Célestin Leroy Gaombalet (1 January 1942 – 19 December 2017) was a Central African politician who was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 2003 to 2005. He was President of the National Assembly of the Central African Republic from 2005 to 2013.

Biography

Gaombalet was born in the village of

Grimari Grimari is a city located in the Ouaka prefecture in Central African Republic, approximately away from the capital, Bangui. The politician Abel Goumba was born in Grimari. History On March 1, 1910, Grimari replaced Pouyamba as the capital of ...

in 1942. He began working for the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa (UDEAC) in the 1970s, then became Director-General of the Union Bank in Central Africa, located in

Bangui Bangui (; or Bangî in Sango language, Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in the Central African Republic, largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a Fren ...

, before being dismissed from that post by President André Kolingba in 1981. Kolingba moved Gaombalet to a position at the

Development Bank of Central African States The Bank of Central African States (, BEAC; ) is a central bank that serves six central African countries which form the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and ...

Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

. In the early 1990s, Gaombalet returned to the Central African Republic, becoming head of the Moroccan-Central African People's Bank and later retiring.Jean-Dominique Geslin
"Que peut faire Gaombalet ?"
''Jeune Afrique'', December 21, 2003 . Despite having no political experience, Gaombalet was appointed as prime minister by President

François Bozizé François Bozizé Yangouvonda (born 14 October 1946) is a Central African Republic, Central African politician who was List of heads of state of the Central African Republic, President of the Central African Republic from 2003 to 2013. He was th ...

on December 12, 2003, replacing

Abel Goumba Abel Nguéndé Goumba (; 18 September 1926 – 11 May 2009) was a Central African politician. During the late 1950s, he headed the government in the period prior to independence from France, and following independence he was an unsuccessful ...

, who in turn became Bozizé's vice-president. In a reshuffle of the government on September 2, 2004, Gaombalet remained prime minister while the number of ministers was reduced to 24 from the previous 28; Gaombalet said that this did not affect the political balance and that it was necessary to save money. In the 2005 parliamentary election, Gaombalet was elected to the National Assembly as a Deputy from

Bambari Bambari is a town in the Central African Republic, lying on the Ouaka River. It has a population of 41,356 (2003 census) and is the capital of Ouaka prefecture. Bambari is an important market town and home to Bambari Airport, and the Roma ...

. At the opening of the National Assembly, he was elected as President of the National Assembly on June 7, 2005, receiving 78 votes against 18 for Luc Apollinaire Dondon Konamabaye, who had previously held the position under President

Ange-Félix Patassé Ange-Félix Patassé (25 January 1937 – 5 April 2011) was a Central African politician who was president of the Central African Republic from 1993 until 2003, when he was deposed by the rebel leader François Bozizé in the 2003 coup d'état ...

."New parliament meets, elects speaker"
IRIN, June 9, 2005. Gaombalet resigned as prime minister on June 11 and was replaced by

Élie Doté Élie Doté (born 9 July 1948) is a Central African politician. He was Heads of Government of the Central African Republic, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from June 2005 to January 2008. Biography Born in Bangui on 9 July 1948, D ...

on June 13. In the January–March 2011 parliamentary election, Gaombalet was re-elected to the National Assembly; when the legislature began sitting for its new term, he was re-elected as President of the National Assembly.Jonas Bissanguim
"Constitution du bureau de l’Assemblée Nationale"
, Agence Centrafrique Presse, 9 May 2011 .

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaombalet, Celestin 1942 births 2017 deaths People from Ouaka Prime ministers of the Central African Republic Presidents of the National Assembly (Central African Republic) Central African Republic bankers