Honorine Dossou Naki (born 14 March 1946David E. Gardinier and Douglas A. Yates, ''Historical Dictionary of Gabon'' (third edition, 2006), pages 88–89."Dossou Naki Honorine", ''Gabon: Les Hommes de Pouvoir'' N°4
Africa Intelligence
5 March 2002 .) 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 and diplomat. She was Gabon's Ambassador to

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 ...

from 1994 to 2002 and subsequently served in the Gabonese government from 2002 to 2009.

Political and diplomatic career

A member of the Myene ethnic group, Dossou Naki was born in

Port-Gentil Port-Gentil () or Mandji is the second-largest city of Gabon, and it is a leading seaport. It is the center of Gabon's petroleum and timber industries. The city is located on a delta island in the Ogooue delta with no bridges to the mainland. Nea ...

, where she also attended primary school; she subsequently attended secondary school in

Libreville Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon. Occupying in the northwestern province of Estuaire, Libreville is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea. As of the 2013 census, its population was 703,904. The area has been inh ...

. She was appointed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as its Director of Cooperation and Deputy Secretary-General in January 1975, and she was Deputy Director of the Cabinet 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 ...

from March 1976 to February 1980. Subsequently, she served in the government as Secretary of State under the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation from 1980 to 1990 and was Adviser to the President for International Relations from 1990 to 1994. Dossou Naki was then appointed as Gabon's Ambassador to

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. She presented her credentials as Ambassador to France on 7 December 1994, remaining in that post until 2002. In the December 2001 parliamentary election, Dossou Naki was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

as a candidate 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) in

Ogooué-Maritime Province Ogooué-Maritime is the westernmost of Gabon's nine provinces. It covers an area of 22,890 km. The provincial capital is Port-Gentil. It has a 2013 census population of 157,562. The shores of Ogooué-Maritime are of the Gulf of Guinea to ...

. Following the election, she was appointed to the government as Minister of Justice on 27 January 2002.List of governments of Gabon
, IZF.net . In the December 2006 parliamentary election, she was again elected to the National Assembly as the PDG candidate from the second seat in Bendje/Port-Gentil Department. She was then moved to the position of Minister of the Merchant Marine and Port Facilities on 25 January 2007 before being again moved to the position of Minister of State Control, Inspections, the Fight Against Corruption and the Fight Against Illicit Enrichment. On 7 October 2008, she was promoted to the rank of Deputy Prime Minister, while retaining the same ministerial portfolio. President Bongo died in June 2009. After Bongo's son,

Ali Bongo Ondimba Ali Bongo Ondimba (born Alain Bernard Bongo; 9 February 1959),"Bongo Ali", ''Gabon: Les hommes de pouvoir'', number 4Africa Intelligence 5 March 2002 . sometimes known as Ali Bongo, is a Gabonese politician who has been the third president of Ga ...

, won the 30 August 2009 presidential election, Naki was removed from her post as Deputy Prime Minister and instead appointed as High Representative in charge of the Mandji Island Free Zone, a post at the Presidency of the Republic, on 17 October 2009.

Personal life

Dossou Naki is married to Samuel Dossou-Aworet, who was born in

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

but later became a naturalized citizen of Gabon and held various high-ranking positions; he was Omar Bongo's oil adviser for a time. After marriage, she continued to use her

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" is also used ...

of Naki, in conjunction with her

married name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" is also used ...

of Dossou.Gardinier and Yates, ''Historical Dictionary of Gabon'', page xvii. Dossou Naki and her husband have six children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naki, Honorine Dossou Dossou Naki, Honorine Dossou Naki, Honorine Dossou Naki, Honorine Government ministers of Gabon Gabonese Democratic Party politicians Ambassadors of Gabon to France Ambassadors of Gabon to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Gabon to Switzerland Gabonese women diplomats People from Ogooué-Maritime Province 20th-century diplomats 21st-century diplomats 21st-century women politicians Women government ministers of Gabon Women ambassadors 21st-century Gabonese people