Editing Denis Sassou Nguesso (section)

===Return to the presidency===
Sassou Nguesso declared that he was willing to allow a return to democracy and began a three-year transition process in 1998, but renewed fighting with opposition groups led to the collapse of the endeavor. With the government forces in ascendancy and following peace agreements in 1999, elections were re-scheduled for 2002, although not all rebel groups signed the accords. 

On March 10 Sassou Nguesso won with almost 90% of the vote; his two main rivals Lissouba and Kolelas were prevented from competing. The only remaining credible rival, André Milongo, withdrew his candidacy three days before the election day, claiming that the election would be rigged. A new constitution was agreed upon in January 2002 which granted the president new powers and extended presidential terms from five to seven years. While the 2002 elections were hailed as being free of violence, they conferred little legitimacy on Sassou Nguesso's regime due to the lack of meaningful participation by opposition parties. Sassou Nguesso was sworn in on August 14, 2002.

Having already served as the Chairman of the Organisation of African Unity in 1986 to 1987, he was elected Chairman of the African Union, the OAU's successor body, in January 2006. His election was the result of a compromise reached to prevent the chairmanship from going to [[Omar al-Bashir]], President of Sudan. Despite making frequent trips around the continent and around the world during his year-long tenure as AU chairman, Sassou Nguesso's achievements in the office were limited.

Sassou Nguesso was re-elected as President of the Central Committee of the PCT at the party's Fifth Extraordinary Congress in December 2006.

In January 2007, Sassou Nguesso's international reputation suffered a blow after a panel of judges in France reopened an official investigation into the alleged role of Sassou Nguesso's government in the 1999 disappearance of 353 Congolese refugees.<ref>[https://www.justiceinfo.net/en/41402-the-missing-of-brazzaville-beach-20-years-on.html The missing of Brazzaville's 'Beach', 20 years on], ''JusticeInfo.net''</ref>

Re-elected in the July 2009 presidential election with 78.61% of the vote amidst an opposition boycott, Sassou Nguesso was sworn in for another seven-year term at a ceremony in Brazzaville on 14 August 2009. He said that his re-election meant continued "peace, stability and security", and he called for an end to "thinking like ... freeloaders" in reference to international aid received by the country. Sassou Nguesso also made an important announcement at his inauguration, saying that he would set in motion an amnesty bill to pardon Pascal Lissouba, who had gone into [[exile]] after his 1997 ouster and was convicted of crimes ''in absentia''. Sassou Nguesso said that he wanted the amnesty bill to be presented to Parliament by the end of 2009.

As Congo-Brazzaville prepared to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence from France in 2010, Sassou Nguesso noted that the country had far to go in fully realizing the dream of independence: "Our country will not be totally independent until our people are free of the yoke of poverty." He presided over a large parade in Brazzaville, featuring thousands of soldiers and civilians, to celebrate the anniversary on 15 August 2010.

Sassu Nguesso was once again the PCT’s candidate in the March 20, 2016, presidential election, which took place amid a much-criticized communications blackout. Sassou Nguesso was victorious, with officials claiming that he won about 60 percent of the vote; this was disputed by the opposition.<ref>[https://www.france24.com/en/eye-africa/20160324-sassou-nguesso-reelected-president-congo-opposition-rejects-results Sassou Nguesso re-elected president of Congo-Brazzaville, opposition rejects results], ''France 24''</ref> He was once again reelected in March 2021, reportedly with more than 88 percent of the vote, although amid some of the same circumstances as in 2016: the main opposition boycotted the election, Internet service in the country was shut down, the outcome was disputed, and there were allegations of fraud.<ref>[https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/eye-on-africa/20210323-republic-of-congo-president-sassou-n-guesso-wins-re-election Republic of Congo elections: President Denis Sassou Nguesso declared winner], ''France 24''</ref>

His daughter was married to President [[Omar Bongo]] of Gabon.