Honorine Dossou Naki (born 14 March 1946David E. Gardinier and Douglas A. Yates, ''Historical Dictionary of Gabon'' (third edition, 2006), pages 88–89."Dossou Naki Honorine", ''Gabon: Les Hommes de Pouvoir'' N°4
Africa Intelligence
5 March 2002 .) is a

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 politician and diplomat. She was Gabon's Ambassador to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

from 1994 to 2002 and subsequently served in the Gabonese government from 2002 to 2009.

Political and diplomatic career

A member of the Myene ethnic group, Dossou Naki was born in

Port-Gentil Port-Gentil () or Mandji is the second-largest city of Gabon, and it is a leading seaport. It is the center of Gabon's petroleum and timber industries. The city is located on a delta island in the Ogooue delta. Nearby Cape Lopez is Gabon's weste ...

, where she also attended primary school; she subsequently attended secondary school in

Libreville Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...

. She was appointed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as its Director of Cooperation and Deputy Secretary-General in January 1975, and she was Deputy Director of the Cabinet 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 ...

from March 1976 to February 1980. Subsequently, she served in the government as Secretary of State under the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation from 1980 to 1990 and was Adviser to the President for International Relations from 1990 to 1994. Dossou Naki was then appointed as Gabon's Ambassador 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 ...

, and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. She presented her credentials as Ambassador to France on 7 December 1994, remaining in that post until 2002. In the December 2001 parliamentary election, Dossou Naki was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

as a candidate of the

Gabonese Democratic Party The Gabonese Democratic Party (, PDG) is a political party in Gabon. It was the dominant political party in Gabonese politics from 1961 until 2023, when it was deposed in a coup d'état against President Ali Bongo. It was also the sole legal ...

(PDG) in

Ogooué-Maritime Province Ogooué-Maritime is the westernmost of Gabon's nine provinces. It covers an area of 22,890 km. The provincial capital is Port-Gentil. It has a 2013 census population of 157,562. The shores of Ogooué-Maritime are of the Gulf of Guinea to ...

. Following the election, she was appointed to the government as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

on 27 January 2002.List of governments of Gabon
, IZF.net . In the December 2006 parliamentary election, she was again elected to the National Assembly as the PDG candidate from the second seat in Bendje/Port-Gentil Department. She was then moved to the position of Minister of the Merchant Marine and Port Facilities on 25 January 2007 before being again moved to the position of Minister of State Control, Inspections, the Fight Against Corruption and the Fight Against Illicit Enrichment. On 7 October 2008, she was promoted to the rank of Deputy Prime Minister, while retaining the same ministerial portfolio. President Bongo died in June 2009. After Bongo's son,

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 ...

, won the 30 August 2009 presidential election, Naki was removed from her post as Deputy Prime Minister and instead appointed as High Representative in charge of the Mandji Island Free Zone, a post at the Presidency of the Republic, on 17 October 2009.

Personal life

Dossou Naki is married to Samuel Dossou-Aworet, who was born in

Cotonou Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...

but later became a naturalized citizen of Gabon and held various high-ranking positions; he was Omar Bongo's oil adviser for a time. After marriage, she continued to use her

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries and cultures that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" ...

of Naki, in conjunction with her

married name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the Surname, family name of their spouse, in some countries and cultures that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("bi ...

of Dossou.Gardinier and Yates, ''Historical Dictionary of Gabon'', page xvii. Dossou Naki and her husband have six children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naki, Honorine Dossou Dossou Naki, Honorine Dossou Naki, Honorine Dossou Naki, Honorine Government ministers of Gabon Justice ministers of Gabon Gabonese Democratic Party politicians Ambassadors of Gabon to France Ambassadors of Gabon to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Gabon to Switzerland Gabonese women ambassadors People from Ogooué-Maritime Province 20th-century diplomats 21st-century diplomats 21st-century women politicians Women government ministers of Gabon 21st-century Gabonese politicians 21st-century Gabonese women politicians