Jean-Marie Doré

A native of Bossou in Guinea's Forestière region, Doré received his higher education in France, where he studied law. He emerged as an important opposition leader in the early 1990s. Doré was a candidate in the 1993 presidential election; according to official results, he placed sixth with 0.9% of the vote. Subsequently he was elected to the National Assembly in the 1995 parliamentary election, winning a seat through national list proportional representation. He was the only UPG candidate to win a seat. On 7 December 1998, shortly before the 1998 election was held, he called for it to be delayed due to inadequate preparations. After the election, he was placed under house arrest for a short period while votes were counted. The official results showed Doré placing fourth with 1.7% of the vote. Following a UPG extraordinary congress, Doré held a press conference in late February 2001 in which he said that Conté and Taylor should act to facilitate peace by ceasing their mutual practice of giving shelter to the other's armed opponents. Doré called on Conté to disarm members of the anti-Taylor United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) who were in Guinea, saying that in doing so he would deny Taylor "a pretext for making trouble in Guinea". Speaking in July 2001, Doré denounced the ruling party's campaign for a constitutional amendment that would allow President Conté to run for another term and threatened to withdraw the UPG from a national dialogue if the ruling party continued the campaign. He also stressed the importance of holding a new parliamentary election. Although most of the opposition chose to boycott the June 2002 parliamentary election, the UPG participated and won three seats; However, the UPG contested the official results of the election, which showed it winning three seats, and boycotted the National Assembly. FRAD and the 2003 presidential election In the run-up to the December 2003 presidential election, Doré was the spokesman of the Republican Front for Democratic Change (FRAD), which grouped seven opposition parties. FRAD boycotted a dialogue that the government attempted to initiate in July 2003; later, in September 2003, Interior Minister Moussa Solano said that opposition activities could be covered in the state media, but Doré, acting as FRAD spokesman, stressed that nothing less than a "signed statement by the authorities" would suffice, and he observed that the government had ignored opposition demands for the creation of a new and independent electoral commission. At a meeting between FRAD and the government on 29 September 2003, there were initially tensions between Doré and government supporters, but the government agreed to establish two commissions to review opposition demands and FRAD in turn agreed to participate in dialogue. On 21 October 2003, the government refused to allow broadcast of a statement from FRAD that accused the government of planning fraud, and it also announced, without the opposition's agreement, that the election would be held on 21 December. Doré reacted to the two decisions with outrage, saying that the dialogue had been exposed as nothing but a pretense. Doré and the other major opposition leaders announced in early November 2003 that they would boycott the election. In an interview with Radio France Internationale on 13 November 2003, Doré said that Conté's medical certificate, which cleared him to stand as a candidate despite his obviously failing health, was farcical. He also characterized the candidacy of Mamadou Bhoye Barry—a minor politician who was standing as Conté's only opponent in the election—as a calculated ploy, arguing that Barry was "planted by President Conté himself to show a semblance of democracy in the election." Doré was arrested later on the same day. Minister of Security Aboubacar Sampil spoke of putting him on trial for the offense of insulting the President, but he was quickly released, apparently due to pressure from the West, after 21 hours in detention. When Conté, who was easily re-elected, was sworn in for his new term on 19 January 2004, Doré said that it was "a sad day for Guinean politics", and he observed that several important regional leaders were not present for the occasion. Doré expressed satisfaction with Conté's decision to dismiss Moussa Solano from the government on 1 March 2004, saying that Solano was "the greatest obstacle to true democracy in this country". Activities during Conté's last years (2005–2008) As Conté's health was known to be failing, there was much speculation for years about what would happen upon his death. Doré stressed that the opposition parties needed to agree on a strategy for the post-Conté era. He also said that if the military took power after Conté's death, it would "not be able to last more than a few months, because it will get no financial backing from the international community and will not be able to meet people's basic needs". Later, on 10 September 2005, Doré read a statement on behalf of FRAD in which he described Conté as "an obstacle to Guinea's development" and urged him to resign: "You are not what the country needs. You are sick. You must make the wise decision to leave now before others make it for you." Doré announced on 29 October 2005 that FRAD would participate in the December 2005 municipal elections; while he stressed that "there are no guarantees of fair play", he said that FRAD would nevertheless "show the international community that we are committed to helping our country go forward". When Conté went to Switzerland for medical treatment in March 2006, Doré again called attention to the state of Conté's health, saying that there was a legal requirement for the President to be sufficiently healthy to exercise his duties. He also said that the people deserved to know more about the situation and that "health bulletins should be published" to keep them informed. Later in 2006, amidst negotiations concerning a planned parliamentary election in 2007, Doré reiterated that negotiations between the government and opposition were ultimately futile if an independent electoral commission was not established. Doré was alone among major opposition leaders in boycotting the March 2006 National Consultation, which proposed various reforms and a political transition. ==Events since 2008==

After nearly 25 years in power, Conté died on 23 December 2008. Speaking after the news was announced, Doré expressed sadness despite his opposition to Conté's policies. He stressed that "it is essential that the institutions function correctly and that the provisions of the constitution be respected" in the course of a peaceful transition. However, elements of the military seized power in a ''coup d'état within hours, establishing the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD) as the ruling junta. Together with other opposition parties, as well as civil society groups and trade unions, the UPG then formed the Forum of Active Forces (Forum des Forces Vives'', FFV), an opposition coalition that sought a quick transition to elections and civilian rule. During that period, Doré played an important part in the opposition's talks with the CNDD he was considered particularly suitable for talks with the CNDD because he and CNDD President Moussa Dadis Camara were both native to the Forestière region. In contrast to his earlier rhetoric, it was observed that by that point he had adopted a more "level-headed" tone. On the morning of 28 September, other opposition leaders met at Doré's home before leaving to participate in the demonstration. Doré remained at home because Camara had sent a group of religious leaders to his home with a message for the opposition leaders, attempting to persuade them to call off the demonstration. By the time Doré reached the 28 September Stadium for the demonstration, he was unable to enter it due to the number of people who had gathered; thus he was not present with the other opposition leaders on the stadium's podium and could not reach them to deliver Camara's message. From his position outside the stadium, Doré watched as the soldiers began to shoot the opposition supporters. According to Doré's account, he was then assaulted by five soldiers from the Presidential Guard, two of whom had been ULIMO fighters, and was nearly killed before Captain Moussa Tiégboro Camara, who was Minister at the Presidency for the Fight Against Drugs and Organized Crime, intervened: :"I know they were ULIMO because they talked about how they had been looking for me a long time, because I had opposed them in Liberia. They wore gris-gris around their necks. They were on drugs, and stank of alcohol. They demanded my cell phone, money, and jacket. Then they beat me on the head, hands, and shoulders. The two began to argue back and forth how they should kill me—one said, "Let's shoot him," and the other said, "No, let's cut his throat." They spoke to me in French, but it was bad French. What saved me is that at that moment the gendarme Tiégboro arrived. They were getting ready to kill me, those ULIMO, but I was saved by Tiégboro, who told them, "Leave Mr. Doré." Transition Camara was shot and wounded during a leadership dispute in December 2009, and Sékouba Konaté then took his place in an acting capacity. Konaté said that the opposition could choose a new Prime Minister to serve in the period leading up to a new election. On 15 January 2010, the FFV proposed two candidates for the post, Doré and the key union leader Rabiatou Serah Diallo, telling Konaté to choose between them. There was reportedly a split in the FFV regarding its choice, with political parties supporting Doré while the unions and civil society groups backed Diallo. Each candidate reportedly received 94 votes. The fact that Doré held a university degree was reportedly the deciding factor, although Diallo's union supporters were unhappy with the outcome. Doré's government was to be composed of ten ministers representing the opposition, ten representing the CNDD, and ten representing the various regions of Guinea. In the days that followed, two commissions—one representing the FFV and one representing the CNDD—were formed as part of negotiations between the two sides aimed at determining the composition of Doré's government. Doré officially took office as Prime Minister on 26 January 2010, succeeding Kabiné Komara. He said on the occasion that he was "committed to leading Guinea toward free, credible and transparent elections". Doré stressed that forming a government was difficult when he had to satisfy so many different elements and that it would "take some time". Doré's government, composed of 34 members, was eventually appointed on 15 February 2010. As planned, portfolios were allotted to members of both the CNDD and the FFV. The key junta officials Mamadou Toto Camara and Siba Lolamou notably retained their portfolios (security and justice, respectively). After Alpha Condé won the presidential election in a controversial and hotly contested second round of voting, he took office as President of Guinea on 21 December 2010. Doré then presented his government's resignation to Condé, who accepted it on 22 December. Condé offered warm praise for Doré's government, saying that it had done an excellent job of paving the way for a free and fair election and facilitating a largely peaceful transfer of power. In the September 2013 parliamentary election, Doré was elected to the National Assembly. As the oldest deputy (doyen d’âge) in the National Assembly, Doré presided over the election of the President of the National Assembly on 13 January 2014. Doré died in the early hours of 29 January 2016 in Conakry from natural causes. ==References==