Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo OEE ONM (born 18 April 1955) is a Gabonaise lawyer who is the former romantic partner of Omar Bongo, the long-standing authoritarian ruler of Gabon. [1]
She is the president of the Constitutional Court of Gabon (Cour Constitutionnelle de la Republique Gabonaise) since its foundation in 1991. [2] [3] [4]
She owns six properties in Dubai. [1] In 2013, she purchased a townhouse in the Silver Spring neighborhood of Washington D.C. for $1.5 million in cash. [5] She reportedly owns properties in France and South Africa. [5]
Mborantsuo was born in Franceville on 18 June 1955. Her parents were Jean Dambangoye and Berthe Nouo. She won a "Miss Franceville" beauty pageant, and became the lover of the then president Omar Bongo, with whom she had two children. She studied law at the National University of Gabon (later Omar Bongo University), then gained a Masters in Public Finance at University of Paris II and a doctorate in constitutional law in 2005 at the University of Aix-en-Provence. [4] [2] Her doctoral thesis title was Cours constitutionnelles africaines et État de droit. [6]
From 1983 to 1991 she was president of the Cour de Comptes of the Supreme Court of Gabon and taught law at Omar Bongo University. After taking part in the national conference of 1990 she was one of the writers of the country's new constitution, and became president of the newly-established constitutional court (the Constitutional Court of Gabon), a post she still holds as of January 2019 [update] . [2]
It has been suggested that she "contributed to the Constitutional Court's loss of legitimacy as an impartial institution" by making controversial decisions on the allegedly fraudulent presidential elections of 1993, 2009 and 2016 in which her former lover and then her step-son Ali Bongo Ondimba retained and gained the post of president. [4]
Gabon, officially the Gabonese Republic, is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo on the east and south, and the Gulf of Guinea to the west. It has an area of 270,000 square kilometres (100,000 sq mi) and a population of 2.3 million people. There are coastal plains, mountains, and a savanna in the east. Libreville is the country's capital and largest city.
Jean Ping is a Gabonese diplomat and politician who served as Chair of the African Union Commission from 2008 to 2012. Born to a Chinese father and Gabonese mother, he is the first individual of Chinese descent to lead the executive branch of the African Union.
Articles related to Gabon include:
Omar Bongo Technical High School is situated in Libreville, Gabon.
Zacharie Myboto is a Gabonese politician and President of the National Union (UN), an opposition party. He was the Administrative Secretary of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) from 1972 to 1990 and served in the government from 1978 to 2001. After resigning from the government, he became an opposition leader, founding the Gabonese Union for Democracy and Development (UGDD) in 2005 and placing third in the 2005 presidential election. He became President of the Group of the Forces of Change in the National Assembly in 2007.
Jean Eyeghé Ndong is a Gabonese politician. He was the Prime Minister of Gabon from January 20, 2006 to July 17, 2009. He was also the First Vice-president of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) until 2009.
Pascaline Mferri Bongo Ondimba is a Gabonese politician. Under her father, President Omar Bongo, she was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 1994 and Director of the Cabinet of the President from 1994 to 2009.
Parliamentary elections were held in Gabon on 17 December 2006, although voting in seven seats took places on 24 December 2006 due to logistical problems. The ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) won 82 seats, with other parties that supported President Omar Bongo winning another seventeen seats, among them the National Woodcutters' Rally of Paul M'ba Abessole with seven seats, the Democratic and Republican Alliance with three seats, the Circle of Reformist Liberals with two seats and the Social Democratic Party with one seat.
Laure Olga Gondjout is a Gabonese politician. She served in the government of Gabon as Minister of Communication and Telecommunications from 2007 to 2008, as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2008, and again as Minister of Communication and Digital Economy from 2008 to 2011. Subsequently she was Secretary-General of the Presidency from 2011 to 2014. She has served as Ombudsman from February 2014 to January 2019
Local elections were held in Gabon on April 27–30, 2008, with 1,990 municipal and departmental councillors being elected.
Jean-Boniface Assélé is a Gabonese politician and the President of the Circle of Liberal Reformers (CLR). He served in the government of Gabon from 1975 to 1990 and again from 2004 to 2009. He was also Commander-in-Chief of the National Police Forces from 1970 to 1989 and held the rank of General. Since September 2009, Assélé has been the Fourth Vice-President of the Senate of Gabon.
Emmanuel Ondo Methogo is a Gabonese politician. A member of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party, he was a minister in the government from 1991 to 2007. Subsequently he served as President of the National Council of Communication (CNC).
Rose Francine Rogombé was a Gabonese politician who was acting president of Gabon from June 2009 to October 2009, following the death of long-time President Omar Bongo. She constitutionally succeeded Bongo due to her role as president of the Senate, a post to which she was elected in February 2009. She was a lawyer by profession and a member of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG). Rogombé was the first female head of state of Gabon. After her interim presidency, she returned to her post as President of the Senate.
Pierre-Claver Zeng Ebome was a Gabonese politician and musician. He held a succession of ministerial portfolios in the government of Gabon during the 1990s and subsequently served as a Deputy in the National Assembly of Gabon. Zeng Ebome was the President of the African Development Movement (MAD), a minor political party, until February 2010, when it merged itself into the National Union; afterward he was briefly a Vice-President of the National Union from February 2010 to May 2010.
Franck Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet was a Gabonese diplomat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Gabon from 2016 to 2019.
Solange Mabignath is a Gabonese politician and administrator.
Julien Nkoghe Bekale is a Gabonese politician who served as the prime minister of Gabon from 2019 to 2020. In the aftermath of the 2019 Gabonese coup d'état attempt, he was appointed prime minister by president Ali Bongo Ondimba on 12 January 2019.
The Constitutional Court of Gabon is a specialised court in Gabon with jurisdiction over constitutional issues. A constitutional court of this nature is more common among countries using the civil law. It has nine members and was established by the National Assembly in July 1991.
The Gabonese Republican Guard is an independent military formation in the Republic of Gabon that is responsible for protection of government officials and buildings. It is the most powerful security unit in Gabon and is responsible for ensuring internal security. It is a directly reporting unit of the National Gendarmerie.
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