Guinea's ailing President Lansana Conte has been flown to Geneva.

A spokesman for the Swiss Foreign Ministry Saturday confirmed that the president is in that country for medical reasons, adding to speculation that Mr. Conte's health has deteriorated.

He is a smoker and suffers from diabetes.  He also is reported to have leukemia.

Mr. Conte seized power in a coup in 1984 and was elected to office for a third term in 2003.  The opposition boycotted that vote after the president changed the constitution to allow him to run for a third term. 

West Africa's Guinea has had only two presidents since it gained independence from France in 1958.  The nation has been singled out as the region's next potential trouble spot, following civil wars in neighboring Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.