Léon M'ba

Léon M'ba ( born February 9, 1902 in Libreville, † November 28, 1968 ibid ) was from 1960 to 1967 the first President of the Central African state of Gabon.

Early years

He belonged to the ethnic group of the Fang, which lives mainly in the north of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in the neighboring state. After attending Catholic mission schools from 1909 to 1918, he joined as an accountant in the service of the French colonial administration. He also worked as a journalist for echoes Gabonais and founded several local newspapers. From 1920 he was secretary of the Section Gabon League for Human Rights.

Politician

After Rassemblement Démocratique Africain founding of the Party ( RDA) in October 1946 he founded the offshoot of Gabon under the name Mouvement Mixte Gabonais (MMG ). In 1953, the group was converted to the Bloc Démocratique Gabonais ( BDG). In 1951 he ran for the French National Assembly, but was defeated by Jean -Hilaire Aubame. M'ba 1952 deputy of the Territorial Assembly, and in 1956 Mayor of Libreville in March. His BDG won the elections in March 1957, and since 21 May 1957, he was deputy head of government. In July 1958 he became President of the Executive Council of Gabon. On 27 February 1959, he became Prime Minister and retained the office until February 21, 1961. While some politician like Barthelemy Boganda wanted to preserve the unity of the territories of French Equatorial Africa after independence, M'ba stepped to the full sovereignty of Gabon without close bonds one to the poorer neighbors.

President

After gaining independence from France in 1961, he became President on 12 February. He sat still on good relations with France. On 17 and 18 February 1964 military coup against M'ba young officers took place, which could be terminated by the rapid deployment of French paratroopers on February 19. The rebels had briefly M'ba old rival Jean -Hilaire Aubame employed as head of a provisional government and established M'ba and other leading personalities.

Léon M'ba was chosen a second time in March 1967, and died one and a half years later than incumbents. His successor was the former Vice President Albert -Bernard Bongo, who ruled the country until 2009.

Trivia

• The airport of Libreville bears his name.
• In 1968, the Foundation La fondation Léon M'ba was founded for Medical Research in Paris.