Editing Lansana Conté (section)

== Last Years ==
In April 2006 he was flown to Morocco for medical treatment. Most people expected he would not return, but he did. Then in May 2006 riots in Conakry over the price of rice and fuel led to around twenty deaths as security forces savagely repressed the popular uprising. In August 2006 he was again flown to Switzerland for medical treatment. This time no crowds met him on his return to Guinea. Meanwhile Henriette Conté, the President's first wife, has been accused of flouting the rule of law and taking advantage of the President's physical and mental incapacity to abuse her power.

In August 2006 Human Rights Watch produced a 30-page report condemning human rights abuses in Guinea, highlighting the power vacuum resulting from the President's ongoing illness, and expressing concern about the future.

In an interview with journalists reported by Guinéenews in October 2006, Lansana Conté said that he intended to stay as President until 2010, which was the end of his seven-year term. Conté also said that he was looking for a replacement who "loves the country and will protect it against its enemies."

In November 2006 Transparency International updated its annual corruption index. Guinea under Lansana Conté was then second equal as the most corrupt country in the world (pride of place for corruption going to Haiti). This is a matter of concern for foreign firms intending to invest in Guinea (for example to exploit its extensive bauxite reserves) as they are unable to operate in Guinea without paying huge bribes to highly placed government officials, but if caught doing so they may face legal action in their country of origin.

In January 2007, a general nationwide strike was held protesting Conté's continued leadership of the country.  The strike continued for over two weeks, during which hundreds of thousands of protesters marched in the streets. Within the first two weeks, savage repression by red-caps (Presidential guards) and other security forces left at least twenty protesters dead. By the end of the strike on 27 January, it was reported that at least 90 protesters had died in violent clashes with police and at least 300 had been injured, according to a local human rights group.

The strike ended following an agreement between Conté and the labor unions, according to which a new Prime Minister would be appointed as head of government; Conté also agreed to lower rice and fuel prices. On 9 February, Conté appointed Eugène Camara, who had been Minister of State for Presidential Affairs since January, as Prime Minister. This was rejected by the opposition, and widespread violence broke out after the appointment. The strike resumed on 12 February, and Conté declared martial law on the same day. On 25 February Conté agreed to a deal to end the strike, and on 26 February he appointed a new Prime Minister, Lansana Kouyaté, from a list of individuals chosen by the unions and representatives of civil society; people returned to work on 27 February. Kouyaté was sworn in on 1 March in a ceremony at which Conté was not present.

In an interview with Agence France-Presse and TV5 on 14 June 2007, Conté asserted that he was still in charge of the country ("I'm the boss, others are my subordinates"), rejected the possibility of a transition, and said that his appointment of a prime minister was not due to pressure and that he was pleased with Kouyaté's performance.

On 5 December 2007, a decree restructuring ministries increased the powers of the Secretary-General of the Presidency at the expense of those of the Prime Minister, and on 3 January 2008 Conté dismissed and replaced Justin Morel Junior, the Minister of Communication and Government Spokesman, without consulting Kouyaté. On 4 January, Kouyaté demanded that Morel be restored to his position, and labor unions announced plans to begin a new "unlimited general strike" on 10 January, demanding that Conté's agreement with the unions be properly implemented and that Morel be restored. On 9 January, the unions withdrew their call for a strike.

In a surprise move, on 20 May 2008, Conté dismissed Kouyaté and replaced him with Ahmed Tidiane Souaré. Kouyaté was widely considered a disappointment in his role as Prime Minister, and his unpopularity meant that his dismissal was not greeted with any major unrest of the kind that led to his appointment a year earlier. Through this dismissal and the appointment of Souaré, who was considered close to Conté, Conté was considered to have strengthened his position.