Purificacion Angue Ondo
Encyclopedia
Purificacion Angue Ondo is Equatorial Guinea
's Ambassador
to the United States. Ambassador Ondo is fluent speaker of Spanish and French, and a student of English. She has 6 children, 34 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.
. From 1959 to 1963, she studied pedagogy at university in Malabo and began teaching classes in 1964.
and Oyem
, ultimately winning the Medal of Recognition from the Gabonese Nation from the government of Gabon for her contribution to education. The overthrow of the Macias regime made possible her return to Equatorial Guinea in 1980.
(Cairo) in 1994, the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women
(Beijing) in 1995 and the UN’s International Conference on Population and Development
(The Hague) in 1998. Her work on behalf of women in Equatorial Guinea and around the world was recognized by the government of Equatorial Guinea in 1983 when she was awarded the Commendation of the Order of Independence. She also twice won the Equatorial Guinea's Great Cross of the Order of Independence, in 1988 and 1999.
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...
's Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the United States. Ambassador Ondo is fluent speaker of Spanish and French, and a student of English. She has 6 children, 34 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.
Early Life
A native of Mongomo in the western part of mainland Equatorial Guinea, Ondo was born into a family with one sister. Her primary schooling took place in Mongomo, where she was a childhood classmate of Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema MbasogoTeodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is an Equatoguinean politician who has been President of Equatorial Guinea since 1979. He ousted his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, in an August 1979 military coup and has overseen Equatorial Guinea's emergence as an important oil producer, beginning in the 1990s...
. From 1959 to 1963, she studied pedagogy at university in Malabo and began teaching classes in 1964.
Arrest & Exile
On 4 December 1968, she was arrested under Equatorial Guinea's first post-colonial president, Francisco Macias. In 1973, Ondo escaped to Gabon where took a position as a professor of Spanish in secondary schools in LibrevilleLibreville
Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon, in west central Africa. The city is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea, and a trade center for a timber region. As of 2005, it has a population of 578,156.- History :...
and Oyem
Oyem
Oyem is the capital of Woleu-Ntem province in northern Gabon, lying on the N2 road and the River Ntem.-Geography:The town lies on a plateau at an elevation of about . It is the administrative and transport center for the surrounding agricultural area...
, ultimately winning the Medal of Recognition from the Gabonese Nation from the government of Gabon for her contribution to education. The overthrow of the Macias regime made possible her return to Equatorial Guinea in 1980.
Return to Equatorial Guinea
After returning to Equatorial Guinea in 1980, Ambassador Ondo helped to create a Department for the Promotion of Women in the new government. Ambassador Ondo served the people of Equatorial Guinea in this department for twelve years, rising through the ranks to ultimately become Delegate Minister, and working so effectively that the UN’s Population Fund named her among the top women leaders in Sub-Saharan Africa in 1984. She began to expand her international work a year later by participating in the UN’s Third World Conference on Women (Nairobi) in 1985. In 1987, she was elected President of the UN’s Africa Region Coordinating Committee for the Integration of Women, Central African Sub-region, serving in this post until she left the government five years later.Women's Rights Advocacy
In 1995, Ondo left the government of Equatorial Guinea to put her skills and experience on women’s issues to work in the non-governmental sector. While serving as a local consultant for the UN on women’s development and integration in Equatorial Guinea, she started two NGOs, the Federation of Women for World Peace and ABIFAGE, an organization devoted to family planning. Ondo also continued to play a role in international women’s issues, participating in the UN’s International Conference on Population and DevelopmentInternational Conference on Population and Development
The United Nations coordinated an International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt from 5–13 September 1994. Its resulting Program of Action is the steering document for the United Nations Population Fund ....
(Cairo) in 1994, the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women
World Conference on Women
The World Conference on Women was established in 1975 during the International Women's Year.The most recent conference was the Fourth World Conference on Women....
(Beijing) in 1995 and the UN’s International Conference on Population and Development
International Conference on Population and Development
The United Nations coordinated an International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt from 5–13 September 1994. Its resulting Program of Action is the steering document for the United Nations Population Fund ....
(The Hague) in 1998. Her work on behalf of women in Equatorial Guinea and around the world was recognized by the government of Equatorial Guinea in 1983 when she was awarded the Commendation of the Order of Independence. She also twice won the Equatorial Guinea's Great Cross of the Order of Independence, in 1988 and 1999.