President Ali Bongo of Gabon on Monday promoted Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda, the nation’s first female prime minister, to the position of vice-president and named a new PM to take her place, according to his secretary general.
Ossouka Raponda, 59, was appointed in July 2020 following the resignation of her predecessor. Prior to it, she was the defense minister.
After a coup attempt in 2019, she was forced to act as prime minister during a period of extended medical leave due to Bongo’s stroke.
According to a video announcement made by Jean-Yves Teale, secretary general of Bongo, Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze will take Ossouka Raponda’s place and form a new cabinet.
Ossouka Raponda was appointed minister of finance in 2012 and later elected mayor of Libreville, the nation’s capital, in 2014. She was the first woman to hold that office since 1956.
She previously served as Prime Minister of Gabon from July 2020 to January 2023, making her the first female prime minister of the country.
Raponda worked as Director General of the Economy and Deputy Director General the Housing Bank of Gabon. She served as minister of budget and public finance from February 2012 until January 2014.
On February 12, 2019, Raponda was appointed as the Defense Minister of Gabon by president Ali Bongo Ondimba after the failed coup in January 2019.