The prime minister was expected to lead the party in October’s presidential election. President Alassane Ouattara said the country was in mourning.
Ivory Coast Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly died suddenly on Wednesday aged 61.
The secretary to President Alassane Ouattara read a statement from the president on state TV confirming Coulibaly’s death.
“Fellow compatriots, Ivory Coast is mourning. It is with deep pain that I announce to you that Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly has left us,” he said.
Officials said Coulibaly was unwell during a ministerial meeting at the presidential palace in Abidjan and was rushed to a hospital where he passed away. It is currently unclear how Coulibaly died.
He had returned to the Ivory Coast last week after undergoing medical treatment for two months in France. Some have speculated that the medical treatment was related to his 2012 heart transplant.
DW NEWS
