Monday, 20 January, 2003, 09:11 GMT
Profile: Gabon's 'president for life'
By Daniel Mboungou Mayengue
For BBC Focus on Africa Magazine
Anyone who would like to know how to rule a country for decades should
consult President Omar Bongo of Gabon.
As head of state for 35 years, he is outdone only by Togo's President
Gnassingbe Eyadema in terms of longevity of leadership.
Not even Zaire's Mobutu Sese Seko and Malawi's Kamuzu Banda, who
proclaimed themselves as presidents-for-life, ruled for so long.
Born Albert Bernard Bongo in 1935, he changed his name to El Hadj Omar
Bongo when he converted to Islam in 1973.
He went to school in Brazzaville, and received military training in
Chad. He is married and has more than 30 children - though not all of
them with his wife.
Bongo's political career kicked off after he won the trust of the father
of Gabon's independence, President Leon Mba. He was appointed the
director in the president's office in 1962, when he was only 27 years
old.
Military coup
During a military coup attempt in 1964, Mba was kidnapped and Bongo was
held in custody in a military camp in Libreville. Both were rescued by
French paratroopers. France, which has huge oil interests in Gabon, has
always played a key role in the African country's stability.
That was the only coup attempt in Gabon's history. The renegade soldiers
attempted to install a civilian, Jean Hilaire Obame, as president in
order to legitimise their actions. He was in office for just two days,
before being forced to return power to the Mba-Bongo alliance.
Having remained faithful to Mba when the military tried to seize power,
Bongo was rewarded with the vice-presidency in 1967. When Mba died after
a short illness in the same year, Bongo was the obvious successor.
Elections
He ruled over a one-party state for 16 years, until presidential
elections were held in 1993 which he won.
However the poll was marred by allegations of rigging, with the
opposition claming 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 was not an autocrat who relied on brute
force for his political survival, Bongo entered into talks with the
opposition, negotiating what became known as the Paris Agreement in a
successful attempt to restore calm.
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.
The main opposition leader, Pierre Maboundou of the Gabonese People's
Union, refused to attend the meetings, claiming that they were merely a
ploy by Bongo to lure opposition leaders.
Maboundou called for a boycott of the legislative elections held in
December, 2001, and his supporters burnt ballot boxes and papers in a
polling station in his hometown of Ndende.
Unity
But despite threats from Bongo, Maboundou was never arrested. The
president declared that a policy of forgiveness was his "best revenge".
After Bongo's Gabonese Democratic Party scored a landslide victory in
the legislative elections, Bongo offered government posts to influential
opposition members. Father Paul Mba Abessole accepted a ministerial post
in the name of "convivial democracy".
This may have gone a long way to raise the level of unity in the
country, but it has weakened the opposition. The next presidential
election is due in 2005 and it seems unlikely that the splintered
opposition will mount a strong challenge.
Now in his late 60s, Bongo is showing no signs of giving up. Having
changed the constitution to allow a president to serve two seven-year
terms, Bongo could be in office until 2012.
Charismatic
On the international stage, the Gabonese president has cultivated an
image as a peacemaker, playing a pivotal role in attempts to solve the
crises in the Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Burundi and
the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In Gabon he is seen as a charismatic and straightforward figure. He is
also popular amongst the Gabonese because his reign has guaranteed
stability.
He regards the principle of keeping the youth happy as sacred.
Like a godfather, he uses his own money to solve the problems of those
who call on him. In 2000 he put an end to a student strike by providing
about $1.35m for the purchase of the computers and books they were
demanding.
A full version of this article appears in the January-March 2003 issue
of
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