Ivory Coast Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly dies at 61

July 9 (UPI) -- The prime minister of Ivory Coast, Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died suddenly after attending a ministerial meeting, the country announced. He was 61.

Gon Coulibaly died after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, shortly after he returned from France where he spent two months being treated for a heart condition.

He received a heart transplant in 2012 and traveled to Paris on May 2 to have a stent inserted.

Prior to his death, Gon Coulibaly had been chosen as the ruling party's candidate in October's presidential election after President Alassane Outtara said he would not pursue a third term in office.

"I pay tribute to my younger brother, my son, Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who was, for 30 years, my closest collaborator," Outtara wrote on Twitter.

Gon Coullibaly was a close ally to Ouattara and also served as minister of agriculture under the prior president, Laurent Gbagbo.