Bongo, Omar (1935– )

Gabonese politician, president from 1967. Minister of national defence 1964–65 and vice-president in 1967 under President Léon M'ba, he succeeded as president, prime minister, and secretary general after M'ba's death in 1967, and established the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) as the only legal party in 1968. He converted to Islam in 1973, and presided over the exploitation of Gabon's rich mineral resources without notably diminishing inequalities. In 1993 he was re-elected for the fourth time and from 1995 remained in power as president only. He won more than two-thirds of the vote in a presidential election in December 1998 and was expected to remain in power for another seven years.

Gabon's reserves of uranium, manganese, and iron give it the highest per capita income of any African country, and Bongo successfully utilized these resources, gaining control of part-foreign-owned ventures, concluding economic and technical agreements with China, and maintaining ties with France. Although his regime was authoritarian, Gabon's prosperity diluted serious opposition, and he was re-elected in 1979 and 1986. An attempted coup in 1989 was defeated by loyal troops.

In 1990 the first multiparty elections since 1964 were won by the PDG, despite claims of widespread fraud. Bongo was re-elected in 1993, having faced opposition candidates for the first time.

He was born in Lewai, Franceville, and educated in Brazzaville. From 1957 he pursued a career in the French civil service, becoming head of the ministry of information and tourism in 1963.