Guy-Bertrand Mapangou is 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 north ...

ese politician. He is Minister of Interior, Public Security, Immigration of the new government of Prime Minister Pr Daniel ONA ONDO, the 28 January 2014. He was President of CNC Commission of National Communication since May 2012. He was Deputy Secretary-General and Spokesman of the Presidency of Gabon from October 2009 to January 2011 and he has been Minister-Delegate for State Reform since January 2011.

Professional and political career

Mapangou studied

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

"Guy-Bertrand Mapangou"
Africa Intelligence, ''La Lettre du Continent'' #573, 8 October 2009 ."Gabon : Engongah Owono, nouvelle tour de contrôle de la présidence"
, Gaboneco, 17 October 2009 . and then worked as a journalist at the Africa No. 1 radio station in Gabon. He was Director of the Cabinet of the President of the

National Assembly of Gabon The National Assembly (french: Assemblée Nationale) is the lower house of the Parliament of Gabon. It has 143 members, elected by Two round system Latest results Members (since 1990) * List of members of the National Assembly of Gabon, 1990 ...

during the 1990s and also served for a time as High Commissioner at the Ministry of Justice."Premières nominations de l'ère Ali Bongo Ondimba sur fond d'équilibre"
Gabonews, 17 October 2009 . Later, Mapangou was Deputy Secretary-General in charge of Strategy at the Ministry of Defense, which was headed by Ali Bongo. Following the death of President

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 ...

, opposition leader

Pierre Mamboundou Pierre Mamboundou (6 November 1946 – 15 October 2011) was a Gabonese politician. He was President of the Union of the Gabonese People (UPG), an opposition party in Gabon, from 1989 to 2011. ACCT career and 1989 events Mamboundou was born in ...

denounced an alleged coup plot on 23 June 2009. Mapangou responded to Mamboundou by denying the existence of coup plot and saying that Mamboundou had not given any information he might have on such a plot to the authorities. Mapangou nevertheless stressed that the army was "alert"."Gabon : Mamboundou crie «au loup !»"
, AFP (Gaboneco), 24 June 2009 . After Ali Bongo received the nomination of the

Gabonese Democratic Party The Gabonese Democratic Party (french: Parti Démocratique Gabonais, abbreviated PDG), is the ruling and dominant political party of Gabon. Between 1968 and 1990 it was the sole legal party. History The party was established as the Gabonese Dem ...

(PDG) as its candidate for the August 2009 presidential election, Mapangou worked on Bongo's campaign. Bongo won the election, according to official results, and it was anticipated that Mapangou would be one of his top associates as President. Taking office on 16 October 2009, he appointed François Engongah Owono as Secretary-General of the Presidency and Mapangou as Deputy Secretary-General of the Presidency on the same day; Mapangou was also assigned the role of Spokesman of the Presidency. In the press, Mapangou's appointment at the Presidency was interpreted in light of two factors: Mapangou was already a close associate of Bongo because he had worked under Bongo at the Ministry of Defense, and Mapangou was native to the area of

Fougamou Fougamou is a small town in Ngounié Province in Gabon. It has a population of about 4,100 and is the capital of Tsamba-Magotsi Department. It lies along the west bank of the Ngounié River on the N1 road between Lambaréné and Mouila. The town ...

Ngounié Province Ngounié is a province of south-central Gabon covering an area of . Its capital is Mouila. At the 2013 census it had 100,838 inhabitants. In 2016, its governor was Benjamin Nzigou. History The province is named after the Ngounié River, which ...

—therefore his appointment could potentially draw local support away from opposition leader Louis-Gaston Mayila, who was also native to that area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mapangou Living people Gabonese Democratic Party politicians Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Gabonese people