Omar Bongo

Omar Bongo Ondimba was the second president of Gabon, serving from 1967 until his death in 2009. A member of the Gabonese Democratic Party, Bongo was promoted to key positions as a young official under Gabon's first president Léon M'ba in the 1960s, before being made the second vice president in 1966, replacing Paul-Marie Yembit. In 1967, after M'ba's death, he became the country's president.