Dec 26 (Reuters) - Guinea's military this week installed a little-known army captain to be the de facto ruler of the West African bauxite exporter after taking power in a coup following the death of veteran President Lansana Conte. Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara was appointed president of the 32-member National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD) that took control on Tuesday, suspending the constitution under which the civilian national assembly chief should have succeeded Conte on his death. Here are some facts about the junta chief. -- He was the first to announce the takeover by the CNDD junta through a broadcast on national radio on Dec. 23 at 0730 GMT, the morning after Conte's death the previous evening. His broadcast said the military was taking control because of the "corruption, anarchy and impunity" corroding the state apparatus and the "catastrophic economic situation" affecting the majority of Guineans, for which he blamed the government. -- Guineans got their first real glimpse of Camara on Dec. 24, when he appeared on state television calling the coup "a civic act ... to save a people in distress" and promised free elections would be held at the end of December, 2010. Viewers saw a fresh-faced officer, who read French haltingly, dressed in smart mottled green camouflage fatigues and wearing a red beret. -- Later that same day, at the country's main military base camp Alpha Yaya Diallo he was appointed -- through drawing lots -- to head the CNDD junta, thus making him the de facto leader of the country. Carrying a red, yellow and green national flag, he toured the centre of Conakry escorted by soldiers, and was acclaimed by tens of thousands. Some hailed him "Obama junior" in reference to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama. -- At the time of the coup, Camara was head of the fuel section of the army Supply Corps, a potentially influential position in a country which has no oil production and imports all its fuel needs. -- He is 44 years old and comes from the Lola prefecture in Guinea's southwest Forest Region that borders Liberia and Ivory Coast. -- He studied at Conakry's Gamal Abdel Nasser University in the capital Conakry from where he obtained a diploma in Economy and Finance. -- He attended a military training course in Germany after 2004 and is believed to speak German. -- He, along with other specialist-trained younger officers at the Alpha Yaya Diallo camp, had taken part in a mutiny in May, 2008 to demand payment of salary arrears and better working conditions. They were part of a younger generation of Guinean officers who resented the privileges and riches amassed by their older superiors under Conte. -- Camara's No. 2 in the junta is General Mamadouba Toto Camara, former head of the land army. (Reporting by Saliou Samb, other sources: www.guineenews.org, writing by Pascal Fletcher) (for main story on Guinea events click on [nLQ691114]) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/)
