Paul Boundoukou-Latha (1952 at ''Washington Diplomat'' website. – 7 June 2020) 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 and diplomat. He was Gabon's Ambassador to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

from 1989 to 1993, Ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

from 1993 to 2001, and Ambassador to Germany from 2001 to 2006. He was Minister-Delegate under the Deputy Prime Minister for the Environment from January 2009 to October 2009, Minister-Delegate under the Minister of the Economy, Trade, Industry, and Tourism from October 2009 to January 2011, and he was appointed as Minister-Delegate under the Minister of Foreign Affairs in January 2011. In June 2013, he was appointed as Chairman of the Gabonese Housing Bank.

Diplomatic career

Following political studies in

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 ...

at the

University of Poitiers The University of Poitiers (UP; french: Université de Poitiers) is a public university located in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group. It is multidisciplinary and contributes to making Poitiers the city with the highest studen ...

, Boundoukou-Latha graduated in 1979. Back in Gabon, he was placed in charge of the Europe Studies Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1983, and he was Director of International Organizations and Multilateral Cooperation from 1984 to 1986. Later, he was Gabon's Ambassador to

from 1989 to 1993. Boundoukou-Latha was appointed as Gabonese Ambassador to the United States on 23 June 1993 and presented his credentials on 3 September 1993; he served concurrently as Ambassador to

. Later, in December 2000, he was instead appointed as Ambassador to Germany; that was considered something of a demotion."La chute de la maison Myboto"
''La Lettre du Continent'', number 368, Africa Intelligence, 18 January 2001 . He was recalled from Germany and replaced by Jean-Claude Bouyobart in May 2006.

Political career

Boundoukou-Latha joined the

Gabonese Union for Democracy and Development The Gabonese Union for Democracy and Development (french: Union gabonaise pour la démocratie et le développement, UGDD) was a political party in Gabon. History The party was formed in 2005 by Zacharie Myboto, a former member of the ruling Gabo ...

(UGDD), an opposition party founded by

Zacharie Myboto Zacharie Myboto (born 1938) is a Gabonese politician and President of the National Union (UN), an opposition party. He was the Administrative Secretary of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) from 1972 to 1990 and served in the government from 1978 ...

in 2005, and held the post of UGDD Political Adviser."Remaniement du Gouvernement : à quand le changement ?"
UGDD website, 16 January 2009 . Myboto and Boundoukou-Latha are brothers. Later, Boundoukou-Latha accepted an appointment to the government, along with UGDD Secretary-General Sylvestre Ratanga, on 14 January 2009; he was named Minister-Delegate under the Deputy Prime Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development, and the Protection of Nature,

Georgette Koko Georgette Koko (born 16 March 1953

. He and Ratanga accepted their appointments without the approval of the UGDD, and they were immediately expelled from the party on 15 January. Deriding the appointments, the UGDD expressed doubt that Koko would give Boundoukou-Latha any meaningful responsibility. On 25 July 2009, 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 ...

in June 2009, Boundoukou-Latha announced his support for the 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), Ali Bongo, in the 30 August 2009 presidential election. Bongo won the election, and after taking office as President he moved Boundoukou-Latha to the position of Minister-Delegate under the Minister of the Economy, Trade, Industry, and Tourism on 17 October 2009. He was one of two ministers-delegate assigned to that ministry, sharing the responsibility with Françoise Assengone Obame. He also was elected President of the ACP council of ministers as Minister-Delegate under the Minister of the Economy, Trade, Industry and Tourism. Boundoukou-Latha joined the PDG on 6 March 2010."Politique : Le ministre Mouloungui rejoint les rangs du PDG"
, AGP, 8 March 2010 .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boundoukou-Latha, Paul 1952 births 2020 deaths Gabonese diplomats Gabonese expatriates in France

Gabonese politicians Gabonese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Gabon * A citizen of Gabon, see demographics of Gabon * A person from Gabon, or of Gabonese descent; see ethnic groups in Gabon *Gabonese cuisine *Gabonese culture See also ...

Gabonese Democratic Party politicians Government ministers of Gabon Ambassadors of Gabon to the United States Ambassadors of Gabon to Mexico Ambassadors of Gabon to Germany Ambassadors of Gabon to Tunisia Ambassadors of Gabon to Morocco Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite 21st-century Gabonese people