France negotiated Guinea's present boundaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the British in Sierra Leone, the Portuguese in Portuguese Guinea, and the Liberians.

After 1894 Guinea was governed by the French Ministry of Colonies assisted by the Supreme Council for Overseas France. The latter was composed of parliamentary deputies from the colonies, delegates elected by French citizens in the colonies, and representatives of African interests nominated by colonial governors.

The French colonies of West Africa were formed into a federation headed by a Governor General, with lieutenant governors in charge of the individual colonies. cercles (districts), each governed by a commandant de cercle. The commandant ruled through a hierarchy of African chiefs whom he appointed and whom he could dismiss.

They were subdivided into

Although Europeans held the high administrative posts until after World War II, Africans occupied some of the lower posts, even in the earlier part of the 20th century. Colonial reforms after World War II gradually reduced the responsibilities of the French administration and placed more political responsibility and power in the hands of Africans. These reforms resulted from a heightened sense of nationalism and separatism on the part of the Guinean educated elite and from political pressures from above in France.

After World War II, French labor confederations and political parties became active in Guinea. Thus, Guinea's labor unions were modeled on the French and usually became affiliated with them. Sékou Touré first gained a mass following as leader of the strongest Guinean union, the CGT (Confédération Générale du Travail). In 1947 the Democratic Party of Guinea (Parti Démocratique de Guinée-PDG) was founded as a section of the new interterritorial African Democratic Rally (Rassemblement Démocratique Africain-RDA), organized by Ivory Coast leader Felix Houphouet-Boigny. This gave Touré and his associates a political instrument which reached beyond the town-centered membership of the unions to the general population.

The RDA broke with the Communists in 1950, and Touré, as head of

the PDG, asserted the inapplicability

of the Marxist class struggle doctrine to Africa and the necessity of freeing the movement of any vestige of European control. Six years later the Guinean unions, under Touré's leadership, withdrew from the CGT to organize a purely African confederation. In the elections of 1957 the PDG won 58 of the 60 seats in the Territorial Assembly. It played the leading role in Guinea's decision in 1958 to reject participation in the proposed French Union.

Guinea became an independent Republic on October 2, 1958, the only French colony to register a negative vote against the Constitution of the Fifth French Republic and the French Community concept proposed by President De Gaulle.

GOVERNMENT AND
POLITICAL CONDITIONS

The Guinea Constitution established a presidential system within the framework of a strongly centralized republican form of government. The President is elected by universal suffrage for a 7-year term and selects his own Cabinet. A National Assembly of 75 members is elected for a 5-year term. Actual administration of the country is carried out by a highly centralized regional administration. The country is divided into 29 regions, each headed by a Presidentially appointed Governor. For economic development purposes, the regions have been grouped into four geographic entities each headed by a Minister Delegate.

In practice, Guinea is governed by one political party, the PDG, which celebrated its 26th anniversary on May 14, 1973. Decisions by the party's Political Bureau guide the formulation of government policy. The President, Sékou Touré (reelected in January 1968), is Secretary General of the Party and Chairman of the National Political Bureau.

Democracy is held to be achieved through operation of the party itself. According to the theory of "democratic centralism," every Guinean can, through membership in his local PDG section, feed his suggestions and opinions into the party machine. In the

In

National Political Bureau, the will of the people, as expressed through the party organizations, is said to be translated into policy which in turn is impleinented through the party machine. Periodic party congresses also serve to provide a forum for expression. pursuit of its policy of African socialism, the PDG and the Government maintain stringent controls over all aspects of economic and social life. On the international level, the Government, while receptive to private Western investors, has accepted large amounts of aid in grants, loans, and technical assistance from the Communist world, as well as from the West.

Principal Government Officials President; Secretary General of PDGAhmed Sékou Touré

Prime Minister-Dr. Louis Lansana

Béavogui

Minister of Foreign Affairs-Fily Cissoko

Minister of Economic Development and Financial Domain-Ismael Touré

Ambassador to the U.S.-Sadan Moussa Touré

Ambassador to the U.N.-Mme. Jeanne Martin Cissé

READING LIST

Attwood, William. The Reds and the Blacks. New York: Harper and Row, 1967. Carter, Gwendolen, ed. African One-Party States. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1962. Emerson, R. Africa and United States Policy. New York: Prentice-Hall, 1967. "Guinea-The Price of Rhetoric." Newsweek. March 18, 1968. Morgenthau, Ruth Schacter. Political Parties in French-Speaking West Africa. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1964.

Morrow, John H. First American Ambassador to Guinea. New Brunswick: Rutgers University

Press, 1968. Suret-Canale, Jean. La République de Guinée. Paris: Editions Sociales, 1970.

Guinea maintains an Embassy in the United States at 2112 Leroy Place, N.W., Washington, D. C.

ECONOMY

Guinea's mineral wealth-more than one-third of the world's known reserves of high-grade bauxite along with significant deposits of iron ore, gold, and diamonds-makes the country's economy potentially one of the strongest in Africa. In addition, Guinea has great potential for hydroelectric power and a promising agricultural economy.

Nevertheless, Guinea's living standards are low. Ninety percent of the people are dependent directly or indirectly on subsistence agriculture. Development is handicapped by a low literacy rate, a shortage of trained personnel for government and industry, and a lack of convertible foreign exchange.

The Guinean economy is organized along state-planning lines. The Government has nationalized public utilities and financial and service institutions and has set up an overall planning apparatus. The private sector in Guinea, aside from the aluminum industry, is very small and continues to decrease. The Government continues its effort to attract new private foreign capital for developing some sectors of the economy. Investment guarantees, based on an April 1962 private investment code, have been concluded with several countries, including the United States.

Two large aluminum consortiums, each having substantial U.S. investment, are currently operating in Guinea. FRIGUIA, the older company, in which the Olin Corp. is a principal shareholder, operates a bauxite mine and alumina processing facility that produces about 700,000 tons of alumina per year. A second consortium, in which ALCOA and MartinMarietta Corp. have nearly half interst, began production of raw bauxite ore at Boké in mid-1973. Annual production should be about 9 million tons. Total investment at Boké by

the Western companies, the Guinean Government, and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) amounts to about $350 million, including infrastructure costs.

Guinea's gross national product (GNP) and per capita GNP are among the lowest in Africa. Guinea's major export items are alumina, palm products, coffee, and tropical fruits, to which bauxite can be added in 1974. Total exports in 1972 amounted to $35.2 million, and imports were $76.6 million. The latter figure was inflated by heavy importation of materials and equipment for the Boké project. U.S. exports to Guinea in 1972 amounted to about $12 million, while Guinean exports to the U.S. were a modest $2 million (a factor that will change now that Boké is in production).

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Guinea professes a policy of nonalignment, balancing close ties with most Communist states and good relations with some Western powers, notably the United States and Italy. Guinea does not have diplomatic relations with France, the Federal Republic of Germany, or Israel. Relations with the United Kingdom, broken following Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of independence, have been resumed; however there is no resident British mission in Conakry. Guinea's relations with the Ivory Coast and Senegal, which were already strained, deteriorated badly in late 1973, as Guinea charged these neighbors with plotting against the Government of President Touré. Senegal has broken diplomatic relations with Guinea, while the Ivory Coast continues a policy of not maintaining a resident mission in Conakry, Guinea is a member of the United Nations and several of its specialized agencies and also belongs to the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

On November 22, 1970, Conakry was attacked by an amphibious force of undisclosed origin. There were

skirmishes, casualties, and some physical damage to the city. The attacking forces retreated within 2 days. President Nixon sent a personal message of sympathy to President Touré expressing the opposition of the United States to any infringement of Guinean national sovereignty or outside interference in its internal affairs.

A U.N. fact-finding mission, whose creation the United States supported in the Security Council, was sent to Guinea on November 23. It reported that elements of the Portuguese armed forces had participated in the attack. Although the United States abstained on a subsequent resolution because it tended to commit the Council to actions in future situations, the United States condemned the raid and stated that it must not be repeated.

U.S.-GUINEA RELATIONS

U.S. policy in Guinea is to respect that country's independence, promote closer and more friendly relations with its Government and people, identify and develop common interests, and, where possible, assist Guinea in its economic development. In the latter field, U.S. policy is to encourage regional economic development and to encourage and assist private U.S. in

vestment.

From independence through 1971, the United States assisted Guinea's economic development with a substantial AID program that amounted to almost $100 million. It consisted of agricultural commodities, transportation equipment, machinery, and technical assistance. A modest Public Law 480 Food for Peace program continues, but AID suspended most operations in 1971. The Peace Corps was active in Guinea during the 1960's. Principal U.S. Officials

Ambassador-Terence A. Todman Deputy Chief of Mission-Roy T. Haverkamp

The mailing address of the U.S. Embassy in Guinea is B.P. 603, Conakry.

GEOGRAPHY AND PEOPLE

Guyana is situated on the northeast coast of South America. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil, Surinam, and Venezuela.

PROFILE

Geography

AREA: 83,000 sq. mi. (about the size of Idaho). CAPITAL: Georgetown (pop. 167,078-1970 est.). OTHER CITIES: New Amsterdam (pop. 15,000), Wismar-Mackenzie-Christianburg complex (pop. 30,000). People

POPULATION: 784,000 (1974 est.). ANNUAL GROWTH RATE: 2.3% (1974). DENSITY: 9 per sq. mi. ETHNIC GROUPS: East Indians 55%, Africans 35%, others (Chinese, Caucasians, and Amerindians) 10%. RELIGIONS: Christian 57%, Hindu 33%, Muslim 9%, other 1%. LANGUAGE: English. LITERACY: 86%. LIFE EXPECTANCY: 67 yrs. Government

TYPE: Republic within Commonwealth. INDEPENDENCE: 1966. DATE OF CONSTITUTION: May 26, 1966.

The country is divided into three areas: an inland forest covering about 85 percent of the total area; a grasscovered savanna of some 8,000 square miles in the hinterland; and a coastal plain varying from 10 to 40 miles in

Economy

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP): $235 million (1972). ANNUAL GROWTH RATE: 2.5% decline (1972). PER CAPITA INCOME: $359 (1972).

AGRICULTURE: Land 15%. Labor 30%. Products-sugar, rice.

INDUSTRY: Labor 20%. Productsbauxite mining, alumina production.

NATURAL RESOURCES: Bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timbers, shrimp.

TRADE: Exports-$139.9 million (1972): sugar (35%), rice (8%), bauxite mining and alumina production (43%). Imports-$143.3 million (1972): mainly consumer and manufactured goods. Partners-U.S., U.K., Canada, and members of the Caribbean Common Market (CARICOM).

OFFICIAL EXCHANGE RATE: Approx. US$1=G$2.

ECONOMIC AID: Contributors-U.S., U.K., Canada, F.R.G., P.R.C., U.N. Devel opment Program (UNDP), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). U.S. total-$79.9 million (A.I.D., 1946-72).

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: U.N. and many of its specialized agencies, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the Gommonwealth of Nations, Organization of American States (permanent observer), Caribbean Common Market (CARICOM), Caribbean Development Bank.

width. Guyana is watered by three rivers which flow north-south: the Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice.

The climate is tropical, but the northeast trade winds mitigate the heat along the coast where temperatures vary between 72° and 90°F. Interior temperatures average 80°F. with extremes of 60° and 103°F. Average annual rainfall ranges from 80 to 102 inches in different parts of the country. The coastal rainy seasons are from April to July and November to January.

The ethnic composition of Guyana is varied. Ninety percent of the inhabitants live along the coast, where the population density is more than 300 persons per square mile.

HISTORY

The original area of Guyana, which included present-day Surinam, French Guiana, Guyana, and parts of Brazil and Venezuela, was sighted by Columbus in 1498. Voyages by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1595 and others increased European interest, and the first European settlement in what is now Guyana was made late in the 16th century by the Dutch. For the next 150 years the territory alternated between Dutch and British rule apart from a short period of French rule. Although the British exercised effective control after 1796, the area was not ceded to the United Kingdom by the Dutch until 1814. In 1831 the settlements were consolidated into the colony of British Guiana.

Following many years of gradual preparation of British Guiana for home rule and ultimately for independence, the British Government in 1945