Anne Jacqueline Oble (born 1950), also known as Jacqueline Lohoues-Oble, is an Ivorian lawyer and politician who was the first woman to stand as a candidate in a presidential election.

Early life and education

Anne Jacqueline Lohoues was born in

Dabou Dabou is a port town in southern Ivory Coast. It is the seat of both the Lagunes District and the Grands-Ponts Region. It is also the seat of and a sub-prefecture of the Dabou Department. Dabou is also a commune. The town is served by Dabou Air ...

in 1950, one of eleven children. She has a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Abidjan-Cocody (1975), a master's degree in Private Law from the

University of Paris II A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which rou ...

(1977) and a PhD from

Jean Moulin University The Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 (french: link=no, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3), also referred to as Lyon 3, is one of the three public universities of Lyon, France. It is named after the French Resistance fighter Jean Moulin and specialises i ...

(1982).

Career

Oble is a lawyer and was the first law professor in

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

Law School and served as dean of law faculty from 1986 to 1989. In 1984, she met

Gabonese President 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 ...

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 ...

at a conference on family law in Africa, who then introduced her to

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 ...

Félix Houphouët-Boigny. In 1990, Houphouët-Boigny appointed her Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals under Prime Minister

Alassane Ouattara Alassane Dramane Ouattara (; ; born 1 January 1942) is an Ivorian politician who has been President of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) since 2010. An economist by profession, Ouattara worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)Rally of the Republicans The Rally of the Republicans (french: Rassemblement des Républicains; abbreviated RDR) is a liberal party in Ivory Coast (). The party is the country's governing party; the party's leader, Alassane Ouattara, is the current President of Ivory C ...

with her brother Vincent Lohoues Essoh, who later became Minister of Construction and Town Planning under the transitional government of

Robert Guéï Robert Guéï (; 16 March 1941 – 19 September 2002) was the military ruler of the Ivory Coast from 24 December 1999 to 26 October 2000. Biography Guéï was born in Kabakouma, a village in the western Man Department, and was a member of ...

. In 1995, Oble was elected as a member of 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 ...

for Abobo. She resigned in 1999 after opposing Ouattara's candidacy for the 2000 presidential election. She returned to the university and then practiced as a legal advisor to Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny from 2006 to 2007. Oble served as president of African Women Ministers and Parliamentarians and a founding member of the Women Lawyers' Association. After the election of

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa. Sirleaf was born in Mon ...

in neighbouring

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

in 2005, many women encouraged her to run for the presidency. In 2010, she was a candidate in the

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

, the first woman to contest the position. Although she beat six of the other 13 candidates, she only received 0.27 percent of the vote. She chose to support

Laurent Gbagbo Koudou Laurent Gbagbo
, FPI website . ( Gilbert Aké Gilbert Marie N'gbo Aké (born 1956) is an Ivorian academic and politician. He was named Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire by President Laurent Gbagbo after the latter claimed victory in the disputed 2010 presidential election. Life and career ...

government, which was not recognised by the international community. On 18 December 2010, she spoke on behalf of Gbagbo and called for the immediate withdrawal of UN and French troops from the country, saying the UN was guilty of "serious missteps" and "contempt" for the country's institutions. On 11 January 2011, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

placed Oble under sanctions as a member of the Ake N'Gbo government. After Gbagbo's arrest on 11 April 2011, bringing an end to the Second Ivorian Civil War, she was the only minister not disturbed by the new leaders. Oble returned to her work as an academic at

Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny The Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny (UFHB) (formerly known as University of Cocody-Abidjan, fr.: Université de Cocody or Université de Cocody-Abidjan) is an institution of higher education located in the Cocody section of Abidjan and t ...

Cocody Cocody (, ) is a suburb of and one of the 10 urban communes of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It is upmarket and has an abundance of mansions. Cocody is where most of the wealthy businesspeople, ambassadors, and other affluent people live in Abidjan. The U ...

and ruled out running in the 2015 presidential election. In 2013, she was serving as member of the Scientific Council of the International Union of Judicial Officers.

Publications

* * * * * *

Awards and honours

* Knight in the

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music and jazz, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes and grew in scope to comprise up to five dances, sometimes with ...

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 ...

* Commander in the Order of National Education of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire * Officer in the

National Order of the Ivory Coast The National Order of the Ivory Coast (sometimes simply mentioned as National Order) is the highest state order of knighthood of the Ivory Coast. History The Order was founded on 10 April 1961 to celebrate the independence of the Ivory Coast wh ...

Personal life

Oble is widowed and has four daughters and two granddaughters.

References

External links

Africa24 Interview with Lohoues-Oble
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oble, Jacqueline Living people 1950 births Women lawyers Government ministers of Ivory Coast Women government ministers of Ivory Coast Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire – African Democratic Rally politicians Rally of the Republicans politicians Members of the National Assembly (Ivory Coast) Academic staff of Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny Officiers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques 20th-century Ivorian women politicians 20th-century Ivorian politicians 21st-century Ivorian women politicians 21st-century Ivorian politicians 20th-century Ivorian lawyers 21st-century Ivorian lawyers