Rose Francine Rogombé
| Rose Francine Rogombé | |
|---|---|
|
President of Gabon Acting |
|
|
In office 10 June 2009 – 16 October 2009 |
|
| Prime Minister |
Jean Eyeghé Ndong Paul Biyoghé Mba |
| Preceded by |
Omar Bongo (President) Didjob Divungi Di Ndinge (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Ali Bongo Ondimba |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Rose Francine Etomba 20 September 1942 Lambaréné, French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon) |
| Died | 10 April 2015 (aged 72) Paris, France |
| Political party | Gabonese Democratic Party |
Rose Francine Rogombé (née Etomba) (20 September 1942 – 10 April 2015) was a Gabonese politician who was Acting President of Gabon from June 2009 to October 2009, following the death of long-time President Omar Bongo. She constitutionally succeeded Bongo due to her role as President of the Senate, a post to which she was elected in February 2009. She was a lawyer by profession and a member of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG). Rogombé was the first female head of state of Gabon. After her interim presidency, she returned to her post as President of the Senate.
Rose Francine Etomba, a member of the Galwa ethnic group, was born in Lambaréné, French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon), in 1942. After studying in France, she worked as a magistrate in Gabon. She also served in the government as Secretary of State for the Advancement of Women and Human Rights during the 1980s. She left politics during the transition to multiparty politics in the early 1990s, instead devoting herself to law; she eventually became Vice-President of the Special Criminal Court. In 2007, she received a degree in theology.
In the April 2008 local elections, Rogombé was elected as a municipal councillor in Lambaréné; she was subsequently elected as a Senator from Lambaréné in the January 2009 Senate election. Following the latter election, she was elected as President of the Senate on 16 February 2009, receiving the support of 90 of the 99 Senators who voted.
Rogombé, who was nicknamed the "iron lady", was a somewhat obscure figure when President Bongo effectively selected her to become President of the Senate, and her selection reportedly surprised many in the PDG leadership. Despite her relative obscurity, she was reportedly familiar with the operation of political power in Gabon, being close to Bongo and a friend of the family of Georges Rawiri, a prominent politician who became President of the Senate before his death in 2006.
...
Wikipedia