The Ivory Coast, officially called the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, is located in western Africa. Over the years, the country has been dealt a significant amount of strife. Including a coup d'etat and multiple civil wars.

This year, the country is set to hold another presidential election. Incumbent President Alassane Ouattara chose not to run for re-election, to the shock of many, notes the BBC. Instead, Ouattara threw his support behind Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly. But that has taken a tragic twist.

Coulibaly dies in Abidjan

Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly has passed away.

He had been attending a Cabinet meeting when he began feeling unwell. Coulibaly was taken to a hospital in Abidjan, the Ivory Coast's most populous city. Shortly after, he died there. Coulibaly had been born in Abidjan, at the time still part of French West Africa.

Coulibaly had apparently been dealing with health issues. In 2012, he underwent heart surgery. CNN reports that earlier this year, Coulibaly went to France to undergo medical treatment.

The exact medical issues that sent Coulibaly to France were reportedly also heart-related. He returned to the Ivory Coast earlier this month. Six days later, he would pass away. Coulibaly is the second national leader of an African country to die suddenly in as many months.

Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza abruptly died last month shortly before his term in office was to end. The reason given was cardiac arrest, although some suggest that it might have been COVID-19.

Coulibaly was famously a close ally of President Ouattara. The president released a memorial statement with gushing praise for the late prime minister.

Ouattara called him a "statesman, with great loyalty, devotion, and love for the homeland." He also equated Coulibaly to a younger brother and a son and referred to him as his closest partner.

It remains to be seen exactly what will happen with the 2020 Ivorian Presidential election. But it had already been previously suggested that if Coulibaly couldn't run, Ouattara could step back in.

There are currently no official candidates in the race.

Coulibaly was the Prime minister since 2017

Amadou Gon Coulibaly took over the post of Prime minister in 2017. After Ouattara, he was the second-in-command of the centrist political party Rassemblement des Républicains. It translates to Rally of the Republicans.

Coulibaly joined the National Assembly on two different occasions. He was the mayor of Korhogo located in the north-central of the Ivory Coast. Other jobs he held include being the minister of agriculture and secretary-general of the presidency.
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