On 23 December 2008 a military junta seized power in Guinea within hours of the death of President Lansana Conte, who had ruled for 24 years since taking power in a 1984 coup. In the early hours of that day the president of the National Assembly, Aboubacar Somparé, announced on television that Conte had died the previous evening after a long illness. Under the constitution, the assembly president should have taken over with an election within 60 days, but about six hours later a statement read on state media by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, on behalf of a group calling itself the National Council for Democracy and Development, declared that the government and institutions of the republic had been dissolved and the constitution suspended.
The coup was carried out by junior and mid-level officers who seized the state broadcaster and key sites in Conakry, and Camara, a previously obscure officer who had run the army's fuel supply unit, emerged as leader and was named president of the council on 24 December. The junta banned political and union activity, promised elections within two years, and appointed a civilian prime minister. Camara led Guinea until December 2009, when he was shot in the head in an assassination attempt and left the country, after his forces had massacred protesters in September.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: The constitutional succession under the National Assembly president was blocked; the ruling government and institutions were dissolved after Conte's death; no incumbent was physically harmed
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Moussa Dadis Camara (captain who led the junta and became president of the CNDD)
Lansana Conte (late president whose death opened the vacancy)
Aboubacar Somparé (assembly president who should have succeeded)
Ahmed Tidiane Souaré (prime minister who later pledged loyalty to the junta)
Sources
On 23 December 2008 a coup occurred in Guinea shortly after the death of long time president Lansana Conte; a junta called the National Council for Democracy and Development, headed by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, seized power and announced it planned to rule for two years before a new presidential election.
In the early hours of 23 December, National Assembly president Aboubacar Somparé announced Conte's death, and although the constitution required the assembly president to assume the presidency with an election within 60 days, six hours later a statement read by Captain Camara on behalf of the CNDD said the government and institutions of the republic had been dissolved.
Guinea entered a new period of uncertainty on 23 December 2008 when a group of junior and mid-level military officers seized power hours after the death of longtime president Lansana Conte; the junta, calling itself the CNDD, named as interim national president the previously little known Captain Moussa Dadis Camara.
SOURCE REVIEWEDCongressional Research Serviceopen source ↗
The coup was conducted by rebellious junior officers against their commanding officers, who had mostly rallied to the civilian constitutional institutions; parallel successor institutions continued for two days until Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare and senior defence officials recognised the dissident junta as Guinea's legitimate authority.
SOURCE REVIEWEDThe New Humanitarian (IRIN) via ReliefWebopen source ↗
Editorial Note
Coded fate not physically harmed is verified: this was a bloodless takeover in a vacancy created by Conte's natural death, so there was no sitting president to capture; the coup blocked the constitutional succession (assembly president Somparé) and dissolved the existing government, whose prime minister soon pledged loyalty. Coded as a military coup on 12-23, matching the sources. Ties to Guinea's later instability: Camara's forces massacred protesters on 28 September 2009, and he was shot and left the country in December 2009, a later development recorded elsewhere in the dataset.
Cross-Reference
Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: The constitutional succession under the National Assembly president was blocked; the ruling government and institutions were dissolved after Conte's death; no incumbent was physically harmed.
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.
Baseline Source-Document Entries
Powell and Thyne
Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.
The Globe and Mail
“Coup leader strengthens grip in Guinea,” December 26, 2008
International Herald Tribune
“A coup gradually takes hold in Guinea Top leaders submit to junior-level cadre,” December 26, 2008
The Times
“Confusion reigns as soldiers attempt coup hours after reclusive dictator dies: Guinea,” December 24, 2008
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →