Omar Bongo

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Omar Bongo Ondimba
Omar Bongo and George W. Bush in the Oval Office
2nd President of Gabon
Incumbent
Assumed office 1967
Vice President(s)	Didjob Divungi Di Ndinge
Preceded by	Léon M'ba

Born	December 30, 1935 Bongoville (then known as Lewai)
Political party	Gabonese Democratic Party
Spouse	Edith Lucie Nguesso
Religion	Muslim

El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo on 30 December 1935) became President of Gabon in 1967. He was just 31 and the world's youngest president at the time. Following the February 2005 death of Togolese president Gnassingbé Eyadéma, he became Africa's longest serving ruler, and remains in office today. He is the world's seventh longest serving ruler.

1 Personal
2 Political career
3 Trivia
4 References

[edit] Personal

The youngest in a family of twelve children, Bongo was born on 30 December 1935 in Lewai, a town of the Haut-Ogooué province in southeastern Gabon near the border with the Republic of the Congo. Lewai was renamed Bongoville in honour of Bongo's work to develop the town.

After his primary and secondary education in Brazzaville (then the capital of French Equatorial Africa), Bongo held a job at the Post and Telecommunications Public Services, before starting his military training. This training allowed him to serve as a sub-lieutenant and then as a lieutenant in the Air Force, successively in Brazzaville, Bangui and Fort Lamy (present-day N'djamena). Shortly after Gabon’s independence in 1960, young Albert Bernard Bongo started his political career. He was the Foreign Affairs Minister to the first President of the Republic of Gabon, Mr. Léon Mba^[1].

Bongo is currently married to Edith Lucie Sassou-Nguesso. She is the daughter of Congolese president Denis Sassou-Nguesso.

His first child, daughter Pascaline Mferri Bongo Ondimba was born 10 April 1956 in Franceville, Gabon. She was Foreign Minister of Gabon from, and is currently director of the presidential cabinet.

He was married to Patience Dabany from 31 October. Together they have a son, Alain Bernard Bongo, and daughter Albertine Amissa Bongo). Ali-Ben served as Foreign Minister from 1989–1991, becoming Defence Minister in 1999. Ali also has two sons called Noureddin Edouard Bongo Valentin who goes to Eton and Jalil Louis Bongo Valentin.

[edit] Political career

He was elected vice president in March 1967, alongside Leon M'ba, and became president following the death of M'ba on November 28, 1967. Early in the 1970s (it has been reported as both 1970 and 1973), Bongo converted to Islam, taking the name Omar Bongo. In 2003 he added Ondimba as his surname.

In the early 1990s, Bongo ended the one-party domination of the Gabonese Democratic Party and allowed multi-party elections in response to popular demand. These elections were held in 1993 and 1998: Bongo won both times, taking 51.2% and 66.88% of the vote respectively. Despite the reforms, it is generally thought that a non-independent judiciary and widespread corruption and patronage limited the ability of citizens to effectively change their government.

In 2003, the constitution was changed to eliminate any restrictions on the number of terms a president can serve, with Bongo's critics have accused him of intending to rule for life. Bongo announced his candidacy for the 2005 presidential election on October 1. On October 6 it was announced that the election would be held on November 27, although security forces would vote two days earlier.^[2] According to official results, Bongo won the election with a large majority of 79.2%.^[3] He was sworn in for another seven-year term on January 19, 2006.^[4]

Bongo is one of the wealthiest heads of state in the world, with this attributed primarily from the benefits of oil revenue and alleged corruption. In 2005, an investigation by the United States Senate Indian Affairs Committee into fundraising irregularities by lobbyist Jack Abramoff revealed that Abramoff had offered to arrange a meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and Bongo for the sum of 9 million USD. Though it is unproven as to whether or not the exchange took place, Bush met with Bongo 10 months later in the Oval Office.^[1].

[edit] Trivia

In February 2001, then Foreign Minister of Norway, Thorbjørn Jagland, in an attempt at humour referred to Mr. Bongo as "Bongo from Congo" on national television. This was after Mr. Bongo had visited Norway. Mr. Jagland said "Everybody in the Foreign Office told me I was about to meet 'Bongo from Congo'. During our meeting I almost said Congo instead of Gabon, where he (Mr. Bongo) is from."

In the Robert Altman film O.C. and Stiggs, the main characters converse by telephone with "President Bongo" of Gabon while making themselves at home in an insurance salesman's house. O.C. and Stiggs also fly a Gabonese flag from the antenna of their monster car.