Léon Mébiame (1 September 1934 – 18 December 2015) 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 north ...

ese politician who was the 2nd

Prime Minister of Gabon The Prime Minister of Gabon (French: ''Premier ministre de la République gabonaise'') is the head of government of Gabon. The position was first created in 1960, upon the country's independence from France, but was soon abolished by a new con ...

. From 1975 to 1990, he served as the longest-serving Prime Minister in Gabonese history, at 15 years and 17 days.''La politique africaine en 1969''
(1970), Ediafric, page 134 .David E. Gardinier and Douglas A. Yates, ''Historical Dictionary of Gabon'' (2006), third edition, page 209.

Life and career

A member of the Fang ethnic group, Mébiame was born 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 ...

. Under French colonial rule, he became an inspector of federal police in 1956 and was posted in

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

from 6 January 1957 to March 1959. At independence in 1960, he was commissioner of police."Décès de Léon Mébiame, l’unique Premier ministre sous monopartisme"
, Agence Gabonaise de Presse, 18 December 2015 . A close associate 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 ...

, he was

Vice President of Gabon Vice president of Gabon is a political position in Gabon. It existed from 1961 to 1975, 1997 to 2009, and 2017 to 2019. History of the office Original office Changes in the Constitution of 1966 made the vice president the automatic successor ...

from 1968 to 1975, when the position was abolished; he was then appointed as Prime Minister and served from 16 April 1975 to 3 May 1990. He was the minister of public finance from 1990 to 1991. Subsequently, he joined the opposition in the early 1990s. He was appointed as President of the Libreville Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Mines on 6 November 2008. He took office on 4 December 2008, succeeding Joachim Boussamba."Gabon: Chambre de Commerce : Joachim Boussamba passe le flambeau à Léon Mébiame"
, Gabonews, 4 December 2008 . He was also appointed to the Economic and Social Council, an official advisory body, by President Bongo in 2008, although he lost his seat on the council 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 ...

took office in 2009. Mébiame died at age 81 at a Libreville clinic on the night of 17–18 December 2015.

References

Vice presidents of Gabon Prime Ministers of Gabon Finance ministers of Gabon 2015 deaths 1934 births 21st-century Gabonese people {{Gabon-politician-stub