Cellou Dalein Diallo (3 February 1952) is a Guinean economist and politician who was Prime Minister of Guinea from 2004 to 2006. Previously he held a succession of ministerial posts in the government from 1996 to 2004. Currently he is President of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), an opposition party. He was a candidate in the 2020 Guinean presidential election but lost to incumbent Alpha Condé. Background and early career Diallo, a member of the Fula ethnic group, was born in Labé. He studied at the University of Conakry and the Center for Financial, Economic and Banking Studies in Paris, and in 1976 he became an inspector of trade. He began working at the Bank of Foreign Trade of Guinea in 1982, and from 1985 to 1995 he worked at the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea. After briefly working at the Administration and Control of Great Projects (l’Administration et Contrôle des Grands Projets, ACGP), Diallo joined the government in July 1996 as Minister of Transport, Telecommunications and Tourism. He was subsequently moved to the position of Minister of Infrastructure in October 1997, where he remained until he was appointed as Minister of Public Works and Transport on 12 March 1999. After UTA Flight 141, a flight from Guinea, crashed in Cotonou, Benin in December 2003, Diallo said that there was no proof that his ministry had been neglectful of safety and that he would not resign. Diallo served for five years as Minister of Public Works and Transport before being moved to the position of Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture on 23 February 2004. Prime Minister On 9 December 2004, Diallo was appointed as Prime Minister by President Lansana Conté. The position of Prime Minister had previously been vacant since April 2004 due to the resignation of François Lonseny Fall. Diallo took office as Prime Minister on 13 December. Diallo—who speaks English in addition to French—played a role in the Conté regime. However, allegations of corruption coupled with disagreements with Conté's top associates, particularly Fodé Bangoura, the Secretary-General of the Presidency, and Mamadou Sylla, a wealthy businessman, culminated in Diallo's removal from his prime minister post. On 4 April 2006, changes to the government which would have greatly increased Diallo's power were announced. These changes would have replaced a number of ministers with Diallo's own allies and would have placed Diallo personally in charge of