Guinea Bissau, Civil War

The United States recognized the new nationon 10 Sept., 1974 and Luis Cabral, half-brother of Amilcar Cabral became the Presidentof Guinea Bissau. In late 1980, the Govt. was overthown in a relatively bloodless coup led by Prime Minister and former armed forces commander Joao Bernardo "nino" Vieira. From Nov. 1980 to may 1984, power was held by a provisional govt. responsible to a revolutionary council headed by Presient Joao Bernardo Vieira. In 1984, the council was dissolved and national popular assembly was reconstituted. The single party assembly approved a new constitution , elected president Vieir to a new 5-year term,and elected a council of state. A number of coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990sfailed to unseat him and in 1994 he wa elected the president in the country's first free elections. A military coup and a civil war in 1998 led to Vieira's ouster in 1999. Opposition leader Kumba Yala took office following tansparent presidential elections in 2000 but he was ousted in a bloodless coup in Sept. 2003, and Henrich Rosa was sworn in. Guinea Bissau held legislative elections under international observers, acceptibly ,free and fair. on May 9, 2004, Carlos Gomes Junior became prime minister.