequently lived in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

His death comes amid a period of political restrictions in Guinea, where opposition parties and dissenting voices have faced increased pressure under the military-led administration.

Toure entered Guinea’s national political scene after President Lansana Conté appointed him Prime Minister in July 1996.

He remained in the position until March 1999, during which his administration pursued administrative and economic reforms and sought to strengthen the country’s engagement with international financial institutions.

Born in 1945 in Ivory Coast, Touré had also built part of his professional career in the country, particularly in its economic and administrative sectors.

After leaving government, Touré became increasingly involved in opposition politics and assumed leadership of the Union of Republican Forces in 2000.

He later contested Guinea’s presidential elections in 2010 and 2015 as the UFR candidate but lost both times.

In the years that followed, he remained one of the prominent voices in Guinea’s opposition politics.

The UFR was among dozens of political parties dissolved by Guinea’s authorities in March 2026.

Toure continued to lead the party while living outside Guinea, maintaining his involvement in the country’s political affairs despite his exile.

Guinean authorities subsequently held a presidential election in which Doumbouya emerged victorious. The UFR and two other major opposition parties, the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea and the Rally of the Guinean People, were not part of that contest, according to AFP.

Guinea’s Prime Minister, Amadou Oury Bah, paid tribute to the late politician in a post on 𝕏.

Bah described Touré as “a prominent figure in Guinea’s political life for three decades”.

“He distinguished himself above all as a pragmatic reformer. We bow before his memory,” the Prime Minister said.