42 years in power and before his death Omar Bongo was the continent’s longest serv- ing head of state having been in power since he succeeded the post-independence leader Leon Mba in 1967.
According to reports, Bongo portrayed himself as the custodian of Gabon's political stability and was credited with encouraging foreign investment thou his critics accused him of having authoritarian tendencies and accused the late man of running the coun- try as their private property.
Opposition leaders denounced his son's election as a fraud, saying that the poll had been fixed in order to ensure a dynastic succession even thou 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’état".
President Ali Ben Bongo was born in 1959 in Brazzaville and 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.
However, he later served as defence minister from 1999 to 2009. The Gabonese president is said to be a gifted musician inheriting his talent from his mother, the Ga- bonese singer Patience Dabany. President Bongo is also said to be passionate foot- ball fan, something he shares with many of his countrymen.
FEGAFOOT
The football governing body in Gabon is called the Fédération Gabonaise de Football abbrevi- ated as FEGAFOOT. The Gabon national football team is called “Azingo Nationale”, and it is di- rected by the Fédération Gabo- naise de Football. The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup tournament, but it has par-
Gabon National team 94
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