President Ali Bongo of Gabon on Thursday promoted his defence minister, Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda, to the high office of prime minister, making her the first woman to occupy the role in the Gabon.
Ossouka Raponda, 56, is the sixth prime minister appointed since President Ali Bongo succeeded his father in 2009.
Her first job is to form a new government after her predecessor, Julien Nkoghe Bekale, stepped down earlier in the day.
She will take on two major challenges: declining oil production and prices, which have weighed on growth in recent years, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Gabon has registered nearly 6,000 cases to date.
Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda will also have to navigate a delicate political scene that was shaken up when Bongo, 61, had a stroke in 2018, followed by a long medical leave abroad, during which there was a brief coup attempt.
Prime minister Ossouka Raponda was named budget minister eight years ago before being elected mayor of the capital Libreville in 2014, becoming the first woman to hold that position since 1956.
She has served as defence minister since February 2019.
Déclaration | Par décret du président de la république en date de ce jour : est nommé, Premier ministre, chef du gouvernement, Madame Rose Christiane OSSOUKA RAPONDA. pic.twitter.com/KXW532uZcO
— Présidence de la République Gabonaise (@PresidenceGabon) July 16, 2020
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