Gabonese Head of State Ali Bongo appointed Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze Prime Minister on Monday, January 9, replacing Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda, appointed Vice-President of the Republic, announced the presidency.
Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, 55, who has held several ministerial portfolios since 2006, was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Water Resources in the outgoing government.
Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda has been appointed vice-president, a position vacant since May 2019, whose function is to "
assist
" the head of state and has no interim role in the event of a power vacuum.
SEE ALSO
- The United States is concerned about a "destabilizing" of Africa by China and Russia
Waiting for a new government
“
By decree of the President of the Republic (...) is appointed Prime Minister, Head of Government, Mr. Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze.
The President of the Republic has instructed the Prime Minister to form the new government
,” the secretary general of the presidency, Jean-Yves Teale, told the press.
Read alsoIn Gabon, meet the gorillas of the Loango natural park
Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda, 59, former mayor of the capital Libreville and Minister of Defense, was appointed in July 2020 and became the first female head of a Gabonese government.
Presidential and legislative elections are to be held in the summer of 2023.