Editing Omar Bongo (section)

==Biography==
Bongo was born in the Beteke region of Gabon on December 10, 1935.  He was the youngest of twelve children and was a member of the Bateke people.  Named Albert-Bernard Bongo at birth, he later converted to Islam in 1973, changing his name to El Hajj Omar Bongo.  In 2003 he added Ondimba, his father’s name.<ref name = Bongo></ref>

Bongo’s first wife was Marie Josephine Kama and they had two children together, but they divorced in 1986.  In 1990, Bongo married Edith Lucie Sassou Nguesso, daughter of President [[Denis Sassou Nguesso]] of the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), and together they had nine children.

After completing primary and secondary education in Brazzaville, then the capital of French Equatorial Africa, he joined the French Air Force and rose to the rank of captain.  When Gabon was granted independence from France in 1960, Bongo quickly rose to political power. At the age of 28, he was placed in the Cabinet of Gabon’s first President, [[Léon M'ba]].  That appointment led to other political roles including his becoming Vice President of Gabon at the age of 32 in March 1967.  In November 1967, following the death of M’Ba, Bongo became the second President of Gabon.<ref name = Timeline>[https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE55744Y20090608 TIMELINE: Gabon and Omar Bongo], ''Reuters''</ref> Bongo was Africa's fourth youngest president at the time, after [[Michel Micombero]] of Burundi and [[Gnassingbé Eyadéma]] of Togo.

Soon afterwards Bongo designated his ''Parti Democratique Gabonais'' (PDG) as the only political party.  As head of the PDG and with only token opposition he was reelected President 1975, 1979, 1986, and 1993 despite repeated assertions that the vote was rigged.  In 1990, however, due to growing public opposition and international condemnation, Bongo ended the one-party state rule.  Bongo survived multi-party democracy in Gabon for the last decade of his rule by incorporating opposition leaders into his regime.<ref name = Timeline></ref>

Omar Bongo remained in power because of his control over the army and because of Gabon’s elite class personally benefitting from his rule.  Royalties from Gabon’s rich petroleum reserves as well as other public funds were siphoned off by Bongo, his family, and prominent government officials and wealthy businessmen.  Often these funds were placed in various foreign bank accounts or invested in European properties.  Bongo’s reach extended to France where in 1981 he helped bankroll the successful presidential campaign of Jacques Chirac.  Over the next two decades Bongo contributed to all of the major French political parties which ensured that country’s support for his regime.<ref>[https://www.france24.com/en/20101229-gabon-former-president-omar-bongo-funneled-embezzled-funds-french-politics-chirac-sarkozy Former ruler 'funnelled' embezzled funds to French politicians], ''France 24''</ref>

Bongo was one of the wealthiest heads of state in the world, his wealth attributed primarily to oil revenue and alleged corruption.<ref>[https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-1c14bongo192811-omar-bongo-2009jun14-story.html Omar Bongo; president of Gabon amassed a fortune], ''The San Diego Union-Tribune''</ref> In 1999, an investigation by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on investigations into Citibank estimated that the Gabonese President held US$130 million in the bank's personal accounts, money the Senate report said was "sourced in the public finances of Gabon".<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/08/world/hearings-offer-view-into-private-banking.html Hearings Offer View Into Private Banking], ''The New York Times''</ref><ref>[https://blackagendareport.com/content/crimes-bongo-apartheid-terror-africas-gardens-eden-part-one The Crimes of Bongo: Apartheid & Terror in Africa's Gardens of Eden, Part One], ''Black Agenda Report''</ref>

Bongo was cited in recent years during French criminal inquiries into hundreds of millions of euros of illicit payments by Elf Aquitaine, the former French state-owned oil group. One Elf representative testified that the company was giving 50 million euros per year to Bongo to exploit the petrol lands of Gabon.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/30/wikileaks-omar-bongo-nicolas-sarkozy Omar Bongo pocketed millions in embezzled funds, claims US cable], ''The Guardian''</ref>

As of June 2007, Bongo, along with President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo, [[Blaise Compaoré]] of Burkina Faso, [[Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo]] of Equatorial Guinea and [[José Eduardo dos Santos]] from Angola were all being investigated by the French magistrates after the complaint made by French NGOs Survie and Sherpa due to claims that he has used millions of pounds of embezzled public funds to acquire lavish properties in France. The leaders all denied wrongdoing.

Although Bongo was known as one of the most corrupt African rulers he also developed a reputation as a peacemaker for his attempts to bring together warring factions in Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, and Burundi.  Also in 2000, Bongo personally bought thousands of dollars worth of computers and textbooks to end a student protest for better materials at Omar Bongo University (formerly the University of Gabon), the county’s only university which in 1978 was renamed in honor of Bongo.

2009 was not a pleasant year for Bongo who lost his wife and broke his diplomatic ties with France

Omar Bongo died on June 9, 2009 in Spain after a strong discussion with France.  His body was flown back to Gabon where a state funeral was held. His son, [[Ali Bongo Ondimba]], succeeded him as President of Gabon.<ref>[https://www.france24.com/en/20090608-president-omar-bongo-dead-73- President Bongo dead at 73], ''France 24''</ref>