About Gabon

Gabon is a country in west central Africa. It shares borders with Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and Equatorial Guinea to the northwest. To the west is the Gulf of Guinea. Its area is 270,000 sq. km. and its population is 2,096,745. Libreville is its capital.

There have been three presidents since the country’s independence from France on August 17, 1960. Gabon introduced a new constitution in the early 1990s with a more transparent multi-party system. Gabon’s small population and natural resources has made it one of the regions most prosperous countries.

History

The Pygmy people were the earliest inhabitants but were largely replaced by the Bantu.

The first Europeans arrived in the 15th century. The country’s name comes from the Portuguese word for cloak, which is the shape of the Komo River’s estuary by Libreville. Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, a French explorer, led a mission to the area in 1875. He became a governor and founded the town Franceville.

Gabon became part of French Equatorial Africa in 1910. The federation of four territories survived until 1959. On August 17, 1960, these territories became independent. Leon M’ba was the first president and was elected in 1961. Omar Bongo Ondimba was the vice president. French logging interest funded M’ba’s campaign to further their enterprises.

Upon taking power, M’ba banned demonstrations, suppressed the media, excluded opposition parties, and lessened freedom of expression. M’ba dissolved the National Assembly in 1964 and attempted to institute one-party rule. This was met with by an army coup to oust him and restore the democracy. The French, defending their interests, dropped paratroopers to restore M’ba.

After a few days, the opposition was imprisoned and the coup ended. The French intervention was met with international condemnation. Its troops still remain in Gabon outside the capital. In 1967, M’ba died and Bongo replaced him as president. He remained head of state until his death in 2009 after winning each election by large majority.