Danièle Obono (; born 12 July 1980) is a Gabonese-French politician serving as the 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 rep ...

for Paris's 17th constituency since 2017. She has also been the spokesperson for

La France Insoumise La France Insoumise (FI or LFI; ; "France Unbowed") is a left-wing populist political party in France, launched in 2016 by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, then a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and former co-president of the Left Party (PG). It aims ...

. Obono was re-elected in the first round in the

2022 French legislative election Legislative elections in France were held on 12 and 19 June 2022 to elect the 577 members of the 16th National Assembly of the Fifth French Republic. The elections took place following the 2022 French presidential election, which was held in A ...

Early life

Obono was born on 12 July 1980 in Libreville, Gabon. to a prominent Gabonese family. She is the daughter of Hortense Simbou Mbadinga, a secretary at Air Gabon, and

Martin Edzodzomo-Ela Martin Edzodzomo-Ela, also rendered as Martin Edzodzomo Ela or Martin Edzodzomo Ella, is a Gabonese economist and politician. He has written a number of books and articles advocating for democratic reforms in Gabon. His work with the Gabonese oppo ...

, an economist who was a senior executive at the Paribas-Gabon bank from 1975 to 1979 before he was dismissed for his opposition to the regime of

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 ...

, who was also a candidate in the Gabonese presidential election of 1998. She lived in Gabon until she was about ten years old, and she attended university in Montpellier. She became a naturalized French citizen in 2011. After graduating from university, Obono became a librarian in Paris. In 2002, she obtained a master's degree in history at the

University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, studying the economic relationship between France and Gabon during the second half of the 20th century under the supervision of . In 2003, she started a doctoral program in political science at the Institute of The African World ( fr), focusing on social and democratic movements in Nigeria, though she began her political career before completing that degree.

Political career

A member of

, Obono was elected in the legislative election of 2017. She was also the spokesperson for Jean-Luc Mélenchon, together with

Alexis Corbière Alexis Corbière (; born 17 August 1968) is a French politician. A member of La France Insoumise (FI), he has been member of the National Assembly for the 7th constituency of the Seine-Saint-Denis department since 2017. Corbière is also a sp ...

. In the legislature, Obono has served on the Law Commission, the Commission on European Affairs, and the Foreign Affairs Commission. In August 2020, the right-wing French magazine '' Valeurs actuelles'' published a seven-page fantasy story and illustrations of Obono as a slave in chains facing the sunset, shackled beside a fire, under the title "summer fantasy story", prompting an outcry from politicians of all parties.

References

1980 births Living people Deputies of the 15th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic La France Insoumise politicians People from Libreville French people of Gabonese descent Black French politicians Women members of the National Assembly (France) 21st-century French women politicians Pantheon-Sorbonne University alumni Deputies of the 16th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic {{Paris-politician-stub