Gabon country profile

Overview

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• Facts
• Leaders
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This is partly down to its relative prosperity due to oil and to the presence of French troops, which in 1964 reinstated President Leon Mba after he had been overthrown in a coup.

AT-A-GLANCE Politics: Gabon was ruled by just two presidents between 1960 and 2009 Economy: The country is trying to diversify away from oil, whose earnings have been decreasing. Most of the population remains poor International: Tension persists over three small islands in oil-rich off-shore waters claimed by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. France has a military base in Gabon Timeline

Gabon's dependence on oil has made its economy - and political stability - hostage to fluctuations in oil prices. When oil prices fell in the late 1980s, opposition to President Bongo increased, culminating in demonstrations in 1990.

These ushered in political liberalisation. A multi-party system was introduced in 1991.

Government critics have pointed to the wealth gap between the urban elite and the rural poor.

Thanks to its oil exports and a small population it enjoys more wealth per head of population than many of its neighbours. However, most of its people live in poverty.

As oil reserves diminish, eco-tourism could grow in economic importance. Gabon's rainforests teem with wildlife, including lowland gorillas and forest elephants. National parks make up around one tenth of the land area.

Facts

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• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

Leaders

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President: Ali Ben Bongo

Ali Ben Bongo was declared the winner of the presidential election on 3 September 2009. He had been widely tipped to succeed his father, Omar Bongo, who died in June after 42 years in power.

Ali Ben Bongo's election has been disputed by the opposition Profile: Ali Ben Bongo

At the time of his death, Omar Bongo was Africa's longest-serving head of state, having led Gabon since he succeeded the post-independence leader Leon Mba in 1967.

Omar Bongo portrayed himself as the custodian of Gabon's political stability and was credited with encouraging foreign investment. His critics accused him of having authoritarian tendencies.

Opponents of the late president have long accused the Bongo family of running the country as their private property. Omar Bongo amassed a vast fortune during his time in office, and was accused of embezzling oil revenues and bribery.

Opposition leaders denounced his son's election as a fraud, saying that the poll had been fixed in order to ensure a dynastic succession.

Though the election result was confirmed by Gabon's Constitutional Court, opposition leaders continued to dispute it, describing Ali Bongo's victory as "a constitutional coup d'etat".

Born in 1959 in Brazzaville, Ali Ben Bongo was educated in France from the age of nine and graduated from the Sorbonne with a PhD in law.

He entered politics in 1981 and became foreign affairs minister in 1989, but was forced to stand down in 1991 because he was too young. He later served as defence minister from 1999 to 2009.

Both he and his father converted to Islam in 1973, when Ali Ben changed his name from Alain Bernard Bongo.

He is said to be a gifted musician - inheriting his talent from his mother, the Gabonese singer Patience Dabany - and is also a passionate football fan, something he shares with many of his countrymen.

Media

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Gabon's main broadcast media are government-controlled.

Rights organisation Reporters Without Borders noted in 2006 that "the powerful state press spend a lot of energy in discrediting not only opposition parties but also the independent press."

There is one government daily and a number of private weeklies, many controlled by opposition parties. There are a few private broadcasters.

Gabon's national state broadcaster operates two TV stations, a French-language radio network and a network of provincial stations.

Radio France Internationale is available via an FM relay.

The press

• L'Union - government daily
• Le Temps - private weekly
• Le Temoin - private weekly
• La Lowe - private weekly
• Le Journal - private, bi-monthly
• La Relance - private weekly

Television

• Radiodiffusion-Television Gabonaise - state-run, operates two channels
• TeleAfrica - private
• TV Sat - pay-TV operator

Radio

• Radiodiffusion-Television Gabonaise - state-run, operates two networks
• Africa No1 - pan-African broadcaster based in Gabon, heard across Africa on shortwave and on FM relays in many cities; French concerns have a financial stake

News agency/internet

• Gabonews - private
• Internet Gabon - private

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