The President of Gabon, Ali Bongo on Thursday appointed Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda, 56, as the country’s first female Prime Minister.
Raponda before her recent Appointment served as a defence minister since February 2019.
Her appointment was made known in a statement released by the Secretary-General of the Presidency, Jean-Yves Teal.
According to the statement, the first official assignment was to form a new government after her predecessor, Julien Nkoghe Bekale stepped down earlier in the day.
She will also handle the two major challenges affecting the country which include; the decline in oil production and prices, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Raponda was also named the budget minister eight years ago before being elected mayor of the capital Libreville in 2014, becoming the first woman to hold that position.
She is the sixth prime minister appointed since Bongo succeeded his father in 2009 and equally served as Director-General of the Economy as well as Deputy Director-General, the Housing Bank of Gabon.
