Paul Toungui (born 7 September 1950"Who's Who", Africa Intelligence, ''Gabon: Les Hommes de Pouvoir'', number 4, 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 who served in the government of Gabon from 1990 to 2012. He was

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

from 1991 to 1994, Minister of Mines, Energy, and Oil from 1994 to 2002, Minister of State for the Economy and Finance from 2002 to 2008, and finally Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2012.

Political career

Toungai was born in Okonja, located in

Haut-Ogooué Province Haut-Ogooué is the southeasternmost of Gabon's nine provinces. It is named after the Ogooué River. It covers an area of . The provincial capital is Franceville. One of its primary industries is mining, with manganese, gold and uranium being ...

in southeastern Gabon,"Paul Toungui Ministre de l'Économie, des Finances, du Budget et de la Privatisation"
''Jeune Afrique'', 5 January 2003 . and studied mathematics, earning a degree 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 ...

. He was Director-General of the Institute of the Economy and Finance from 1983 to 1990. Standing 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 the 1990 parliamentary election, he was elected to 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 ...

. In 1991, he joined the government as Minister of Finance and the Budget, holding that post until March 1994. From March 1994 to January 2002, Toungui was Minister of Mines, Energy and Oil; he was assigned additional responsibility for hydraulic resources in January 1999, and in January 2001 he was promoted to the rank of Minister of State. He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a PDG candidate in the 1996 parliamentary election and the 2001 parliamentary election. Following the latter election, Toungui was moved to the post of Minister of State for the Economy, Finance, the Budget, and Privatization on 27 January 2002. In the December 2006 parliamentary election, he was elected to the National Assembly as the PDG candidate in Okonja constituency. After nearly seven years as Finance Minister, Toungui was instead appointed as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, La Francophonie, and Regional Integration on 7 October 2008."Gabon: Laure Olga Gondjout passe le témoin à Paul Toungui aux Affaires Etrangères"
, Gabonews, 9 October 2008 . He succeeded Laure Olga Gondjout as Foreign Minister on 9 October. After 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 ...

died in June 2009 and his son Ali Bongo was elected to succeed him, Toungui was retained as Foreign Minister in Ali Bongo's first government, appointed on 17 October 2009. He kept his position despite a wave of dismissals of other long-serving ministers and key officials. Having survived Ali Bongo's initial reworking of the government, he was its longest-serving minister, with nearly two decades of continuous experience. He was dismissed from the government on 28 February 2012."Gabon: formation d'un nouveau gouvernement"
Agence France-Presse, 28 February 2012 .

Personal life

Toungui is the son-in-law of Omar Bongo, who was President of Gabon from 1967 to 2009; he married Bongo's daughter,

Pascaline Bongo Pascaline Mferri Bongo Ondimba (born 10 April 1957David E. Gardinier and Douglas A. Yates, ''Historical Dictionary of Gabon'' (2006), third edition, page 45.) is a Gabonese politician. Under her father, President Omar Bongo, she was foreign minist ...

,Jean-Dominique Geslin
"La méthode Bongo"
''Jeune Afrique'', 5 January 2003 . in 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toungui, Paul Living people Foreign ministers of Gabon Finance ministers of Gabon Members of the National Assembly of Gabon Gabonese Democratic Party politicians 1950 births 21st-century Gabonese people