Gabon’s new vice president and prime minister are set to be sworn in on Tuesday, one day after President Ali Bongo made the announcement about the changes in the country’s top offices.
Former first female Prime Minister Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda was appointed to fill the Gabonese Vice President's Office, which has been vacant since the dismissal of former VP Pierre Claver Maganga Moussavou in May 2019.
President Bongo selected Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, former deputy prime minister and minister of energy and water resources, to replace Raponda, who has been filling the office since July 2020.
Earlier, the new head of government Bilie-By-Nze unveiled his cabinet, which includes 45 members instead of 38 ministers of the previous government, with the addition of seven deputy ministers.
The appointment of Raponda and Bilie-By-Nze comes a few months before Gabon’s general election, scheduled to be held this summer.
President Bongo was first elected in 2009 following the death of his father, former Gabonese President Mar Bongo Ondimba, who ruled the Central African state for more than 41 years. In October 2016, Bongo was elected for another seven-year term. He has yet to confirm whether he will run for a third term in office, which is allowed under Gabon’s constitution.