7 things to know about Gabonese President

In a dramatic turn of events, group of military officers, on Wednesday, deposed Gabonese President, Ali Bongo, shortly after his reelection.

The group of 12 officers made the announcement shortly after Gabon’s election body reported early on Wednesday morning that President Bongo had won a third term in office.

Here are seven (7) things to know about the ousted Gabonese President:

1. Born February 9, 1959, Alain Bernard Bongo, popularly called Ali Bongo is the son of Omar Bongo, who was president of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009.

2. Ali Bongo who hails from Brazzaville.

3. His mother was 18 years old at the time of his birth

4. During his father’s presidency, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1991, represented Bongoville as a Deputy in the National Assembly from 1991 to 1999, and was Minister of Defense from 1999 to 2009.

5. After his father’s death, he won the 2009 Gabonese presidential election.

6. He was reelected in 2016, in elections marred by numerous irregularities, arrests, human rights violations and post-election protests and violence.

7. Bongo married two wives Sylvia Valentin (French) and Inge Lynn Collins Bongo (American) and later divorced them in 1994 and 2015, respectively. He has one daughter, Malika Bongo Ondimba, and three sons, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, Jalil Bongo Ondimba and Bilal Bongo —whom he and Sylvia adopted in 2002.

• Additional details extracted from Wikipaedia

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