André Obami Itou (born 26 September 1940''Biographie des membres de la quatrième législature'' (1985), People's National Assembly of Congo-Brazzaville, page 28 .) is a Congolese politician. He has been a leading figure in the
Congolese Labour Party
The Congolese Party of Labour (french: Parti congolais du travail, PCT) is the ruling party of the Republic of the Congo. Founded in 1969 by Marien Ngouabi, it was originally a pro-Soviet, Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist vanguard party w ...
(PCT) since the 1970s, and he has been the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the
Senate of Congo-Brazzaville
The Senate (''Sénat'') is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of the Republic of Congo (''Parlement''). It has 72 members (six for each of the 12 regions), elected for a six-year term by district, local and regional councils.
The Senat ...
from 2007 to 2017.
Political career
An ethnic
Teke
Teke or Tekke can refer to:
People
* Teke (Turkmen tribe) or Tekke, a tribe of southern Turkmenistan
* Teke people or Bateke, a Central African ethnic group
* Fatih Tekke (born 1977), Turkish footballer
* Kent Tekulve (born 1947), American baseba ...
,Emmanuel Okamba, ''La gouvernance, une affaire de société: Analyse mythiumétrique de la performance'' (2010), page 46 . Obami Itou was born at Epouéné,
Gamboma
Gamboma is a town located in the Plateaux Region, Congo, Plateaux Region of the Republic of the Congo. It is served by Gamboma Airport.
References
Plateaux Department (Republic of the Congo)
Populated places in the Republic of the ...
, located in Plateaux Region.Roger Ngombé "André Obami Itou élu président du Sénat" ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', number 370, 3 December 2007, pages 1–2 . He began working at the Ministry of Defense in 1965. Obami Itou was a founding member of the PCT in December 1969, and he was first councillor at the Congolese embassy in
from 1969 to 1971. He became government commissioner, or
prefect
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.
A prefect's ...
, of
Bouenza Region
Bouenza (can also be written as ''Buenza'') is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the southern part of the country. It borders the departments of Lékoumou, Niari, and Pool, and internationally, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ...
in 1971,Rémy Bazenguissa-Ganga, ''Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique'' (1997), Karthala Editions, page 443 . and he joined the PCT Central Committee in 1972; he remained on the Central Committee throughout the PCT's single-party rule.
Obami Itou was the director-general of the Kinsoundi textile factory from 1973 to 1974,"André Obami Itou élu nouveau président du Sénat" , Xinhua, 1 December 2007 . an ambassador-at-large from 1975 to 1976, and director-general of the national oil refinery from 1976 to 1978.Cyr Armel Yabbat-Ngo, "André Obami Itou succède à Ambroise Edouard Noumazalay", ''Le Semaine Africaine'', number 2,749, 4 December 2007, pages 2 and 4 . In 1979, he briefly served as Administrator-Mayor of
Brazzaville
Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLI ...
, the capital; subsequently he was political commissioner of the
Pool Region
Pool ( kg, Mpumbu, Nsundi, Mbula Ntangu) is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the southeastern part of the country. It borders the departments of Bouenza, Lékoumou, and Plateaux. Internationally, it borders the Democratic Republic ...
from 1980 to 1984.
At the PCT's Third Ordinary Congress, held on 27–31 July 1984, Obami Itou was elected as President of the PCT Control and Verification Commission. He remained in that post until July 1987, when he was instead designated as the PCT Central Committee's Secretary for Organization.''African Contemporary Record'', volume 20 (1989), page B-203. Obami Itou, who was known as a loyalist of President
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer. He became president of the Republic of the Congo in 1997. He served a previous term as president from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as p ...
,''Benin, the Congo, Burkina Faso: Economics, Politics and Society'' (1989), page 184. thereby gained power over party organization at the expense of Camille Boungou, who was identified with the PCT's
M-22
M-22 are a British-German DJ and producer duo consisting of Matt James and Frank Sanders. On March 22, the duo met, through a joint production, which is the reason for their stage name.
History
On March 22, 2015, the duo met during a joint p ...
faction. Obami Itou was elected to the PCT Political Bureau at the party's Fourth Ordinary Congress on 26–31 July 1989 and assigned responsibility for foreign relations. In mid-1990, he was included as one of five members of the Secretariat of the PCT Central Committee, in charge of foreign relations. Later, he was appointed as the Administrator-Delegate of Hydro-Congo, the country's oil exploration and exploitation company, on 31 December 1999; he held that position until 2002.
In 2002, Obami Itou headed the PCT's candidate list for Gamboma in the local election for the Regional Council; subsequently he was elected to the Senate as a candidate in Plateaux Region in July 2002. He was elected by the Senate as President of the Commission for Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration, and Development Cooperation on 23 August 2002. When the
Pan-African Parliament
The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, ha ...
began meeting in March 2004, Obami Itou became one of Congo's five members.
Ambroise Noumazalaye
Ambroise Édouard Noumazalaye (September 23, 1933Rémy Bazenguissa-Ganga, ''Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique'' (1997), Karthala Editions, page 442.November 17, 2007Rally for a Presidential Majority (RMP), he was re-elected as a Senator from Plateaux Region in the August 2008 Senate election with the unanimous support of the 61 electors in Plateaux. Obami Itou was then re-elected as President of the Senate on 12 August 2008. Obami Itou remained a member of the PCT Political Bureau as of 2007, and he was the PCT's Permanent Secretary for Foreign Relations as of 2008.
Following the October 2011 Senate election, Obami Itou was re-elected as President of the Senate on 24 October 2011, receiving 67 out of 69 votes.
Obami Itou was re-elected to the Senate in October 2014 as a PCT candidate in Plateaux, receiving all of the 61 possible votes. He was re-elected as President of the Senate on 28 October 2014, receiving 69 votes.Jean Jacques Koubemba "Élections au sénat : le bureau sortant a été reconduit" ADIAC, 28 October 2014 .