Gabon’s President appoints first female vice president

Gabon’s President Ali Bongo has appointed the country’s first female Prime Minister Rose Raponda to the role of vice president.

She is the country’s first-ever female vice president.

As prime minister, Raponda had to navigate a delicate political scene after a coup attempt in 2019 while Bongo was on prolonged medical leave following a stroke.

The new vice president has had a steady political rise in Gabon which has been ruled by the same family for more than five decades.

She was named budget minister in 2012 before being elected mayor of the capital city in 2014, becoming the first woman to hold that position since 1956.