LIBREVILLE, Gabon — Omar Bongo, the world’s longest-serving president whose 42-year rule of Gabon was a throwback to an era when Africa was ruled by “Big Men,” died Monday. He was 73.
LIBREVILLE, Gabon — Omar Bongo, the world’s longest-serving president whose 42-year rule of Gabon was a throwback to an era when Africa was ruled by "Big Men," died Monday. He was 73. The government responded to Bongo’s death at a hospital in Spain by closing Gabon’s international airport and the nation’s land and sea borders. Security forces took up positions in front of government buildings and electrical installations in Libreville, the capital. People rushed home after the news was announced, causing traffic jams. Some residents could be seen hurrying out with empty bags, apparently to stock up on food in advance of possible store closures. Since the head of state had checked into the Spanish hospital last month, Gabonese officials had aggressively denied that he was ill, insisting he had gone to Spain to observe "a period of mourning" following the death of his wife. They initially denied he was in the hospital at all then later said he had been admitted to the clinic but only for a checkup. Just hours before announcing Bongo’s death, Gabonese Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe Ndong held a news conference at the Quiron Clinic in Barcelona to say the president was "alive and well." Plans for a state funeral were under way and will soon be announced, Communications Minister Laure Gondjout told The Associated Press by telephone late Monday. She stressed the country’s constitution "will be followed." The constitution calls for the head of the Senate to assume power and for presidential elections within 90 days. There has been widespread speculation that one of Bongo’s sons would try to seize power upon his father’s death, as happened in nearby Togo. Bongo, who was believed to be one of the world’s wealthiest leaders, became the longest-ruling head of government — a category that does not include the monarchs of Britain and Thailand — when Cuba’s Fidel Castro handed power to his brother last year. Bongo had kept a tight grip on power in the oil-rich former French colony since he became president in 1967, and his ruling party has dominated the country’s parliament for decades. Opposition parties were only allowed in 1990, amid a wave of pro-democracy protests. Elections since then have been marred by allegations of rigging and unrest. In 2003, parliament — dominated by his supporters — removed presidential term limits from the constitution. While most Gabonese genuinely feared Bongo and there was little opposition, many accepted his rule because he had kept his country remarkably peaceful and governed without the sustained brutality characteristic of many dictators. Bongo, meanwhile, amassed a fortune that made him one of the world’s richest men, according to Freedom House, a private Washington-based democracy watchdog organization, although nobody really knows how much he was worth. Earlier this year, a French judge decided to investigate Bongo and two other African leaders over accusations of money laundering and other alleged crimes linked to their wealth in France. The probe followed a complaint by Transparency International France, an association that tracks corruption. French media have reported that Bongo’s family owns abundant real estate in France — at one time owning more properties in Paris than any other foreign leader. Born Albert Bernard Bongo on Dec. 30, 1935, the youngest of 12 children, Bongo served as a lieutenant in the French Air Force, then climbed quickly through the civil service, eventually becoming vice president. He assumed the presidency Dec. 2, 1967, after the death of Leon M’Ba, the country’s only other head of state since independence from France in 1960. Bongo set up a one-party state. Six years later, he converted to Islam and took the name Omar. His presidential security staff numbered 1,500, according to the U.S. State Department, while the entire military numbers just 10,000 troops. Bongo sought international approval, and in May 2004, he visited then-President Bush at the White House. He also tried to cast himself as a mediator, working to end conflicts in Chad and Central African Republic, where his country has a small contingent of peacekeepers. French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his "sadness and emotion" at Bongo’s death on Monday and pledged that France would remain "loyal to its long relationship of friendship" with Gabon. "It is a great and loyal friend of France who has left us — a grand figure of Africa," Sarkozy said in a statement. France has been accused of propping up its old colonial partners in Africa and looking the other way as leaders like Bongo siphoned off their country’s resources, leaving a majority of its people mired in poverty. "A great figure for Africa? This guy was a scoundrel on the first order. If there was ever a poster boy for what you want to avoid in terms of leadership on the continent, he would have been No. 1," said former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania Charles Stith, now the director of Boston University’s African Presidential Archives and Research Center. The scandals involving Bongo’s wealth have long been fodder for French gossip columns. In the early 1990s, an Italian fashion designer testified he had flown call girls to the president along with his suits. Three years ago, Bongo’s daughter-in-law, married to his son, the defense minister, appeared on the American reality show "Really Rich Real Estate," shopping for a $25 million Beverly Hills mansion. In 2003, an official of French oil giant Elf Aquitaine — which at one time operated in Gabon — testified he had opened several Swiss bank accounts for Bongo into which commissions were paid on multimillion-dollar oil deals. Bongo has vigorously denied receiving any money through the accounts. Gabon is the No. 5 oil exporter in sub-Saharan Africa, and Bongo built a vast system of patronage, doling out largesse in part through the salaries and benefits that came with Cabinet posts. But oil dependency means the country has more oil pipeline — 886 miles (1,425 kilometers) — than paved roads —582 miles (936 kilometers). Only 1 percent of its land is cultivated and Gabon produces virtually no food. Instead, basics such as tomatoes are imported from France, the former colonial master, and neighboring Cameroon, pushing prices so high that Libreville, the capital, is the world’s eighth most expensive city, according to Employment Conditions Abroad International. Callimachi reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Todd Pitman in Dakar, and Daniel Woolls in Madrid, contributed to this report. ______ **FILE** In this Thursday, March 13, 2008 file photo, Gabon President Omar Bongo stands with other Islamic world leaders during a group photo session at the Organization for the Islamic Conference summit in Dakar, Senegal. Bongo, the world’s longest-serving president whose 42-year rule was a throwback to an era when Africa was ruled by "Big Men," has died of cardiac arrest in a Spanish hospital Monday, June 8, 2009. He was 73. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File) Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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