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88-407: Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo ; 30 January 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese politician who was the second president of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009. Bongo was promoted to key positions as a young official under Gabon's first President Léon M'ba in the 1960s, before being elected the second vice-president in his own right in 1966. In 1967, he succeeded M'ba to become

176-496: A Ferrari 456 M GT in June 2001 for £156,000. Bongo's fortune has repeatedly come under the spotlight. According to a 1997 US Senate report, his family spends £55m a year. In a separate French investigation into corruption at the former oil giant Elf Aquitaine, an executive testified that it paid Bongo £40m a year via Swiss bank accounts in exchange for permission to exploit his country's reserves. Bongo denied this. The latest inquiry, by

264-608: A US$ 800 million presidential palace in Gabon, fancy cars, etc. This enabled him to amass enough wealth to become one of the world's richest men. He carefully allowed just enough oil money to trickle down to the general population of 1.4 million, thus avoiding mass unrest. He built some basic infrastructure in Libreville and, ignoring advice to establish a road network instead, constructed the US$ 4 billion Trans-Gabon Railway line deep into

352-547: A boycott of the legislative elections held in December 2001, and his supporters burned ballot boxes and papers in a polling station in his hometown of Ndende. He then rejected offers for a senior post after the 2001 legislative elections. But despite threats from Bongo, Mamboundou was never arrested. The president declared that a "policy of forgiveness" was his "best revenge". "In 2006, however, Maboundou, stopped his public criticisms of Mr. Bongo. The former brand made no secret that

440-565: A candidate of the next presidential election. Before his or her entry into office, the authority concerned will take the oath of office according to the conditions of Article 12 above. In the case of a vacancy, or if the president's impairment is declared permanent by the Constitutional Court, the polls for the election of the new president, excluding cases of emergency announced by the Constitutional Court, will take place at least thirty (30) days or at most sixty (60) days after

528-578: A car with no fuel..." In 1964 when renegade soldiers arrested him in Libreville and kidnapped president M'ba, French paratroopers rescued the abducted president and Bongo, restoring them to power. Bongo became Vice President in 1966 after what was effectively an interview and subsequent approval by de Gaulle in 1965 in Paris. In 1988, the New York Times reported that "Last year, French aid to Gabon amounted to US$ 360 million. This included subsidizing

616-645: A change in the Constitution allowing him to seek re-election as many times as he wanted, and changing the Presidential term to seven years, up from five. Bongo's critics accused him of intending to rule for life. On 27 November 2005 Bongo won a seven-year term as president, receiving 79.2 percent of the vote, comfortably ahead of his four challengers. He was sworn in for another seven-year term on 19 January 2006 and remained president until his death in 2009. French culture, economy, and polity have long dominated

704-584: A cheque, drawn on an account in the name of "Prairie du Gabon en France" (part of the Gabon treasury), to buy the Maybach, painted Côte d'Azur blue, in February 2004. Bongo's daughter Pascaline, 52, used a cheque from the same account for a part-payment of £29,497 towards a £60,000 Mercedes two years later. Bongo bought himself a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti F1 in October 2004 for £153,000 while his son Ali acquired

792-414: A company, these individuals are sometimes differentiated with titles denoting higher positions such as executive vice president or senior vice president, with the remaining management team holding the title vice president. The title of assistant vice president or associate vice president is used in large organizations below vice president and there can be a very convoluted list of other types of VPs as seen in

880-548: A grand figure of Africa," Sarkozy said in a statement. Italian fashion designer Francesco Smalto admitted providing Bongo with Parisian prostitutes to secure a tailoring business worth $ 600,000 per year. Bongo was one of the wealthiest heads of state in the world, his wealth attributed primarily to oil revenue and alleged corruption . In 1999, an investigation by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on investigations into Citibank estimated that

968-497: A landslide victory in the 2001 legislative elections, Bongo offered government posts to influential opposition members. Father Abessole accepted a ministerial post in the name of "friendly democracy". The main opposition leader, Pierre Mamboundou of the Gabonese People's Union, refused to attend the post 1998 elections meetings, claiming that they were merely a ploy by Bongo to lure opposition leaders. Mamboundou called for

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1056-637: A major row with France over the French inquiry. A French court decision in February 2009 to freeze his bank accounts added fuel to the fire and his government accused France of waging a "campaign to destabilize" the country. [W]ith a neat mustache and piercing gaze often hidden behind dark glasses, he ruled.... He was a short man, like many of his minority Bateke ethnic group, and often wore raised platform shoes so as to appear taller... But his diminutive height belied his towering stature: on Gabon's political stage – which he ruled shrewdly for nearly 42 years -; and on

1144-627: A parasitic capitalism has developed that has hardly improved the living conditions of the population". On 7 May 2009, the Gabonese Government announced that Bongo had temporarily suspended his official duties and taken time off to mourn his wife and rest in Spain. International media, however, reported that he was seriously ill, and undergoing treatment for cancer in hospital in Barcelona, Spain. The Gabonese government maintained that he

1232-477: A permanent military base in Gabon as well as in some of its other ex-colonies, helped maintain Bongo in power in the face of sustained pro-democracy protests that threatened to oust him from power. When Gabon found itself on the brink of a civil war after the first multiparty presidential elections in 1993, with the opposition staging violent protests, Paris hosted the talks between Bongo and the opposition, resulting in

1320-417: A representative in the government. Bongo had no ideology beyond self-interest, but there was no opposition with an ideology either. He ruled by knowing how the self-interest of others could be manipulated. He was skilled at persuading opposition figures to become his allies. He offered critics modest slices of the nation's oil wealth, co-opting or buying off opponents rather than crushing them outright. He became

1408-544: A seven-year term in 1979, receiving 99.96% of the popular vote. Opposition to President Bongo's regime first appeared in the late 1970s, as economic difficulties became more acute for the Gabonese. The first organized, but illegal, opposition party was the Movement for National Restoration ( Mouvement de redressement national , MORENA). This moderate opposition group sponsored demonstrations by students and academic staff at

1496-471: A student strike by providing about US$ 1.35 million for the purchase of the computers and books they were demanding. "[He] was a self-proclaimed nature lover in a country with the largest percentage of the untrammelled virgin jungle of all the nations in the Congo Basin . In 2002, he set aside 10 percent of Gabon's land as national parks, pledging that they would never be logged, mined, hunted or farmed." He

1584-502: A third of Gabon's budget, extending low-interest trade loans, paying the salaries of 170 French advisers and 350 French teachers and paying scholarships for most of the roughly 800 Gabonese who study in France every year... [A]ccording to Le Canard enchaîné , a French opposition weekly, US$ 2.6 million of this aid also went for the interior decoration of a DC-8 jet belonging to President Bongo." In 1990, France, which has always maintained

1672-728: A town of the Haut-Ogooué province in what is now southeastern Gabon near the border with the Republic of the Congo . He was a member of the small Bateke ethnic group. He changed his name to El Hadj Omar Bongo when he converted to Islam in 1973. After completing his primary and secondary education in Brazzaville (then the capital of French Equatorial Africa), Bongo held a job at the Post and Telecommunications Public Services, before joining

1760-548: A year and still had one of the world's highest infant mortality rates by the time of his death in 2009. After Bongo's death in June 2009, his son Ali Bongo , who had long been assigned key ministerial responsibilities by his father, was elected to succeed him in August of that year . The youngest of twelve siblings, Albert-Bernard Bongo was born on 30 January 1935 in Lewai (since renamed Bongoville ), French Equatorial Africa ,

1848-441: Is destroying universities. "Corporate vice president" is an older term that usually denotes a vice president that is named as a corporate officer by the board of directors. Not all vice presidents in a company in the modern business environment are named as an official corporate officer. Depending on the specific organization, the following may be an example of the hierarchy of the vice presidents. The following list explains where

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1936-509: Is flown in from France. And years of dependence on relatives with civil service jobs means that many Gabonese have no interest in seeking work outside the state sector – most manual jobs are taken by immigrants. Bongo used part of the money to build up a fairly large circle of people who supported him such as government ministers, high administrators, and army officers. He had learned from M'ba how to give government ministries to different tribal groups so that someone from every important group had

2024-525: The 1981 presidential election . Giscard said Bongo had developed a "very questionable financial network" over time. "I called Bongo and told him 'you're supporting my rival's campaign' and there was a dead silence that I still remember to this day and then he said 'Ah, you know about it', which was extraordinary. From that moment on, I broke off personal relations with him", said Giscard. Socialist parliamentarian André Vallini reportedly claimed that Bongo had bankrolled numerous French electoral campaigns, on both

2112-626: The Arc de Triomphe . He also rents a nine-room apartment in the same street. Bongo has a further seven properties in Nice , including four villas , one of which has a swimming pool. Edith has two flats near the Eiffel Tower and another property in Nice. Investigators identified the properties through tax records. Checks at Bongo's houses, in turn, allowed them to find details of his fleet of cars. Edith used

2200-540: The Elysée Palace ... The 21,528 sq ft (2,000.0 m) home was bought in June last year by a property company based in Luxembourg . The firm's partners are two of Bongo's children, Omar, 13, and Yacine, 16, his wife Edith and one of her nephews... [T]he residence is the most expensive in his portfolio, which includes nine other properties in Paris, four of which are on the exclusive Avenue Foch , near

2288-655: The Université Omar Bongo in Libreville in December 1981, when the university was temporarily closed. MORENA accused Bongo of corruption and personal extravagance and of favouring his own Bateke tribe ; the group demanded that a multi-party system be restored. Arrests were made in February 1982, when the opposition distributed leaflets criticizing the Bongo regime during a visit by Pope John Paul II . In November 1982, 37 MORENA members were tried and convicted of offences against state security. Severe sentences were handed out, including 20 years of hard labour for 13 of

2376-589: The cabinet , while other vice presidents might not have any purpose beyond acting in place of the president on the event of the president's death, resignation or incapacity. A few vice presidents in the Americas also hold the position of president of the senate ; this is the case, for example, in Argentina, the United States, and Uruguay. The vice president sometimes assumes some of the ceremonial duties of

2464-424: The president or CEO of the company and are members of the executive management team. Some corporations that use this term may have individuals with the title of vice president responsible for specific business divisions (e.g., vice president for legal, vice president for sales and marketing, vice president for finance, and vice president for human resources). When there are typically several vice presidents in

2552-591: The 1961 parliamentary election, choosing not to run for election in his own right; Sandoungout was elected and became Minister of Health. Bongo worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a time, and he was named Assistant Director of the Presidential Cabinet in March 1962; he was named Director seven months later. In 1964, during the only coup attempt in 20th-century Gabon , M'ba was kidnapped and Bongo

2640-408: The 500-man battalion of Marines permanently stationed in Gabon "to protect the interests of 20,000 resident French nationals". Tanks and troops were deployed around the presidential palace to halt rioters. In December 1993, Bongo won the first presidential election held under the new multi-party constitution, by a considerably narrower margin of around 51.4%. Opposition candidates refused to validate

2728-529: The African continent, as one of the last of the so-called "big men". Omar Bongo, Africa's "little Big Man", described as "a diminutive, dapper figure who conversed in flawless French, a charismatic figure surrounded by a personality cult", was one of the last of the African "Big Man" rulers. The pillars of his long rule were France, revenues from Gabon's 2,500,000,000 barrels (400,000,000 m) of oil reserves, and his political skills. An ardent Francophile , at

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2816-662: The Congo, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo . In 1986, Bongo's image was boosted abroad when he received the Dag Hammarskjöld Peace Prize for efforts to resolve the Chad-Libya border conflict. He was popular among his own people as his reign had guaranteed peace and stability. Under Mr. Bongo's rule, Gabon never had a coup or a civil war , a rare achievement for a nation surrounded by unstable, war-torn states. Fuelled by oil ,

2904-510: The French antifraud agency OCRGDF , followed a lawsuit that accused Bongo and two other African leaders of looting public funds to finance their purchases. 'Whatever the merits and qualifications of these leaders, no one can seriously believe that these assets were paid for out of their salaries', alleges the lawsuit brought by the Sherpa association of judges, which promotes corporate social responsibility. In 2009, Bongo spent his last months in

2992-637: The French military where he served as a second lieutenant and then as a first lieutenant in the Air Force, in Brazzaville, Bangui and Fort Lamy (present-day N'djamena , Chad ) successively, before being honourably discharged as captain. After Gabon's independence in 1960, Albert-Bernard Bongo began his political career, rapidly rising through a succession of positions under President Léon M'ba . Bongo campaigned for M. Sandoungout in Haut Ogooué in

3080-407: The French political parties — from the left to the right — for secret party financing, and as a source of bribes in support of French commercial bids all over the world. After Bongo's demise, President Sarkozy expressed his "sadness and emotion" ... and pledged that France would remain "loyal to its long relationship of friendship" with Gabon. "It is a great and loyal friend of France who has left us —

3168-632: The Gabonese President held US$ 130 million in the bank's personal accounts, money the Senate report said was "sourced in the public finances of Gabon". In 2005, an investigation by the United States Senate Indian Affairs Committee into fundraising irregularities by lobbyist Jack Abramoff revealed that Abramoff had offered to arrange a meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and Bongo for

3256-572: The Interior (1967–1970), and many others. Following a Congress of the PDG in January 1979 and the December 1979 elections, Bongo gave up some of his ministerial portfolios and surrendered his functions as head of government to Prime Minister Mebiame. The PDG congress had criticized Bongo's administration for inefficiency and called for an end to the holding of multiple offices. Bongo was again re-elected for

3344-499: The Paris Agreement/Accords which restored calm. In France, his old ally, Mr. Bongo and his family lived in the rarefied air of the super-rich. At their disposal were 39 luxurious properties, 70 bank accounts and at least 9 luxury vehicles worth about US$ 2 million, according to Transparency International.... French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing claimed that Bongo helped bankroll Jacques Chirac 's campaign in

3432-408: The Senate will temporarily carry out the duties of the presidential office. The authority that assumes the presidential office in the interim will be temporarily invested with the full duties and powers of the president of the republic, to the exclusion of certain duties and powers provisioned by Articles 18, 19, and the first paragraph of 116. The temporary president may not present him or herself as

3520-459: The VP sits in an organization: This comparison is not strictly correct, as director is a legal term, meaning someone registered with the relevant country's company registrar (or simply named in the legal documents, for countries not having company registration) as having managerial control of the company, and having legal responsibility for its operation, whilst a vice president does not. In either case

3608-458: The ambit of Françafrique. With its oil, a fifth of the world's known uranium (Gabonese uranium supplied France's nuclear bombs, which President Charles de Gaulle tested in the Algerian deserts in 1960), big iron and manganese deposits, and plenty of timber, Gabon was always important to France. Bongo reportedly said: "Gabon without France is like a car with no driver. France without Gabon is like

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3696-474: The backdrop for renewed partisan politics. The PDG won a landslide victory in the legislative election, but several major cities, including Libreville, elected opposition mayors during the 1997 local election. Bongo was eventually successful in consolidating power again, with most of the major opposition leaders being either co-opted by being given high-ranking posts in the government or bought off, ensuring his comfortable re-election in 1998. In 2003, Bongo secured

3784-507: The beginning of the presidential term. It may not take place before the Constitutional Court's decision to proclaim the official election results. At the moment of the president's entry into office, the president of the republic will solemnly take the oath below, before the Parliament and the Constitutional Court, the left hand on the Constitution, and the other hand raised before the national flag: I promise to devote all my energies to

3872-457: The beginning of the vacancy or the declaration of a permanent impairment of the president. Died in office Vice-President In government , a vice president is a person whose primary responsibility is to act in place of the president on the event of the president's death, resignation or incapacity. Vice presidents are either elected jointly with the president as their running mate , or more rarely, appointed independently after

3960-437: The country's economy was more like that of an Arabian emirate than a Central African nation. For many years Gabon was said, perhaps apocryphally, to have the world's highest per capita consumption of Champagne . According to the political scientist Thomas Atenga, despite the large oil revenues, "the Gabonese rentier state has functioned for years on the predation of resources for the benefit of its ruling class, around which

4048-501: The country's president, upon the latter's death. Bongo headed the single-party regime of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) until 1990, when, faced with public pressure, he was forced to introduce multi-party politics into Gabon. His political survival despite intense opposition to his rule in the early 1990s seemed to stem once again from consolidating power by bringing most of the major opposition leaders at

4136-419: The defendants; all were pardoned, however, and released by mid-1986. Despite these pressures, Omar Bongo remained committed to one-party rule. In 1985, legislative elections were held which followed past procedures; all nominations were approved by PDG, which then presented a single list of candidates. The candidates were ratified by popular vote on 3 March 1985. In November 1986 Bongo was re-elected by 99.97% of

4224-526: The election results. Serious civil disturbances led to an agreement between the government and opposition factions to work toward a political settlement. These talks led to the Paris Accords in November 1994, under which several opposition figures were included in a government of national unity. This arrangement soon broke down, however, and the 1996 and 1997 legislative and municipal elections provided

4312-579: The end of the previous president's term. A current president may not shorten his or her term in any manner to run for another term. If the current president of the republic runs for the next presidential term, the National Assembly of Gabon may not be dissolved. The president may also not exercise his power to legislate by ordinance from the moment he announces his candidacy up to the election. In cases of necessity, Parliament may convene in an extraordinary session. The presidential oath marks

4400-404: The first vice president can be interchangeable with executive vice president and the remaining vice presidents are ranked in order of their seniority. Sometimes a vice president is also called presidium member , especially when there are more than person holding the post. The primary responsibility of the vice president of a club or organization is to be prepared to assume the powers and duties of

4488-515: The forested interior. Petrodollars funded the salaries of a bloated civil service, spreading enough of the state's wealth among the population to keep most of them fed and dressed. Gabon under Bongo was described in 2008 by the UK's Guardian newspaper: Gabon produces some sugar, beer and bottled water. Despite the rich soil and tropical climate, there is only a tiny amount of agricultural production. Fruit and vegetables arrive on trucks from Cameroon. Milk

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4576-463: The good of the Gabonese people, to assure their well-being and to protect them from all misfortune, to respect and defend the Constitution and the State of law, to fulfill conscientiously the duties of my position and to be just to all. In case of a vacancy of the presidential office for whatever reason, or a permanent impairment of the current president, affirmed by the Constitutional Court called upon by

4664-426: The government through an absolute majority of its members, or failing that, by the bureaus of the two chambers of Parliament with a majority of their members, the president of the Senate will temporarily exercise the duties of the president of the republic, or in case of permanent impairment of the president of the Senate, affirmed by the Constitutional Court called upon in the same conditions, the first vice-president of

4752-476: The inception of his presidency Bongo was happy to strike a favourable bargain with the old colonial power, France. He gave the French oil company, Elf Aquitaine, privileged rights to exploit Gabon's oil reserves while Paris returned the favour by guaranteeing his grip on power for the indefinite future. Bongo went on to preside over an oil boom that undoubtedly fuelled an extravagant lifestyle for him and his family—dozens of luxurious properties in and around France,

4840-450: The latest of 33 luxury properties bought in France by President Omar Bongo Ondimba of Gabon ... a French judicial investigation has discovered that Bongo, 72, and his relatives also bought a fleet of limousines , including a £308,823 Maybach for his wife, Edith, 44. Payment for some of the cars was taken directly from the treasury of Gabon ... The Paris mansion is in the Rue de la Baume, near

4928-457: The members of the organization. When multiple vice presidents are elected, the positions are usually numbered to prevent confusion as to who may preside or succeed to the office of president upon vacancy of that office (for example: first vice president, second vice president, and so on). In some cases vice presidents are given titles due to their specific responsibilities, for example: vice president of operations, finance, etc. In some associations

5016-470: The most successful of all Africa's Francophone leaders, comfortably extending his political dominance into the fifth decade. When multi-party presidential elections were held in 1993, which he won, the poll was marred by allegations of rigging, with the opposition claiming that chief rival, Father Paul Mba Abessole , was robbed of victory. Gabon found itself on the brink of a civil war, as the opposition staged violent demonstrations. Determined to prove that he

5104-502: The next section. As many of these VPs have minimal employees reporting to them, their necessity has been questioned, with for example Inc. magazine arguing to flatten the corporate hierarchy. Similarly, as universities have adopted a corporate structure there is concern over administrative bloat and over-paying VPs. Benjamin Ginsberg, a political scientist and professor, has claimed the proliferation of VPs and other administrators

5192-424: The office of the president in the case of a vacancy in that office. If the office of president becomes vacant, the vice president (or in clubs with multiple vice presidents, the VP that occupies the highest-ranking office), will assume the office of president, with the lower vice presidents to fill in the remaining vice presidencies, leaving the lowest vice presidency to be filled by either election or appointment. If

5280-479: The popular vote. On 22 May 1990, after strikes, riots and unrest, the PDG central committee and the National Assembly approved constitutional amendments to facilitate the transition to a multi-party system. The existing presidential mandate, effective through 1994, was to be respected. Subsequent elections to the presidency would be contested by more than one candidate, and the presidential term of office

5368-493: The president pledged to give him US$ 21.5 million for the development of his constituency of Ndende". As time went on, Bongo depended on more and more on his close family members. By 2009, his son Ali by his first wife had been the Minister of Defence since 1999, while his daughter, Pascaline , was the head of the president's administration and her husband the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paul Toungui . In 2000, he put an end to

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5456-429: The president will remain in office until the election of the successor. The ways and means by which the present article may be applied are fixed by organic law. The presidential term begins on the day he presents himself for the presidential oath and finishes at the end of the seventh year following his election. The election of the president of the republic takes place at least a month and at most two months before

5544-514: The president's election. Most governments with vice presidents have one person in this role at any time, although in some countries there are two or more vice presidents–an extreme case being Iran's 12 vice presidents . If the president is not present, dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to fulfill their duties, the vice president will generally serve as president. In many presidential systems , vice presidents may not wield much day-to-day political power, but are still considered important members of

5632-474: The president, such as attending diplomatic functions and events that the actual president may be too busy to attend; the Vice President of the United States , for example, often attends funerals of world leaders on behalf of the president . A vice president, in some cases, may also be appointed by the president as the head of a ministry in the cabinet or to lead certain executive initiatives designated by

5720-612: The president. In parliamentary or semi-presidential systems, a vice president may coexist with a prime minister, as is the case in India and Namibia , but the presence of both offices concurrently is rare. In business , "vice president" refers to hierarchical position that ranges from extremely senior positions directly reporting to C-level executives (in non-financial companies), to junior non-management positions with four to 10 years of experience (in financial companies). In non-financial businesses, vice presidents often report directly to

5808-424: The presidential election held on 19 March 1967, M'ba was re-elected as President and Bongo was elected as Vice-President during the same election. Bongo was in effective control of Gabon since November 1966 during President Léon M'ba's long illness. Bongo became President on 2 December 1967, following the death of M'ba four days earlier, and was installed by de Gaulle and influential French leaders . Aged 32, Bongo

5896-494: The reports, which had been picked up by numerous other news sources, and continued to insist that he was well. His death was eventually confirmed by Gabonese Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe Ndong, who said in a written statement that Bongo had died of a heart attack shortly before 12:30 GMT on 8 June 2009. Bongo's body was flown back to Gabon, where it lay in state for five days, as thousands of people came to pay their respects. A state funeral followed on 16 June 2009 in Libreville which

5984-650: The republic is elected for a presidential term of five (5) years, by universal and direct suffrage as per the 2023 Constitution amendement. The president is renewable. There was a two-term limit for the president in the Constitution of Gabon . This limit was lifted for Omar Bongo in 2003. The election is won by the candidate who obtains the largest number of votes. All Gabonese citizens, male and female, who are at least forty (40) years old, have resided in Gabon for at least twelve (12) months, and who enjoy their full civil and political rights are eligible to run for

6072-489: The responsibilities may be overall to the company, a region (US, EMEA, CEE...), business unit or function such as sales, marketing, IT etc. In financial companies, a "vice president" is usually a seniority rank that denotes higher responsibility, though such may not be leadership. The title does not denote a leadership position within the company, but often a role relatively junior to the executive board. Financial services companies have multiple vice presidents, possibly because

6160-452: The right and the left. In 2008, President Nicolas Sarkozy demoted his minister in charge of looking after the ex-colonies, Jean-Marie Bockel , after the latter noted the "squandering of public funds" by some African regimes, provoking Bongo's fury. He made his country and his oil industry available as a source of offshore slush funds", said political analyst Nicholas Shaxson, the author of a book on Africa's oil states. "These were used by all

6248-408: The seat of the presidency. The Constitutional Court may extend the provisioned time periods conforming to Article 11 below, but the elections may not take place more than thirty-five (35) days after the date of the decision of the Constitutional Court. If an application of the policies in the present paragraphs postpones the election to a date beyond the last day in office of the current president,

6336-474: The small African country of Gabon. The French control of the colonial era ... has been replaced, since independence in 1960, by an insidious rapprochement with Paris, fashioned by Gabon's leadership. A French journalist long familiar with the continent wrote that "Gabon is an extreme case, verging on caricature, of neocolonialism . Bongo's international relations and affairs were dominated by his, and by extension Gabon's, relations with France, Gabon falling within

6424-614: The sum of US$ 9,000,000. Although such an exchange of funds remains unproven, Bush met with Bongo 10 months later in the Oval Office . In 2007, his former daughter-in-law, Inge Lynn Collins Bongo  [ fr ] , the second wife of his son Ali Bongo , caused a stir when she appeared on the US music channel VH1 's reality show Really Rich Real Estate . She was featured trying to buy a US$ 25,000,000 mansion in Malibu, California . Bongo

6512-419: The time to his side. The 1993 presidential election was extremely controversial but ended with his re-election then and the subsequent elections of 1998 and 2005 . His respective parliamentary majorities increased and the opposition becoming more subdued with each succeeding election. After Cuban leader Fidel Castro stepped down in February 2008, Bongo became the world's longest-ruling non-royal leader. He

6600-444: The title is a form of delayering when an employee can not be moved higher in the organization but still deserves recognition. In most cases, the title merely implies that someone is in a medium-seniority individual contributor role. Larger financial institutions have thousands of employees with the title "vice president". In other organizations ( e.g. , trade unions , societies, clubs) one or multiple vice presidents are elected by

6688-673: The worst rioting in Bongo's 23-year rule. Presidential buildings in Libreville were set on fire and the French consul-general and ten oil company employees were taken hostage. French troops evacuated foreigners and a state of emergency was declared in Port Gentil, Rendjambe's hometown and a strategic oil production site. During this emergency Gabon's two main oil producers, Elf and Shell, cut output from 270,000 barrels per day (43,000 m/d) to 20,000. Bongo threatened to withdraw their exploration licences unless they restored normal output, which they soon did. France sent in 500 troops to reinforce

6776-715: Was Africa's fourth youngest president at the time, after captain Michel Micombero of Burundi and sergeant Gnassingbé Eyadéma of Togo. In March 1968 Bongo decreed Gabon to be a one-party state and changed the name of the Gabonese Independence Party, the Bloc Démocratique Gabonais (BDG), to the Parti Démocratique Gabonais (PDG). In the 1973 elections for the national assembly and the presidency, Bongo

6864-408: Was attended by nearly two dozen African heads of state, including several of the continent's strongmen who themselves had ruled for decades, and by the French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his predecessor Jacques Chirac, who were the only Western heads of state to attend. Bongo's body was then flown to Franceville, the main town in the southeastern province of Haut-Ogooue, where he was born, where he

6952-403: Was being investigated by the French magistrates after the complaint made by French NGOs Survie and Sherpa due to claims that he has used millions of pounds of embezzled public funds to acquire lavish properties in France. The leaders all denied wrongdoing. The Sunday Times (UK) reported on 20 June 2008 as follows: A mansion worth £15m in one of Paris's most elegant districts has become

7040-440: Was buried in a private family burial on 18 June 2009. President of Gabon The president of Gabon ( French : Président du Gabon ) is the head of state of Gabon . A total of three people have served as president (not counting two acting presidents) since the post was formed in 1960. The current transitional president, Brice Oligui Nguema , took power in a coup on 30 August 2023 from Ali Bongo . The president of

7128-436: Was changed to five years with a term limit consisting of one re-election to the office. The next day, 23 May 1990, a vocal critic of Bongo and the leading political opposition leader, Joseph Rendjambe  [ fr ] , was found dead in a hotel, reportedly murdered by poison. The death of Rendjambe, a prominent business executive and secretary-general of the opposition group Parti gabonais du progres (PGP), touched off

7216-597: Was cited in recent years during French criminal inquiries into hundreds of millions of euros of illicit payments by Elf Aquitaine , the former French state-owned oil group. One Elf representative testified that the company was giving 50 million euros per year to Bongo to exploit the oil fields of Gabon. As of June 2007, Bongo, along with President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo, Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso , Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea and José Eduardo dos Santos from Angola

7304-524: Was held in a military camp in Libreville , though M'ba was restored to power two days later. On 24 September 1965, he was appointed as Presidential Representative and placed in charge of defence and coordination. He was then appointed Minister of Information and Tourism , initially on an interim basis, then formally holding the position in August 1966. M'ba, whose health was declining, appointed Bongo as Vice-President of Gabon on 12 November 1966. In

7392-404: Was in Spain for a few days of rest following the "intense emotional shock" of his wife's death, but eventually admitted that he was in a Spanish clinic "undergoing a medical check-up". On 7 June 2009, unconfirmed reports quoting French media and citing sources "close to the French government" reported that Bongo had died in Spain of complications from advanced cancer. The Government of Gabon denied

7480-516: Was not a dictator who relied on brute force for his political survival, Bongo entered into talks with the opposition, negotiating what became known as the Paris Agreement. When Bongo won the second presidential elections held in 1998, similar controversy raged over his victory. The president responded by meeting some of his critics to discuss revising legislation to guarantee free and fair elections. After Bongo's Gabonese Democratic Party scored

7568-486: Was not beyond some measure of self-aggrandisement, "thus, Gabon acquired Bongo University, Bongo Airport, numerous Bongo Hospitals, Bongo Stadium and Bongo Gymnasium. The president's hometown, Lewai, was inevitably renamed Bongoville." On the international stage, Bongo cultivated an image as a mediator, playing a pivotal role in attempts to solve the crises in the Central African Republic , Republic of

7656-456: Was one of the longest serving non-royal rulers before his death. Bongo was criticised for in effect having worked for himself, his family and local elites and not for Gabon and its people. For instance, French green politician Eva Joly claimed that during Bongo's long reign, despite an oil-led GDP per capita growth to one of the highest levels in Africa, Gabon built only 5 km of freeway

7744-589: Was the sole candidate for president. He and all PDG candidates were elected by 99.56% of the votes cast. In April 1975 Bongo abolished the post of vice-president and appointed his former vice-president, Léon Mébiame , as prime minister, a position Bongo had held concurrently with his presidency from 1967. Mebiame would remain as prime minister until his resignation in 1990. In addition to the presidency, Bongo held several ministerial portfolios from 1967 onward, including Minister of Defence (1967–1981), Information (1967–1980), Planning (1967–1977), Prime Minister (1967–1975),

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