The National Gendarmerie of Gabon () is the national

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

force of

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

responsible for

law enforcement in Gabon Responsibility for enforcing the law in Gabon is in the hands of the National Gendarmerie of Gabon. In 2007, the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs investigated reports that Gabonese police officers occasionally beat confessions out of ...

. It is under the direct command of the

President of Gabon The president of Gabon is the head of state of Gabon. A total of three people have served as president (not counting two acting presidents) since the post was formed in 1960. Description of the office Election The president of the republic is ...

. The Gendarmerie is also in charge of the Gabonese Republican Guard. The main tasks of the gendarmerie are to defend the country's borders, ensure public safety, and to enforce actions taken by judicial and government authorities.

History

The National Gendarmerie was formed on March 10, 1960 when Gabon, formerly

French Equatorial Africa French Equatorial Africa (french: link=no, Afrique-Équatoriale française), or the AEF, was the federation of French colonial possessions in Equatorial Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River into the Sahel, and comprising what are ...

, gained its independence from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. This was done under the statutory order n° 19/PM of December 30, 1960. It originated from the Libreville Gendarmerie Detachment that was founded in 1929. The unit was at the time commanded by Governor General of French Equatorial Africa,

Félix Eboue Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, S ...

. An intensification of the "Gabonisation" of the service took place in 1964, the unit being established by French gendarmes working alongside the newly independent Gabonese government. In 1970, the National Gendarmerie became Gabonese in all the levels of the hierarchy. It is governed by the decrees of 27 April 1982 and 14 January 1983 regulating the organization of the national gendarmerie. In 2009, it was reported that the GNG had 2,000 gendarmes. In 2019, Gabonese gendarmes have been trained by Green Beret commandos under sponsorship of the American Embassy. During the 2019 Gabonese coup d'état attempt, Gabonese news reported that the GNG GIGN was involvement in raiding the

Radio Télévision Gabonaise Radio Télévision Gabonaise (RTG) is the national broadcaster of the Central African state of Gabon. Radio Télévision Gabonaise is headquartered in Gabon's capital city, Libreville. It was established in 28 November 1959 with the start of Radi ...

building taken by rogue Gabonese forces. On April 3, 2020, Brigadier General Barrasouaga was appointed as the GNG commander.

Organization

The GNG is composed of the following as of 2020:

Central Organization

*High Command *Technical Inspection *General Direction of Organization and Staffs (GDOS) *General Direction of Administrative and Financial Services (GDAFS) *General Direction of Technical Services (GDTS) *General Direction of the Materials (GDMAT) *Headquarters Units Grouping *General Direction of Schools *Researches General Direction

Territorial organization

*5 gendarmerie departmental regions in several provinces known as "Legions" **East Legion **West Legion **Midwest **North **South *9 squads ("Groupement" in French) *Territorial Companies *Territorial Brigades

Special Units

The Gendarmerie "anti-riot police" is organizated into the various legions and groupings. A mixed armoured squadron known as the National Gendarmerie Intervention and Security grouping (NGISG), the Security and Honours Grouping, the

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

Grouping. It also maintains nautical units, air transport brigade and motorcycle brigades.

Training

In 1963, it trained its first official gendarmes and sent the first officer to the Officer school (" Ecole des Officiers de la Gendarmerie Nationale" or EOGN in French) the following year in

Melun Melun () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of the Seine-et-Ma ...

List of Heads

The following is a list heads of the National Gendarmerie since 1964: *Lieutenant Colonel Piette (1964–1967) *Lieutenant Colonel Maitrier (1967–1969) *General Nkoma Georges (1969–1979) *General Nzong André (1979–1990) *General Mamiaka Raphael (1990–1994) *General Doumbeneny Jean Pierre (1994–2002) *General Olery Honoré (2002–2008) *General Sougou Abel (2008–2012) *General Ekoua Jean (2012–2020) *General Yves Barrasouaga (2020–Present)

References

{{commons category, Gendarmerie of Gabon Military of Gabon

Military units and formations established in 1960 1960 establishments in Gabon Gendarmerie