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Paul Mba Abessole (born October 9, 1939〔("Paul Mba Abessole, De l'opposition radicale au gouvernement" ), ''Afrique Express'', number 244, February 6, 2002 .〕) is a Gabonese politician who heads the National Woodcutters' Rally – Rally for Gabon (''Rassemblement national des Bûcherons - Rassemblement pour le Gabon'', RNB-RPG) and was a leading opponent of President Omar Bongo during the 1990s. He stood as a presidential candidate twice during the 1990s and also served as Mayor of Libreville, the capital.〔, Gabonews, January 20, 2006 .〕 From 2002 to 2009 he served in the government of Gabon, holding the rank of Deputy Prime Minister for most of that period. ==Career== Mba Abessole was born at Ngnung-Ako, located in northern Gabon, in 1939. He attended a French seminary and was ordained as a Catholic priest on 30 June 1968.〔 He worked as a priest in Gabon until 1976, when he went to France, where he then lived in exile.〔〔("Political leadership (Gabon)" ), ''Jane's'', March 5, 2008.〕 As a critic of President Bongo and the single-party regime of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), he sought to stand as a candidate against Bongo in the 1979 presidential election, but was unable to do so.〔 Mba Abessole was the exiled leader of MORENA during the 1980s and argued for peaceful political change in Gabon. President Bongo, hoping to indicate that he was open to reform, allowed Mba Abessole to visit Gabon for a week in May 1989. On that occasion he was "treated more as a visiting dignitary than the leader of a suppressed political party"; Bongo met with him and said that he would consider Mba Abessole's proposed reforms. This conciliatory attitude from Bongo annoyed some PDG hard-liners.〔David E. Gardinier, "Gabon: Limited Reform and Regime Survival", ''Political Reform in Francophone Africa'' (1997), ed. Clark and Gardinier, Westview Press, pages 149–154.〕 Following M'ba Abessole's May 1989 visit, he returned to Gabon on a permanent basis in November 1989. Bongo offered to appoint Mba Abessole as Minister of Justice after the March–April 1990 National Conference, but Mba Abessole refused to participate in the government.〔 In the 1990 parliamentary election, Mba Abessole stood as a MORENA candidate in Libreville. In the first round, he received 49.44% of the vote in his constituency, slightly less than the majority required for a first round victory; suspecting fraud, he refused to participate in the second round and called for a boycott of the second round.〔 On October 5, 1993, Mba Abessole announced his candidacy for the December 1993 presidential election.〔(''Africa Research Bulletin'' ) (1993), page 11,183.〕 He was the main opposition candidate in the election and placed second with 26.5%, according to official results, while Bongo was credited with a narrow first round majority.〔(Elections in Gabon ), African Elections Database.〕 Denouncing the official results as fraudulent, Mba Abessole declared himself President and appointed RNB First Secretary Pierre-André Kombila as Prime Minister.〔"Opposition in Gabon takes the offensive", Associated Press, December 12, 1993.〕 His house in Libreville, along with the opposition radio station Radio Liberty, was destroyed by the Presidential Guard in February 1994, and he went to Paris.〔 In March 1994, Prime Minister Casimir Oye Mba offered to include the RNB in the government, but Mba Abessole rejected the offer.〔"Mar 1994 - New Government", ''Keesing's Record of World Events'', volume 40, March 1994, Gabon, page 39,896.〕 He also refused to participate in the government of Prime Minister Paulin Obame-Nguema, which was formed after the signing of the Paris Accords between the government and the opposition in October 1994.〔 The RNB won the late 1996 municipal election in Libreville, and Mba Abessole was then elected as Mayor of Libreville by the city councillors on 19 January 1997; he received 68 out of 98 votes. Mba Abessole also stood in the December 1996 parliamentary election as a candidate in the fifth ''arrondissement'' of Libreville, but he was defeated by Jean-François Ntoutoume Emane.〔''Country Report: Gabon, Equatorial Guinea'' (1997), page 12.〕 Prior to the December 1998 presidential election, Kombila was expelled from the party in July 1998, leading Kombila's supporters to form their own faction and nominate Kombila as their presidential candidate later in the month. Mba Abessole, who continued to lead the other faction, accused Kombila of "treachery and indiscipline".〔("Gabon: Ruling party seeks Bongo re-election" ), IRIN-WA Update 259 of Events in West Africa, 25–27 July 1998.〕 Mba Abessole was officially designated as his faction's presidential candidate at an extraordinary congress in Libreville in early October 1998.〔("Father Abessole put up for Gabonese president" ), BBC News, 3 October 1998.〕 He was considered the most best-known opposition leader in Gabon; however, his credibility as an opposition leader was thought to have suffered, and it was believed that the RNB split would have a negative impact on his candidacy.〔("Gabon: Background brief on presidential elections" ), IRIN, December 4, 1998.〕 In the election, he took third place with 13.16% of the vote, according to official results; Bongo won an overwhelming majority, while Pierre Mamboundou, who was perceived as a more radical opposition leader than Mba Abessole, placed second.〔 Mba Abessole defeated Jean Eyeghe Ndong for a seat in the National Assembly in the December 2001 parliamentary election,〔, Afriquecentrale.info, January 20, 2006 .〕 and on January 27, 2002 he was appointed to the government as Minister of State for Human Rights.〔, ''Afrique Express'', number 244, February 6, 2002 .〕〔"Jan 2002 - Gabon", ''Keesing's Record of World Events'', volume 48, January 2002, Gabon, page 44,541.〕〔"Gabon: Four opposition members join new government", Radio France Internationale, January 28, 2002.〕 He was subsequently promoted to the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Rural Development, in charge of Human Rights, on January 21, 2003.〔, ''Afrique Express'', number 263, January 29, 2003 .〕〔(List of governments of Gabon ), IZF.net .〕 Later, his portfolio was modified and he was named Deputy Prime Minister for Transport, Civil Aviation, and Human Rights.〔〔"Sep 2004 - Gabon", ''Keesing's Record of World Events'', volume 50, September 2004, Gabon, page 46,191.〕 On April 23, 2004, Mba Abessole joined the Presidential Majority, the alliance of parties supporting President Bongo.〔("Gabon - Opposition joins alliance" ), Africa Research Bulletin, 2004.〕〔("Opposition radical joins the governing alliance in Gabon" ), Panapress, April 25, 2004.〕 A youth movement, the Movement of the Children of Bongo Ondimba, then asked Mba Abessole to serve as Bongo's campaign manager for the 2005 presidential election; it also wanted him to become Prime Minister if Bongo won the election.〔("Mba Abessole accepte de diriger la campagne de Bongo en 2005" ), Panapress, June 27, 2004 .〕 Bongo accepted this as a possibility, and on June 26, 2004, Mba Abessole said that he was willing to take up the responsibility.〔〔("L'idée de désignation de Mba Abessole, directeur de campagne de Bongo Ondimba suscite la réaction de" ), ''L'Union'', June 29, 2004 .〕 However, others in the Presidential Majority resisted the idea of Mba Abessole becoming Bongo's campaign manager.〔("Pro-Bongo parties reject ex-rival as head of campaign" ), Panapress, August 10, 2004.〕 He and Eyeghe Ndong faced each other again in the December 2006 parliamentary election, this time with Eyeghe Ndong holding the position of Prime Minister, and Mba Abessole was defeated. President Bongo said that holding a ministerial position was not dependent on winning a parliamentary seat and that Mba Abessole could remain a member of the government.〔("Media predicts waning popularity for Gabonese opposition leader" ), Angola Press Agency, December 20, 2006.〕 In the new government, announced on January 25, 2007, Mba Abessole was moved to the position of Deputy Prime Minister at the Presidency in charge of Recasting, Human Rights, the Coordination of Great Work and Revolving Festivals.〔, Gabonews, January 26, 2007.〕〔("Gabon: formation d'un gouvernement quasiment inchangé après les législatives" ), Agence France-Presse, January 26, 2007 .〕 In a Senate by-election held on July 1, 2007, Mba Abessole was elected to the first seat from the second ''arrondissement'' of Libreville, which had been vacated by Eyeghe Ndong. Mba Abessole was the only candidate for the seat and received the votes of all of the 20 electors in this indirect election.〔("Gabon: Paul Mba Abessole élu sénateur après avoir mordu la poussière aux législatives" ), Gabonews, July 2, 2007 .〕 In the government named on December 28, 2007, he was moved to the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Culture, Arts, Community Education, Refoundation and Human Rights.〔("Gabon: La liste complète du nouveau gouvernement gabonais rendu public vendredi" ), Gabonews, December 28, 2007 .〕 Mba Abessole headed the RPG's list in the second ''arrondissement'' of Libreville during the April 2008 local elections. Subsequently he filed an unsuccessful challenge with the Constitutional Court related to the election.〔("Gabon : La Cour Constitutionnelle déboute Paul Mba Abessole" ), Gaboneco, January 6, 2009 .〕 Following Omar Bongo's death in June 2009, the RPG held its 11th Extraordinary Congress on 11 July 2009 and nominated Mba Abessole, its President, as the party's candidate for the 30 August 2009 presidential election. He was immediately backed by three other parties: the National Recovery Movement (MORENA) and the National Rally of Woodcutters (RNB), both part of the Presidential Majority, as well as the Party of Equal Opportunity (PEC), an opposition party.〔("Gabon: Présidentielle anticipée : Trois partis apportent leur soutien au RPG" ), Gabonews, 12 July 2009 .〕 Mba Abessole was then excluded from the government appointed on 22 July 2009 under Prime Minister Paul Biyoghé Mba.〔("Gabon: Six ministres absents sur la liste de la nouvelle équipe gouvernementale" ), Gabonews, 23 July 2009 .〕 Together with several other candidates, Mba Abessole was present at a banned demonstration calling for the resignation of PDG presidential candidate Ali-Ben Bongo from the government on 7 August 2009.〔("Clashes at Gabonese demo against defence minister" ), Agence France-Presse, 7 August 2009.〕 In mid-August he said in reference to the PDG's selection of Bongo (Omar Bongo's son) as its candidate that "we are faced with a monarchy that wants to impose itself in our country" and that "we have to fight until the monarchists are thrown out".〔("Gabon poll could be delayed" ), Reuters, 14 August 2009.〕 In late August, immediately prior to the election, Mba Abessole and four other candidates announced that they were withdrawing their candidacies in favor of André Mba Obame, a former PDG minister who was standing as an independent candidate.〔("Gabon : 5 candidats derrière Mba Obame pour contrer le PDG" ), Gaboneco, 29 August 2009 .〕 Mba Obame placed second in the election with 26% of the vote, behind Bongo.〔("Gabon : La Cour Constitutionnelle valide la victoire d’Ali Bongo Ondimba" ), Gaboneco, 4 September 2009 .〕 The election was followed by serious violence in Port-Gentil. A few days after the announcement of results, Mba Abessole tried to travel to Cote d'Ivoire but was barred from doing so by police, who said that they were under orders to not allow opposition leaders to leave the country. The Interior Ministry explained on 9 September 2009 that this was because of a government investigation into the Port-Gentil rioting.〔("Opposition leaders may not leave Gabon" ), Sapa–AFP, 10 September 2009.〕 In the December 2011 parliamentary election, Mba Abessole was elected to the National Assembly, winning the third seat for Komo-Kango Department. In an election that saw the ruling PDG win an overwhelming majority of seats amidst an opposition boycott, Mba Abessole was one of only a handful of non-PDG candidates to win parliamentary seats. When the National Assembly began meeting for its new parliamentary term, Mba Abessole chaired the initial proceedings due to his status as the oldest deputy at age 72. He was then elected as the Fifth Vice-President of the National Assembly on 27 February 2012.〔("Guy Nzouba reste au perchoir" ), Gaboneco, 28 February 2012 .〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Paul Mba Abessole」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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