Paulin Obame-Nguema (28 December 1934 – 11 December 2023) was a Gabonese politician who was the

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 2 November 1994 to 23 January 1999. He was a Deputy in the National Assembly of Gabon.

Prime Minister (1994–1999)

Obame-Nguema was born 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 ...

on 28 December 1934.. Following 1994 negotiations between the government and the opposition, which resulted in the signing of the Paris Accords on 7 October 1994, 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 ...

appointed Obame-Nguema—a

Fang A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fangs, ...

and member 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)—as Prime Minister. Although some members of the opposition were included in his government, the two key opposition leaders, Paul Mba Abessole and Pierre-Louis Agondjo-Okawe, refused to participate. Obame-Nguema offered his resignation in June 1996, but he was retained in his post by President Bongo. In the December 1996 parliamentary election, he was elected to the National Assembly as a PDG candidate in

Estuaire Province Estuaire is the most populous of Gabon's nine provinces. It covers an area of 20,740 km. The provincial capital is Akanda, but the largest city is Libreville, Gabon's national capital. The province is named for the Gabon Estuary, which li ...

; following that election, Bongo reappointed him as Prime Minister on 27 January 1997, and a new government under Obame-Nguema was appointed on 28 January.

Later political activities

Bongo appointed Jean-François Ntoutoume-Emane to replace Obame-Nguema as Prime Minister in January 1999. Obame-Nguema was then appointed Minister of State for Public Health, Population, and Social Affairs in late January 1999 before being moved to the post of Minister of Social Affairs on 10 February 1999. He was again elected to the National Assembly as a Deputy from Estuaire Province in the December 2001 parliamentary election. In the December 2006 parliamentary election, Obame-Nguema was re-elected to the National Assembly as the PDG candidate in Kango constituency, located in the Komo Kango Department of Estuaire Province. Due to his status as the oldest Deputy in the National Assembly, Obame-Nguema presided over the first meeting of the new parliamentary term, at which the Bureau of the National Assembly was elected, in January 2007. Guy Nzouba-Ndama was re-elected as President of the National Assembly, but Obame-Nguema encountered resistance from opposition deputies regarding the method of election for the other members of the Bureau. The opposition deputies left the chamber and did not participate in those votes. Obame-Nguema then invited Nzouba-Ndama to take his seat as President of the National Assembly. At the PDG's 9th Ordinary Congress in September 2008, Obame-Nguema was designated as President Bongo's Personal Representative.

Death

Obame-Nguema died in Libreville, on 11 December 2023, at the age of 88.Gabon : décès du Dr. Paulin Obame Nguema à l’âge de 89 ans

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obame-Nguema, Paulin 1934 births 2023 deaths Members of the National Assembly of Gabon Prime ministers of Gabon Health ministers of Gabon Social affairs ministers of Gabon Gabonese Democratic Party politicians 21st-century Gabonese politicians 20th-century Gabonese politicians People from Libreville