Philémon Yunji Yang (born June 14, 1947Profile at Cameroonian government website
."Fiche sur les nouveaux minitres (2)"
''Cameroon Tribune'', December 10, 2004 .) is a

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

ian politician who served as Prime minister from 30 June 2009 to 4 January 2019. Previously he was Assistant Secretary General of the Presidency, with the rank of minister, from 2004 to 2009. He served in the government from 1975 to 1984 and was Cameroon's Ambassador to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

from 1984 to 2004. He is the longest-serving Prime Minister in Cameroonian history.

Biography

Yang was born in Jikejem-

Oku Oku or OKU may refer to: *Oku, Cameroon, subdivision in the Northwest Region of Cameroon ** Lake Oku, a crater lake on the Bamenda Plateau in the Northwest Region of Cameroon ** Mount Oku, the largest volcano in the Oku Massif, in the Cameroon Volc ...

, in Oku Sub Division located in the Bui Division of the Northwest Region of Cameroon. After studying law at the

University of Yaoundé The University of Yaoundé (french: Université de Yaoundé) was a university in Cameroon, located in Yaoundé, the country's capital. It was built with the help of France and opened in 1962 as the Federal University of Yaoundé, dropping the "Fe ...

, he became a prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in

Buea Buea is the capital of the Southwest Region of Cameroon. The city is located in Fako Division, on the eastern slopes of Mount Cameroon, and has a population of 300,000 (at the 2013 Census). It has two Government Hotels, the Mountain Hotel and P ...

Christina Leadlay
"Diplomatic Circles"
, ''Embassy'' (Canada), January 12, 2005. in January 1975. He was appointed to the government as Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration on June 30, 1975 and promoted to the post of Minister of Mines and Energy on November 8, 1979. He remained in the latter position for more than four years before being dismissed from the government on February 4, 1984. He then became Ambassador to Canada on 23 October 1984, remaining in that post for 20 years; his title changed to High Commissioner when Cameroon joined the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

in 1995. He also served as the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Canada for about 10 years. Yang's time in Ottawa was dedicated to securing more foreign aid for his country, despite Canadian concerns about

human rights abuse Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...

s and

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

. Along with other representatives of African countries, he was pleased by Canada's commitment to

debt relief Debt relief or debt cancellation is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. From antiquity through the 19th century, it refers to domestic debts, in particu ...

in 2000. Yang lived in Ottawa's Grenfell Glen neighborhood during his long stint as High Commissioner. He headed Cameroon's delegation to the negotiations on the

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement on biosafety as a supplement to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) effective since 2003. The Biosafety Protocol seeks to prote ...

from February 1998 to January 2000, and after the Protocol was adopted on January 29, 2000, he became chairman of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Cartagena Protocol (ICCP). He remained High Commissioner to Canada until he was appointed as Assistant Secretary-General of the Presidency of Cameroon on December 8, 2004. He left Ottawa on December 17 and was installed as Assistant Secretary-General of the Presidency on December 21. Later, Yang was appointed as chairman of the board of directors of the

Cameroon Airlines Corporation The Cameroon Airlines Corporation, trading as Camair-Co, is an airline from Cameroon, serving as flag carrier of the country, a role which was previously filled by the now-defunct Cameroon Airlines. Camair-Co has its headquarters in the Immeuble ...

in late December 2008. PaulBiya8

President

Paul Biya Paul Biya (born Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo; 13 February 1933) is a Cameroonian politician who has served as the president of Cameroon since 6 November 1982.

appointed Yang as Prime Minister on June 30, 2009, replacing another anglophone,

Ephraïm Inoni Ephraïm Inoni (born 16 August 1947)Profile at government website< ...

. Yang's appointment marked the largest government shakeup since his predecessor was named Prime Minister in December 2004. Biya stated on state radio that three ministers from the previous government had switched places, six new names were added while six portfolios were cut entirely. The opposition said that it did not expect a great deal of change due in part to the continuance of a large government. They had been hoping for a cut to thirty ministers; the real number remains in the sixties. The reshuffle was believed to have been spurred on by public anger over rising

food prices Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing an ...

and the discontent with the high level of government corruption. Adding to this, the move was seen as an attempt by Biya to shore up support for the next presidential election in 2011.Tansa Musa
"Cameroon's president sacks PM in reshuffle"
Reuters, 30 June 2009. In addition to Yang, new ministers were appointed for defence, posts and telecommunications, communication, education, promotion of women, water and energy, and sports.
Xinhua, 1 July 2009.

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Philemon 1947 births Cameroon People's Democratic Movement politicians High Commissioners of Cameroon to Canada Living people Prime Ministers of Cameroon People from Northwest Region (Cameroon) University of Ottawa alumni 20th-century Cameroonian politicians 21st-century Cameroonian politicians