In 2016,Embalóentered politics and joined the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC),the then ruling party. Later in that year he was appointed prime minister by President Vaz. During this time,a dispute between Embalóand the PAIGV grew to the point that two years later in 2018,he left the party and formed the Madem G15 party and also resigned as prime minister. In the November 2019 presidential election,Embalóran for president and won the election. He was sworn in as president in February of the following year.
During his presidency,Guinea-Bissau saw the retreat of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) troops stationed in the country after the 2012 coup and attempted to arrange official visits from foreign heads of government,including the first visit from the Portuguese government in three decades,and international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund. In 2022,Embalósurvived a coup attempt,labelling the attempt as a "threat to democracy". Despite this however,opposition figures criticised Embaló's rule as increasingly authoritarian, as Embalódissolved parliaments which were dominated by the opposition twice during his presidency;one in 2022,and another in 2023 following an another coup attempt in which the opposition criticised Embalófor attempting to carry a constitutional coup and consolidate power.
In September 2024,Embalósaid that he will not run for re-election. However,two months later in November,Embalósaid that he would remain president beyond 2030 after calls from supporters to remain in office. In March 2025,Embalóstated that he would run for re-election. However,the opposition criticised the expiration of his term as it was originally set to end on 27 February 2025;however,the Constitutional Court set it to 4 September,in which Embalóremained in office way beyond that date. Elections were held in November 2025,around one year after the original date,with both Embalóand the opposition Independent candidate Fernando Dias da Costa declaring victory.
On 26 November 2025,hours before the official results of the general election were announced,a coup occurred with officers from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of the People seizing power and subsequently detaining Embaló. He thus became the fourth president to be deposed in a coup,after Luís Cabral,João Bernardo Vieira,and Kumba Yala,and was also the second president to not come from the PAIGC party,after Kumba Yala. Throughout his presidency,Embalóstated that his governing style is that of "Embaloism",which he defines as "order,discipline,and development",asserting that "there is neither small state nor small president" and has compared himself to leaders like Lee Kuan Yew and Rodrigo Duterte.
Life
Born in Bissau to a Muslim Fulani family,[5][6][7] Embalóholds a degree in international relations from the Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences at the Technical University of Lisbon,as well as both a Master's degree in political science and a doctorate in international relations from the Complutense University of Madrid. He is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish,and competent in English,French,Arabic and Swahili.[8]
Embalóserved in the army,undertaking National Defence Studies at the National Defence Centre of Spain,and underwent further studies on National Security in Belgium,Israel,South Africa,Japan,and France. He rose to the rank of brigadier-general.[8] Before his political career,Embalóacademically specialised in African and Middle-Eastern affairs and in matters of defence,international co-operation and development. He is a former Minister of African Affairs.
Premiership (2016–2018)
Embalóformed his cabinet on 13 December 2016 after having been appointed prime minister by President JoséMário Vaz on 18 November 2016.[9]
However,Embalótook the post while under the censure of his own party,the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC),which through its Central Committee gave him a vote of distrust of one hundred and twelve votes in favour and eleven against on 26 November 2016.[10]
As head of government,he could only count on the support of the Social Renovation Party,which had the second largest number of seats in the National People's Congress of Guinea-Bissau.[11]
On 13 January 2018,after disagreements with President JoséMário Vaz,he was replaced according to the demands of João Fadiá(minister of finance) and Botche Candé(minister of the interior),[clarification needed][12] Embalóoffered his resignation from the position,effective on 16 January 2018.[11]
2019 presidential election
Embalóran for president in 2019,running as the candidate of Madem G15. He finished in second place,with 27% of the vote,in the first round of voting.[13] According to the preliminary and final results published by the national commission of elections,he won the runoff vote against another former prime minister,Domingos Simões Pereira,54% to 46%. However,the final results continue to be disputed by his opponent Domingos Simões Pereira.[14] Although neither the supreme court of Guinea-Bissau nor the parliament had given its approval for the official swearing-in ceremony,Sissoco Embalóhad organised an alternative swearing-in ceremony in a hotel in Bissau to announce himself as legal president of Guinea-Bissau.[15] Several politicians in Guinea-Bissau,including Prime Minister Aristides Gomes,accused Sissoco Embalóof arranging a coup d'état,although outgoing president Mário Vaz stepped down to allow Embalóto assume power.[16]
Sissoco Embalóhas stated that his governing style is that of "Embaloism",which he defines as "order,discipline,and development",asserting that "there is neither small state nor small president" and comparing himself toLee Kuan Yew and Rodrigo Duterte.[17][18] As part of an anti-corruption drive,he ordered the installation of CCTV surveillance cameras across the country and the arrest of Minister of Public HealthAntonio Deuna on embezzlement charges in 2021.
In 2020,his presidency saw the retreat of Economic Community of West African States troops stationed in the country after the 2012 coup and attempts to arrange official visits from foreign heads of government,including the first visit from the Portuguese government in three decades,and international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund.[19][20] His first official visit as head of state was a multi-country tour of Senegal,Niger,and Nigeria in March 2020.[21]
A coup d'état to oust Embalówas attempted on 1 February 2022.[22][23][24] He said that "many" members of the security forces had been killed in a "failed attack against democracy."[25]
In May 2022,Embalódissolved Guinea-Bissau's parliament,citing "persistent and unresolvable differences" with parliament.[26]
On 3 March 2024,Embalóvisited Jerusalem and expressed support for Israel in the Gaza war.[30] He told Israeli President Isaac Herzog that "Guinea-Bissau and its people are at your side and ready to help you in any way possible."[31]
On 11 September 2024,Embalóannounced that he would not seek a second term in the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for November 2025.[32] At the same time,disputes arose over when his term as president would end,as opposition groups said his term expires on 27 February 2025,while the Supreme Court ruled that it expires on 4 September 2025.[33] On 3 March,Embalóannounced that he would run again for president in the November election.[34] He has since continued to hold the presidency following the legal expiry of his term on 4 September.[35]
Under Embaló's presidency,Guinea-Bissau hosted and mediated negotiations between the Senegalese government and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) that led to the announcement of a new peace agreement in Bissau on 25 February 2025 to end the Casamance conflict.[36]
2025 presidential election and coup d'état
Embalóran for his second presidential term in the 2025 Guinea-Bissau general election on 23 November. Both he and Fernando Dias da Costa claimed victory the next day while official results were yet to be released.[37] On 26 November,Embalówas arrested in a coup d'état carried out by Head of the Military Office of the Presidency,Brigadier general Dinis Incanha[38] and was detained at the headquarters of the armed forces general staff.[39] The next day,he was released following negotiations with the Senegalese government and went into exile in Senegal,[40] but relocated to the Republic of the Congo shortly afterwards.[41]
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Guinea-Bissau 
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