Ossouka Raponda has been appointed Gabon’s first female prime minister

The president of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, has appointed the country’s first female prime minister, Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda.

Ossouka Raponda, 56, was promoted from the defence ministry and takes over from Julien Nkoghe Bekale, who was appointed prime minister in January 2019.

She is an economist by training who graduated from the Gabonese Institute of Economy and Finance, specialising in public finance.

In 2012, she first became budget minister and then the first female mayor of the capital Libreville in 2014, as a candidate for Bongo’s Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG).

In a statement, the president’s office said her mission will include “ensuring Gabon’s economic relaunch and necessary social support in the light of the world crisis linked to COVID-19”.