Country name
conventional long form: Republic of Guinea
conventional short form: Guinea
local long form: Republique de Guinee
local short form: Guinee
former: French Guinea

Data code GV

Government type republic

National capital Conakry

Administrative divisions 33 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture) and 1 national capital* (capitale d'etat); Beyla, Boffa, Boke, Conakry*, Coyah, Dabola, Dalaba, Dinguiraye, Dubreka, Faranah, Forecariah, Fria, Gaoual, Gueckedou, Kankan, Kerouane, Kindia, Kissidougou, Koubia, Koundara, Kouroussa, Labe, Lelouma, Lola, Macenta, Mali, Mamou, Mandiana, Nzerekore, Pita, Siguiri, Telimele, Tougue, Yomou
note: the 33 prefectures may have been reorganized into four new first-order administrative divisions called administrative regions (regions administrative, singular - region administrative) named Guinee-Forestiere, Guinee-Maritime, Haute-Guinee, and Moyenne-Guinee

Independence 2 October 1958 (from France)

National holiday Anniversary of the Second Republic, 3 April (1984)

Constitution 23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale)

Legal system based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree; legal codes currently being revised; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
chief of state: President Lansana CONTE (head of military government since 5 April 1984, elected president 19 December 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Sidya TOURE (since July 1996)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected president; election last held 19 December 1993 (next to be held NA December 1998); the prime minister was appointed by President CONTE
election results: Lansana CONTE elected president; percent of vote - Lansana CONTE (PUP) 51.7%, Alpha CONDE (RPG) 19.55%, Mamadou Boye BA (UNR) 13.37%, Siradiou DIALLO (PRP) 11.86%; note - the country's first-ever multi-party elections for president

Legislative branch unicameral People's National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale Populaire (114 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 11 June 1995 (next to be held NA 2000)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PUP 71, RPG 19, PRP 9, UNR 9, UPG 2, PDG 1, UNP 1, PDG-RDA 1, other 1

Judicial branch Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel

Political parties and leaders political parties were legalized on 1 April 1992; of the more than 40 with legal status, the following won seats in the legislature in the 11 June 1995 elections
other: Democratic Party of Guinea-African Democratic Rally or PDG-RDA [El Hadj Ismael Mohamed Gassim GUSHEIN]; Democratic Party of Guinea or PDG-AST [Marcel CROS]; National Union for the Prosperity of Guinea or UNPG [Lt. Col. Facine TOURE]; Party for Renewal and Progress or PRP [Siradiou DIALLO]
pro-government: Party for Unity and Progress or PUP [Gen. Lansana CONTE]
other: Rally for the Guinean People or RPG [Alpha CONDE]; Union for Progress of Guinea or UPG [Jean-Marie DORE, secretary-general]; Union for a New Republic or UNR [Mamadou Boye BA']

International organization participation ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed Aly THIAM
chancery: 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483-9420
FAX: [1] (202) 483-8688

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Tibor P. NAGY, Jr. (5 July 1996)
embassy: Rue Ka 038, Conakry
mailing address: B. P. 603, Conakry
telephone: [224] 41 15 20, 41 15 21, 41 15 23
FAX: [224] 41 15 22

Flag description three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Rwanda, which has a large black letter R centered in the yellow band

NOTE: The information regarding Guinea on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guinea Government 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Guinea Government 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.