Alain Akouala Atipault
Encyclopedia
Alain Akouala Atipault is a Congolese
politician. He served in the government of Congo-Brazzaville as Minister of Communication in charge of Relations with Parliament, as well as Government Spokesman, from 2002 to 2009, and he has been Minister at the Presidency in charge of Special Economic Zones since September 2009.
. In 1995, he became a communications adviser to the Committee for the Privatization of State Enterprises; he also served for a time as communications adviser to the National Oil Company of Congo
(Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo, SNPC). At the time of the March 2002 parliamentary election
, he was President Denis Sassou Nguesso
's campaign spokesman; after the election, he was appointed to the government as Minister of Communication in charge of Relations with Parliament, as well as Government Spokesman, on 18 August 2002. He was derisively dubbed "the minister of denial" by opposition media.
In response to "misconceptions" in The Washington Times
, Akouala Atipault wrote a commentary piece for that paper that was published on 11 June 2006. He defended President Sassou Nguesso and the government's policies, arguing that Congo-Brazzaville was heavily burdened by debt and badly needed debt relief
.
Akouala Atipault is the National President of Citizen Force, a political association, as of 2007. In the 2007 parliamentary election
, he stood as a candidate in Gamboma II
constituency, but he was defeated by Guy Timothée Ngantsio Gambou. He appealed to the Constitutional Court, but his appeal was rejected.
During the campaign for the 12 July 2009 presidential election
, Akouala Atipault worked on Sassou Nguesso's campaign as Head of the External Relations Department. In the election, Sassou Nguesso faced an anemic field of competitors, thinned by boycotts and disqualifications. Akouala Atipault dismissed the opposition's claims of fraud as "incorrect" and claimed that the presence of 170 international observers disproved the accusations of fraud.
Following Sassou Nguesso's victory, Akouala Atipault was moved to the post of Minister at the Presidency in charge of Special Economic Zones as part of a cabinet reshuffle on 15 September 2009.
When scandal erupted in October 2009 over a book foreword supposedly written by Nelson Mandela
for a collection of interviews with Sassou Nguesso, with Mandela's foundation claiming he had neither read the book in question nor authorised his name to be associated with it, Akouala Atipault again came to the Congolese president's defense. Arguing that the Congolese people needed nobody's permission to use Mandela's name, he told an interviewer that "Mandela doesn't even belong to himself. He belongs to us." Akouala Atipault went on to urge legal action against the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which he described as "an organization that, in reality, has nothing to do with the personality of Nelson Mandela," and condemned it as a commercial concern linked with "savage capitalism and international finance."
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
politician. He served in the government of Congo-Brazzaville as Minister of Communication in charge of Relations with Parliament, as well as Government Spokesman, from 2002 to 2009, and he has been Minister at the Presidency in charge of Special Economic Zones since September 2009.
Political career
Akouala Atipault was born in BrazzavilleBrazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
. In 1995, he became a communications adviser to the Committee for the Privatization of State Enterprises; he also served for a time as communications adviser to the National Oil Company of Congo
Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo
Société nationale des pétroles du Congo is a national oil company of the Republic of the Congo. The company was established in 1998 after the dissolution of the public company Hydro-Congo. The company manages government-owned shares of production on oil field in the country...
(Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo, SNPC). At the time of the March 2002 parliamentary election
Republic of the Congo presidential election, 2002
A presidential election was held in the Republic of the Congo on 10 March 2002. This followed a civil war in 1997, which returned Denis Sassou Nguesso to power, and a subsequent transitional period, in which a new constitution was written and approved by referendum in January 2002.The election...
, he was President Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso is a Congolese politician who has been the President of Congo-Brazzaville since 1997; he was previously President from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as President, he headed the single-party regime of the Congolese Labour Party for 12 years...
's campaign spokesman; after the election, he was appointed to the government as Minister of Communication in charge of Relations with Parliament, as well as Government Spokesman, on 18 August 2002. He was derisively dubbed "the minister of denial" by opposition media.
In response to "misconceptions" in The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
, Akouala Atipault wrote a commentary piece for that paper that was published on 11 June 2006. He defended President Sassou Nguesso and the government's policies, arguing that Congo-Brazzaville was heavily burdened by debt and badly needed debt relief
Debt relief
Debt relief is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. From antiquity through the 19th century, it refers to domestic debts, in particular agricultural debts and freeing of debt slaves...
.
Akouala Atipault is the National President of Citizen Force, a political association, as of 2007. In the 2007 parliamentary election
Republic of the Congo parliamentary election, 2007
A parliamentary election was held in the Republic of the Congo on 24 June 2007, with a second round initially planned for 22 July 2007, but then postponed to 5 August 2007. According to the National Commission of the Organization of the Elections , 1,807 candidates stood in the first round for 137...
, he stood as a candidate in Gamboma II
Gamboma
Gamboma is a town located in the Plateaux Region of the Republic of the Congo....
constituency, but he was defeated by Guy Timothée Ngantsio Gambou. He appealed to the Constitutional Court, but his appeal was rejected.
During the campaign for the 12 July 2009 presidential election
Republic of the Congo presidential election, 2009
A presidential election was held in the Republic of the Congo on 12 July 2009. Long-time President Denis Sassou Nguesso won another seven-year term with a large majority of the vote, but the election was marked by accusations of irregularities and fraud from the opposition; six opposition...
, Akouala Atipault worked on Sassou Nguesso's campaign as Head of the External Relations Department. In the election, Sassou Nguesso faced an anemic field of competitors, thinned by boycotts and disqualifications. Akouala Atipault dismissed the opposition's claims of fraud as "incorrect" and claimed that the presence of 170 international observers disproved the accusations of fraud.
Following Sassou Nguesso's victory, Akouala Atipault was moved to the post of Minister at the Presidency in charge of Special Economic Zones as part of a cabinet reshuffle on 15 September 2009.
When scandal erupted in October 2009 over a book foreword supposedly written by Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
for a collection of interviews with Sassou Nguesso, with Mandela's foundation claiming he had neither read the book in question nor authorised his name to be associated with it, Akouala Atipault again came to the Congolese president's defense. Arguing that the Congolese people needed nobody's permission to use Mandela's name, he told an interviewer that "Mandela doesn't even belong to himself. He belongs to us." Akouala Atipault went on to urge legal action against the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which he described as "an organization that, in reality, has nothing to do with the personality of Nelson Mandela," and condemned it as a commercial concern linked with "savage capitalism and international finance."