A coup d'état against President Henri Konan Bédié on Christmas Eve 1999 led to the installation of military junta leader General Robert Guéï as president. Guéï lost the presidency in October 2000 elections to Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivorian Popular Front. Guéï refused to relinquish power, leading to street protests and Guéï's flight to Gouessesso near the border with Liberia. Guéï retained some political power and was included in a reconciliation forum in 2001, in which he agreed to refrain from undemocratic methods. Guéï withdrew from the forum agreement in September 2002 and on September 19, 2002, the Ivorian Civil War began. Guéï, his wife, and several members of his family, as well as interior minister Émile Boga Doudou, were killed under unclear circumstances that day.