ABIDJAN, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Cote d'Ivoire's Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly died in Abidjan on Wednesday, according to a statement by Ivorian Television Broadcasting (RTI).
"Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly died this Wednesday, July 8, 2020 in Abidjan," announced RTI, the leading channel on national television.
No other official information was available late in the evening.
Coulibaly, who had undergone a heart implantation, returned from France on May 2 after a coronary angiography and a stent placement in Paris.
On March 13, Coulibaly was designated "by consensus" as candidate of the Rassemblement des Houphouetistes pour la Democratie et la Paix (RHDP) for the presidential election of Oct. 31 in Cote d'Ivoire. President Alassane Ouattara decided he would not hold a third term.
Coulibaly had served as prime minister since 2017, and he was one of the faithful members of Ouattara with whom he has collaborated for 30 years.
Aged 61, this engineer from public works was secretary-general of the presidency before being appointed prime minister. Enditem
