Omar Bongo
Overview
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
ese politician who was President of Gabon
Heads of state of Gabon
-Presidents of Gabon :-Affiliations:-Sources:* http://www.rulers.org/rulg1.html#gabon...
for 42 years from 1967 until his death in office in 2009.
Omar Bongo was promoted to key positions as a young official under Gabon's first President Leon M'ba
Léon M'ba
Gabriel Léon M'ba was the first Prime Minister and President of Gabon. A member of the Fang ethnic group, M'ba was born into a relatively privileged village family. After studying at a seminary, he held a number of small jobs before entering the colonial administration as a customs agent...
in the 1960s, before being elevated to Vice-President from 1966 to 1967, eventually succeeding M'ba to become Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
's second President upon the latter's death in 1967.
Bongo headed the single-party regime of the Gabonese Democratic Party
Gabonese Democratic Party
The Gabonese Democratic Party , is the ruling and dominant political party of Gabon. Its motto is Dialogue, Tolerance, Peace.It has held power since independence, first under Léon M'ba , then under Omar Bongo...
(PDG) until 1990, when he was forced to introduce multi-party politics in Gabon in the face of great public pressure.
