Guinea junta names development veteran Mohamed Beavogui prime minister

Guinea’s military president Colonel Mamady Doumbouya has appointed a former diplomat as prime minister in the transitional government.

Mr Mohamed Béavogui, who once served as United Nations Assistant Secretary General, was named on Wednesday through a presidential decree read on state broadcaster RTG.

Béavogui, as prime minister, will be the head of the transitional government which will be charged with steering the country to civilian rule. He will be responsible for organising local, legislative and presidential elections at a yet to be specified date.

His appointment marks fulfilment of a major promise by the junta as contained in a transition charter published late last month, which entails the roadmap of the country’s return to democratic rule.

The country came under military rule following the September 5 coup in which special forces soldiers led by Col Doumbouya ousted former president Alpha Conde.

The junta has been under pressure by the international community, particularly the African Union and Economic Community of West African States, to return the country to civilian rule.

The appointment of Mr Béavogui comes six days after Doumbouya was sworn in as president of the transitional government.

An engineering graduate of the Leningrad Polytechnic University in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Béavogui also holds a degree from the prestigious Kennedy School of Governance at Harvard University in the United States.

The 68-year-old son of a former diplomat is a development expert with stints within the UN system, having worked with, among others, the FAO, IFAD and UNOPS. He notably served as United Nations Assistant Secretary General, Climate Risk Management.

Since 2015, Béavogui has been the Director General of the African Capacity Building Agency.