An announcement made by the secretary-general of Gabon’s President, Ali Bongo states that the country’s first female Prime Minister, Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda has been appointed to the role of vice president and a new Prime Minister has also been named to replace her.
59-year-old Ossouka Raponda, a former minister of defense who was appointed prime minister in July 2020 after her predecessor resigned, will now “assist” the president even though the position does not permit an interim presidency.
Another former minister, Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, will replace Ossouka Raponda and form a new government, President Bongo’s secretary-general Jean-Yves Teale said in a statement.
Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda is the first female vice president in the country’s history.
After a coup attempt in 2019 and with Bongo on extended medical vacation due to a stroke, Ossouka Raponda had to manage a difficult political environment in her role as prime minister.
In Gabon, which has been dominated by the same family for more than 50 years, the next vice president has steadily risen through the political ranks.
She was appointed budget minister in 2012 before winning the 2014 election for mayor of Libreville, the country’s capital, and being the first woman to do so since 1956.
She holds a degree in economics and specializes in public finance from the Gabonese Institute of Economy and Finance.
Author-Roberta Appiah
