Omar Bongo

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Omar Bongo at the White House , May 2004

Omar Bongo Ondimba , originally Albert-Bernard Bongo (born December 30, 1935 in Lewai, today's Bongoville , † June 8, 2009 in Barcelona , Spain ) was President of the Republic of Gabon from 1967 until his death . With a term of office of 41 years and 193 days, he was the 10th head of state in power since 1901.

Life

Early years

Bongo belonged to the Bateke minority . He attended a business school and studied at the Brazzaville Technical College . After completing his studies, he worked in the administrative service until he joined the French Air Force for six years in 1954 .

Politician

After Gabon's independence in 1960, he became Foreign Minister under the first President of the Republic of Léon M'ba . Until 1966 he held various offices in the M'bas government: until 1964 he was head of cabinet and then defense minister . In 1966 he also became Minister of Information and Government Commissioner at the State Security Court. In November 1966, he was appointed Vice President.

president

George W. Bush held a meeting with Omar Bongo in the Oval Office in 2004

After the death of Léon M'ba on November 28, 1967, Bongo succeeded him as President. The Unity Party Parti Démocratique Gabonais (PDG) provided all MPs in all elections between 1967 and 1985. Bongo's policy has since been liberal on economic issues and domestically authoritarian. He was re-elected on February 25, 1973 with 99.6 percent of the vote; the presidential elections of December 30, 1979 and November 9, 1986 had a similar result.

In terms of foreign policy, he leaned closely on France , but also maintained good relations with the Arab world . From 1999 to 2001 he mediated between the conflicting parties in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo . In the late 1990s, the former press spokesman for John F. Kennedy , Pierre Salinger, worked for Bongo's public relations work in the USA .

In 1990 severe unrest rocked the republic, which led Bongo to overturn one-party rule. His party was able to maintain a majority in the parliamentary elections that have been held since then. On December 5, 1993, he won the first freely named presidential election with 51.2 percent. In the election on December 12, 1998, he was confirmed with 66.88 percent, although the opposition accused the government of massive election manipulation. Most recently, with Bongo at the top, the PDG won the absolute majority in December 2001 with 86 out of 120 seats. A constitutional amendment in 2003 lifted the limit on the presidential term, allowing Bongo to run again in the upcoming elections. Another change in the law now stipulates that the candidate wins the election with a simple majority, i.e. the most votes in the first ballot. Given the fragmented opposition in the country, this improved Bongo's chances of being re-elected. He announced his candidacy on October 1, 2005 and five days later the election date was set for November 27, 2005, with members of the security forces voting two days earlier. Bongo was confirmed in office for another seven years with 79.2 percent. His main rival Pierre Mamboundou achieved second place with 13.6 percent as in 1998.

Visit to Germany in 2005

On June 15, 2005, then German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder received Omar Bongo in the Berlin Federal Chancellery . The main focus of the meeting was on the situation in the region and the structure of economic cooperation. According to the press ticker of the Chancellery, the conversation took place in “a very constructive atmosphere”. The reform of the United Nations also came up in the discussion . Bongo promised to support the federal government's proposals .

Private

In 1973 Bongo converted to Islam and from then on called himself Omar Bongo or after his pilgrimage ( Hajj ) to Mecca El Hadj Omar Bongo. In 2003 he changed his name to Omar Bongo Ondimba.

Bongo was involved in the corruption scandal surrounding the French oil company Elf Aquitaine (→ Alfred Sirven ). He is said to have received high commissions for years. He was considered one of the richest heads of state worldwide.

Bongo was married since 1990 to Édith Lucie Bongo Ondimba , a daughter of the President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou-Nguesso . She died on March 14, 2009 of an unknown disease.

His son Ali Bongo Ondimba (* 1959) from his marriage to Patience Dabany , who divorced in 1986 , served as Foreign Minister from 1989 to 1991 and has been Minister of Defense since 1999.After the presidential elections on August 30, 2009, he was declared the winner and thus the successor to his father Omar Bongo .

The daughter Albertine Amissa Bongo (* 1964) died in 1993. After her, Bongo had the road bike race La Tropicale Amissa Bongo Ondimba named for the first time in 2006 .

Bongo also had two children, Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo .

death

After the death of Bongo was announced by various media on June 7, 2009, the death of the politician on the morning of June 8, 2009 was initially denied by members of the Gabonese government. However, on the afternoon of June 8, 2009 Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe Ndong officially confirmed death from heart failure in a clinic in Barcelona. On June 10, 2009, the President of the Senate, Rose Francine Rogombé, was sworn in as interim president. According to the constitution, a new president must be elected within 45 days.

controversy

The death of Gabonese President Omar Bongo Ondimba triggered a discussion in France about the economic and political ties between the two countries. Former French President Jacques Chirac had his presidential election campaign financed by Bongo in 1981 , accused Chirac's predecessor Valéry Giscard d'Estaing of his rival at the time.

Web links

Commons : Omar Bongo  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ After 40 years in office: Gabun's President Bongo dead in: Focus from June 8, 2009
  2. ^ Politique Gabon: portrait de Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo. Jeune Afrique , September 22, 2016, accessed on June 12, 2020 (French).
  3. ^ Giscard d'Estaing: "Bongo financed Chirac's election campaign" in: Der Standard from June 9, 2009
personal data
SURNAME Bongo, Omar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bongo Ondimba, Omar; Bongo, Albert-Bernard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Gabonese politician, President of Gabon (1967–2009)
DATE OF BIRTH December 30, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Bongoville
DATE OF DEATH June 8, 2009
Place of death Barcelona