Jean-François Ntoutoume Emane

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Jean-François Ntoutoume Emane (born 6 October 1939[1]) is a Gabonese politician who was Prime Minister of Gabon from 23 January 1999 to 20 January 2006. Since 2008 he has been Mayor of Libreville, the capital.[2]

Ntoutoume Emane is a member of the Fang ethnic group from Estuaire Province.[3][4] After working at the Ministry of Finance,[1] Ntoutoume Emane was personal advisor to President Omar Bongo from 1976[1][3] to 1990.[3] On 13 July 1977, he was appointed as Minister and Personal Adviser to the President of the Republic, in charge of the Coordination of the Economic and Financial Affairs of the Presidency and in charge of Civil and Commercial Aviation.[5] He served as Minister of Civil and Commercial Aviation until 1984, then as Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs from 1984 to 1987.[3] In 1990, he was elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), defeating opposition leader Paul M'ba Abessole in Lalala.[1] He was appointed to the government of Prime Minister Casimir Oyé-Mba on 25 March 1994 as Minister of State Control, Decentralization, Territorial Administration and Regional Integration, but he declined the position.[6]

Ntoutoume Emane led negotiations with the opposition in 1994 that resulted in the Paris Accords,[1][3] and he was appointed as Minister of State for the Land-Survey Register, Housing, Lodgings, Urban Affairs, and Urban and Regional Planning (Aménagement du territoire) in the government of Prime Minister Paulin Obame-Nguema on 28 January 1997.[7] Although he had been passed over for the post of Prime Minister earlier in the 1990s,[4] Ntoutoume Emane was appointed as Prime Minister in January 1999, after serving as the campaign manager for President Omar Bongo during his successful re-election campaign for the December 1998 presidential election.[3][4][8] He won a seat from Libreville as a PDG candidate in the December 2001 parliamentary election.[9] After seven years as Prime Minister, Ntoutoume Emane was replaced by Jean Eyeghe Ndong after Bongo was sworn in for another term in January 2006.[10]

He won a seat in the December 2006 parliamentary election, but on 31 March 2007 his victory was annulled by the Constitutional Court due to irregularities.[11] New elections for his seat and others with invalidated results were planned,[12] but Ntoutoume Emane decided not to participate in the re-vote, and Gisele Akoghé took his place as the PDG candidate.[11]

In the April 2008 local elections, Ntoutoume Emane—a Vice-President of the PDG[13]—headed the PDG list in the 5th arrondissement of Libreville, the capital.[13][14] In the 5th arrondissement the PDG achieved its best result in Libreville, with 12 out of 16 councillors; however, the party fell short of an overall majority in the city with 42 out of 98 councillors. Ntoutoume Emane was presented by the PDG as its candidate for Mayor of Libreville,[14] and on 23 May he was elected unopposed as Mayor for a five-year term. He received 84 votes; the remaining 14 votes were invalid.[2]

At the PDG's 9th Ordinary Congress in September 2008, Ntoutoume Emane was named as one of two Honorary Vice-Presidents of the PDG.[15]

Reacting to the inauguration of United States President Barack Obama on 20 January 2009, Ntoutoume Emane said the event fulfilled the dream of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, and he said that he had read Obama's books. He expressed optimism that Obama "has the ambition and potential to foster a real momentum for development".[16]

After the death of President Bongo on 8 June 2009, Ntoutoume Emane ordered the closure of all nightclubs and bars in Libreville to reflect a spirit of national mourning.[17]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Samy Ghorbal, "« Nous avons su garder le cap »", Jeuneafrique.com, 20 November 2005 (French).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Jean-François Ntoutoume Emane élu nouveau maire de la commune de Libreville", Xinhua (Jeuneafrique.com), 23 May 2008 (French).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Jean-François Ntoutoume Emane, Nommé Premier ministre du gabon, le 23 janvier 1999", Afrique Express (French).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Marc Perelman, "La longue marche de Jackie-mille-encyclopédies", Jeuneafrique.com, 2 February 1999 (French).
  5. ↑ Dimitri-George Lavroff, "Année africaine 1977", page 229 (French).
  6. ↑ "Apr 1994 - Refusal of Cabinet portfolios", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 40, April, 1994 Gabon, Page 39945.
  7. ↑ "Décret N° 144/PR, fixant la composition du Gouvernement.", Journal Officiel de la République Gabonaise, January 1997, pages 2–3 (French).
  8. ↑ "New prime minister for Gabon", BBC News, 23 January 1999.
  9. ↑ "Gabon: Bongo's Party Sweeps to Victory", allAfrica.com, 14 December 2001.
  10. ↑ "Nouveau locataire à la Primature", Afriquecentrale.info, 20 January 2006 (French).
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Gabon : l'ex premier ministre Ntoutoume Emane ne sera pas candidat aux législatives partielles du 10 juin prochain", Gabonews.ga, 11 May 2007 (French).
  12. ↑ "Législatives et sénatoriales partielles les 10 juin et 1er juillet", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), 27 April 2007 (French).
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Gabon: Locales 2008 / A Libreville, Assélé prône la « rupture » avec « les pactes non écrits » d’un maire Fang ou Mpongwè à l’Hôtel de ville", Gabonews.ga, 22 April 2008 (French).
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Gabon: sans surprise, large victoire du parti d'Omar Bongo aux élections municipales", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), May 4, 2008 (French).
  15. ↑ "PDG: Faustin Boukoubi au gouvernail", Croissance Saine Environnement, September 22, 2008 (French).
  16. ↑ "Gabon: « Barack Obama est une fierté pour l’Afrique », Ntoutoume Emane, maire de Libreville", Gabonews, 20 January 2009 (French).
  17. ↑ "Gabon's Senate speaker becomes interim head of state", AFP, 10 June 2009.
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