Franck Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet (2 April 1961"Gabon : Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet prend ses fonctions à l’ONU"
, Gaboneco, 26 August 2008 .11 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 nort ...

ese diplomat and politician who served as

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 2016 to 2019. A career diplomat, Issoze-Ngondet served as Gabon's Permanent Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

from August 2008 to January 2009. He then joined the country's government as Minister of Energy from January 2009 to June 2009 and then briefly as Minister of Relations with Parliament in mid-2009, before returning to the post of Permanent Representative to the UN in November 2009. In March 2010, Issoze-Ngondet was the

President of the United Nations Security Council The presidency of the United Nations Security Council is responsible for leading the United Nations Security Council. It rotates among the 15 member-states of the council monthly. The head of the country's delegation is known as the President of t ...

. He returned to domestic politics in 2012 as Minister of Foreign Affairs, a post he held for over four years. In September 2016 Issoze-Ngondet was appointed Prime Minister by

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 ...

. He remained in that role until 2019.

Diplomatic and political career

Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet was born in

Makokou Makokou is the regional capital of the Ogooué-Ivindo province in Gabon. Its coordinates are . Its altitude is 308 m. Its population in 2004 is around 16,600. The city lies on the Ivindo River and the N4 road. It grew around iron ore mini ...

Ogooué-Ivindo Province Ogooué-Ivindo Province is the northeasternmost of Gabon's nine provinces, though its Lopé Department is in the very center of the country. It gets its name from two rivers, the Ogooué and the Ivindo. This province, containing thousands of s ...

on 2 April 1961 and was a member of the Kota ethnic group."New Permanent Representative of Gabon presents credentials"
United Nations press release, BIO/4013, 25 August 2008. He began working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in 1988; initially he was an Adviser to the Ministry, and he was then Studies Officer (''Chargé d'études'') at the Division of Treaties and International Conventions from 1988 to 1990. He was posted in

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

as Cultural Counsellor at Gabon's Embassy to

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 ...

from 1990 to 1991, and he was First Counsellor at the Embassy to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from 1991 to 1993. Subsequently, he was First Counsellor at the Embassy 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 1993 to 1994 and First Counsellor at the Embassy to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

from 1994 to 1997. Issoze-Ngondet was the Foreign Ministry's Director for the Americas from 1997 to 1998 and was its Director for Europe from 1998 to 2000. He was then posted in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

as Ambassador to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

from 2000 to 2006; during that time, he was additionally accredited as Ambassador to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

beginning in 2003 and as Ambassador to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

beginning in 2004. In June 2006, Issoze-Ngondet was posted to

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

as Ambassador to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

as well as Permanent Representative to the African Union, the

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; french: link=no, Commission économique pour l'Afrique, CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its ...

, and the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

. He was additionally appointed as Ambassador to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

in August 2007, while continuing to reside in Addis Ababa. During the same period, Issoze-Ngondet was also the Chairman of the African Union's Sub-Committee on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons. Amidst discussions regarding the creation of a

United States of Africa The United States of Africa is a hypothetical concept of a federation of some or all of the 54 sovereign states and two disputed states on the continent of Africa. The concept takes its origin from Marcus Garvey's 1924 poem " Hail, United Stat ...

in early 2008, he suggested that

's place in the proposed continental state could be comparable to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

's place in the United States. Acknowledging with amusement that Gabon was not comparable to California in size, he then suggested that it might instead be comparable to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. After two years as Permanent Representative to the African Union, Issoze-Ngondet was sent to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

as Permanent Representative to the United Nations, presenting his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 25 August 2008. He was Permanent Representative to the UN for only a few months before being appointed to the Gabonese government as Minister of Energy, Hydraulic Resources, and New Energies on 14 January 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 ...

on 8 June 2009, he was moved to the post of Minister of Relations with Parliament and the Constitutional Institutions on 19 June 2009; however, he was dismissed from the government a month later, on 22 July 2009. At the time of the August 2009 presidential election, Issoze-Ngondet was the coordinator of Ali Bongo's campaign in

. After Bongo won the election, he appointed Issoze-Ngondet to his former post as Permanent Representative to the UN on 5 November 2009. Issoze-Ngondet was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs, replacing

Paul Toungui Paul Toungui (born 7 September 1950"Who's Who", Africa Intelligence, ''Gabon: Les Hommes de Pouvoir'', number 4, 5 March 2002 .) is a Gabonese politician who served in the government of Gabon from 1990 to 2012. He was Minister of Finance from 199 ...

, on 28 February 2012. He was promoted to the rank of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, La Francophonie and Regional Integration on 11 September 2015. Following the disputed re-election of President Bongo in the August 2016 presidential election, Bongo appointed Issoze-Ngondet as Prime Minister on 28 September 2016. He took office at a ceremony on 29 September 2016, succeeding

Daniel Ona Ondo Daniel Ona Ondo (born 10 July 1945) is a Gabonese politician who was Prime Minister of Gabon from January 2014 to September 2016. He previously served as Minister of Education and First Vice-President of the National Assembly. He is a member of th ...

. The new government that was headed by Issoze Ngondet was appointed on 2 October 2016. Despite Bongo's earlier statements about forming an inclusive government, representatives of the opposition were largely absent; although

Bruno Ben Moubamba Bruno Ben Moubamba (born 1967) is a Gabonese politician. As an opposition leader, he stood as a candidate in the 2009 and 2016 presidential elections in Gabon. He served in the government as Minister of Housing from 2016 to 2017. Early life Ben ...

, who placed a distant third in the election, was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister, no one associated with the main opposition leader,

Jean Ping Jean Ping (; born 24 November 1942 in Omboué)UN profile page
Faustin Boukoubi Faustin Boukoubi (born 20 March 1954"Gabon : ...

.Mathieu Olivier
"Gabon : participants, durée, objectifs… Ce qu’il faut savoir sur le dialogue politique"
''Jeune Afrique'', 29 March 2017 .

Personal life and other activities

Issoze-Ngondet was married with six children. He wrote a French language novel, ''An Ascetic in the Court'' (''Un Ascète dans la cour''), which was published by

L'Harmattan Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in ...

"Un ascète dans la cour"
Rue des Livres . on 14 February 2007. A career diplomat, he spoke

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

in addition to French.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Issoze-Ngondet, Emmanuel 1961 births 2020 deaths Ambassadors of Gabon to Ethiopia Ambassadors of Gabon to Kenya Ambassadors of Gabon to South Korea Ambassadors of Gabon to Thailand Ambassadors of Gabon to the Philippines Government ministers of Gabon Gabonese diplomats Permanent Representatives of Gabon to the African Union Permanent Representatives of Gabon to the United Nations Prime Ministers of Gabon People from Ogooué-Ivindo Province Kota people (Gabon) 21st-century Gabonese people