Georges Rawiri (March 10, 1932 – April 9, 2006
Xinhua (''People's Daily Online''), April 10, 2006.) was a

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 nort ...

ese politician, diplomat and poet.

Biography

Rawiri was born in western Gabon. He became a prominent government official in 1967 when

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 ...

Omar Bongo El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo; 30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese politician who was the second President of Gabon for 42 years, from 1967 until his death in 2009. Omar Bongo was promoted to key positions as ...

took office, with Bongo and Rawiri becoming close friends. Rawiri served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

from 1971 to 1974; as of 1981, he was First Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Transport and the Merchant Marine. In 1997, when the Senate was established, he became its President. He was unanimously re-elected as President of the Senate on 26 February 2003, remaining in that post until his death. He died in April 2006 at a hospital in

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. At the time of his death, Rawiri was Co-President of the Africa Caribbean Pacific - European Union (ACP-EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly. Bongo declared seven days of mourning for Rawiri, beginning on April 10, 2006. Bongo said that Rawiri had been "more than a brother, a parent" to him, describing him as an unprecedented individual in the country's history. His daughter, Angèle Rawiri, is a well-known novelist. After Rawiri's death, the Georges Rawiri House, intended to serve as the headquarters of the RTG1 television channel, was built with Chinese assistance and inaugurated on December 1, 2007."Gabon: Jean-Boniface Assélé fier du complexe audiovisuel « Maison Georges Rawiri »"
Gabonews (bdpgabon.org), 15 August 2008 .

References

1932 births 2006 deaths Presidents of the Senate of Gabon Foreign ministers of Gabon Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Gabonese Democratic Party politicians Gabonese poets Gabonese novelists Male novelists Gabonese male writers 20th-century poets Male poets 20th-century novelists 20th-century politicians 21st-century Gabonese politicians 21st-century diplomats 20th-century male writers 21st-century Gabonese people {{Gabon-politician-stub