Gabon’s Defence Minister Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda, 56, became on Thursday the first woman to hold the position of Prime Minister in her country.
Her appointment was made official this afternoon by a presidential decree. She’s succeeding Julien Nkoghe Bekale who is leaving after 18 months at the head of the government.
Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda, also mayor of Libreville, was expected to lead the Prime Minister’s Office for a long time according to some sources. Her mission will be to form a government that will have to strengthen the national strategy against COVID-19 and to revive Gabon’s economy. This Central African country is on the verge of celebrating its 60th anniversary of independence.
A trained economist, Ms. Raponda is a graduate of the Economic and Finance Institute of Gabon (IEF) with a specialization in public finance. She was Director General of Economy and Deputy Director General of the Banque de l’Habitat of Gabon (BHG) in the early 2000s.
She joined the government in 2012 as Minister of Budget, Public Accounts and Civil Service. She is described as an early activist of President Bongo-son and is reportedly supported by the very influential president of the Constitutional Court, Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo.
ODL/cgd/lb/abj/APA