Gabon
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 to the east and south, and ...
ese diplomat and politician who served as
Prime Minister of Gabon
The prime minister of Gabon () was the head of government of Gabon.
The position was first created in 1960, upon the country's independence from France, but was soon abolished by a new constitution adopted on 21 February 1961. It was, however, ...
from 2016 to 2019.
A career diplomat, Issoze-Ngondet served as Gabon's Permanent Representative to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
from August 2008 to January 2009. He then joined the country's government as Minister of Energy from January 2009 to June 2009 and then briefly as Minister of Relations with Parliament in mid-2009, before returning to the post of Permanent Representative to the UN in November 2009. In March 2010, Issoze-Ngondet was the
President of the United Nations Security Council
The presidency of the United Nations Security Council is responsible for leading the United Nations Security Council. It rotates among the fifteen member-states of the council monthly. The head of the country's delegation is known as the president ...
. He returned to domestic politics in 2012 as Minister of Foreign Affairs, a post he held for over four years. In September 2016, Issoze-Ngondet was appointed prime minister by
Ali Bongo Ondimba
Ali Bongo Ondimba (born Alain-Bernard Bongo; 9 February 1959) also known as Ali Ben Bongo is a Gabonese former politician and dictator who was the third president of Gabon from 2009 until he was deposed in a 2023 Gabonese coup d'état, coup in 2 ...
. He remained in that role until 2019.
Diplomatic and political career
Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet was born in
Makokou
Makokou is the regional capital of the Ogooué-Ivindo province in Gabon. Its coordinates are . Its altitude is 308 m. Its population in 2004 is around 16,600.
The city lies on the Ivindo River and the N4 road. It grew around iron ore mini ...
,
Ogooué-Ivindo Province
Ogooué-Ivindo Province is the northeasternmost of Gabon's nine provinces, though its Lopé Department is in the very center of the country. It gets its name from two rivers, the Ogooué and the Ivindo. This province, containing thousands of s ...
in
Gabon
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 to the east and south, and ...
on 2 April 1961 and was a member of the Kota ethnic group."New Permanent Representative of Gabon presents credentials" United Nations press release, BIO/4013, 25 August 2008. He began working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in 1988; initially he was an Adviser to the Ministry, and he was then Studies Officer (''Chargé d'études'') at the Division of Treaties and International Conventions from 1988 to 1990. He was posted in
Yaoundé
Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...
as Cultural Counsellor at Gabon's Embassy to
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
from 1990 to 1991, and he was First Counsellor at the Embassy to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
from 1991 to 1993. Subsequently, he was First Counsellor at the Embassy to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
from 1993 to 1994 and First Counsellor at the Embassy to
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
from 1994 to 1997.
Issoze-Ngondet was the Foreign Ministry's Director for the Americas from 1997 to 1998 and was its Director for Europe from 1998 to 2000. He was then posted in
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
as Ambassador to
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
from 2000 to 2006; during that time, he was additionally accredited as Ambassador to
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
beginning in 2003 and as Ambassador to the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
beginning in 2004.
In June 2006, Issoze-Ngondet was posted to
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...
as Ambassador to
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
as well as Permanent Representative to the
African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...
, the
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; , CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its member states (the nations of the Africa, African contin ...
, and the
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...
. He was additionally appointed as Ambassador to
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
in August 2007, while continuing to reside in Addis Ababa. During the same period, Issoze-Ngondet was also the Chairman of the African Union's Sub-Committee on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons. Amidst discussions regarding the creation of a
United States of Africa
The United States of Africa is a concept of a federation of some or all of the 54 sovereign states and two disputed states on the continent of Africa. The concept takes its origin from Marcus Garvey's 1924 poem "Hail, United States of Africa". ...
in early 2008, he suggested that
Gabon
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 to the east and south, and ...
's place in the proposed continental state could be comparable to
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
's place in the United States. Acknowledging with amusement that Gabon was not comparable to California in size, he then suggested that it might instead be comparable to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.
After two years as Permanent Representative to the African Union, Issoze-Ngondet was sent to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
as Permanent Representative to the United Nations, presenting his credentials to UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...
on 25 August 2008. He was Permanent Representative to the UN for only a few months before being appointed to the Gabonese government as Minister of Energy, Hydraulic Resources, and New Energies on 14 January 2009. Following the death of President
Omar Bongo
Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo; 30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese politician who was the second president of Gabon from 1967 until Death and state funeral of Omar Bongo, his death in 2009. A member of the Gabonese De ...
on 8 June 2009, he was moved to the post of Minister of Relations with Parliament and the Constitutional Institutions on 19 June 2009; however, he was dismissed from the government a month later, on 22 July 2009.
At the time of the August 2009 presidential election, Issoze-Ngondet was the coordinator of
Ali Bongo
Ali Bongo Ondimba (born Alain-Bernard Bongo; 9 February 1959) also known as Ali Ben Bongo is a Gabonese former politician and dictator who was the third president of Gabon from 2009 until he was deposed in a 2023 Gabonese coup d'état, coup in 2 ...
's campaign in
Ogooué-Ivindo Province
Ogooué-Ivindo Province is the northeasternmost of Gabon's nine provinces, though its Lopé Department is in the very center of the country. It gets its name from two rivers, the Ogooué and the Ivindo. This province, containing thousands of s ...
. After Bongo won the election, he appointed Issoze-Ngondet to his former post as Permanent Representative to the UN on 5 November 2009.
Issoze-Ngondet was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs, replacing
Paul Toungui
Paul Toungui (born 7 September 1950"Who's Who", Africa Intelligence, ''Gabon: Les Hommes de Pouvoir'', number 4, 5 March 2002 .) is a Gabonese politician who served in the government of Gabon from 1990 to 2012. He was Minister of Finance from 199 ...
, on 28 February 2012. He was promoted to the rank of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, La Francophonie and Regional Integration on 11 September 2015. Following the disputed re-election of President Bongo in the August 2016 presidential election, Bongo appointed Issoze-Ngondet as prime minister on 28 September 2016. He took office at a ceremony on 29 September 2016, succeeding Daniel Ona Ondo.
The new government that was headed by Issoze Ngondet was appointed on 2 October 2016. Despite Bongo's earlier statements about forming an inclusive government, representatives of the opposition were largely absent; although Bruno Ben Moubamba, who placed a distant third in the election, was appointed as deputy prime minister, no one associated with the main opposition leader,
Issoze-Ngondet was married with six children. He wrote a
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...
novel, ''An Ascetic in the Court'' (''Un Ascète dans la cour''), which was published by
L'Harmattan
Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in W ...
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...