Brice Oligui Nguema | |
|---|---|
 Oligui in 2025 | |
| 4th President of Gabon | |
| Assumed office 3 May 2025[a] | |
| Prime Minister | Raymond Ndong Sima (2023–2025) |
| Vice President | Joseph Owondault Berre (2023–2025) Séraphin Moundounga (2025–present) |
| Preceded by | Ali Bongo |
| Chairman of theCommittee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions | |
| In office 30 August 2023 – 2 May 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Commander-in-Chief of theGabonese Republican Guard | |
| Assumed office 3 March 2020[b] | |
| Deputy | Antoine Balekidra |
| Preceded by | Grégoire Kouna |
| Minister of Defense and Security | |
| In office 4 September 2023 – 10 February 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Raymond Ndong Sima |
| Succeeded by | Brigitte Onkanowa (Defense) Hermann Immongault (Security) |
| Chief of theSecret Service of theGabonese Republican Guard and Generaldirector of the Special Service[6][7][8] | |
| In office 16 October 2019 – 8 April 2020 | |
| Preceded by | ColonelFrédéric Bongo |
| Succeeded by | Unknown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1975-03-03)3 March 1975 (age 50) Ngouoni,Haut-Ogooué Province,Gabon |
| Political party | Democratic Union of Builders (since 2025) |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (until 2025) |
| Spouse | Zita Nyangue Oligui |
| Alma mater | Omar Bongo University Meknes Royal Military Academy |
| Website | Official website |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Gabon |
| Branch/service |  Gabonese Army |
| Years of service | 1990–present |
| Rank |  Brigadier general[9] |
Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema (French pronunciation:[bʁisklɔ.tɛʁɔ.li.giŋgɛ.ma]; born 3 March 1975)[10] is aGabonese politician andmilitary officer who is currently serving as the fourthpresident of Gabon since May 2025, having previously served in this role in atransitional capacity from 2023 and was also the chairman of theCommittee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions from 2023 until his accession to the presidency. He has also been the commander-in-chief of theGabonese Republican Guard since 2020.
Oligui is a member of theBongo family and played a key part in overthrowing his cousinAli Bongo during the2023 coup. He ran for president in the2025 presidential election and was elected with more than 90% of the vote.
The son of aTeke mother andFang military officer,[11][12] Oligui was born inHaut-Ogooué Province, Gabon, which was regarded as a stronghold of the ruling Bongo family.[13] He is a maternal cousin ofAli Bongo, his predecessor as president.[14] Oligui was mostly raised by his mother and her family in Haut-Ogooué,[13][15] and studied atOmar Bongo University.[16]
Oligui studied atMeknes Royal Military Academy in Morocco.[17] He served as anaide-de-camp to PresidentOmar Bongo until his death in 2009. He then served as amilitary attaché at theGabonese embassies in Morocco andSenegal.[18]
In October 2018, he was recalled to Gabon where he replaced PresidentAli Bongo's half-brother Colonel Frédéric Bongo at the head of the intelligence service of the Republican Guard.[13][19] He was then promoted tobrigadier general in April 2019.[13] In 2021 he restarted Operation Mamba, a campaign to arrest corrupt officials.[20]
He took over as head of theGabonese Republican Guard in April 2020, replacing General Grégoire Kouna, a cousin of then President Ali Bongo.[21] He significantly increased the Special Interventions Section (SIS), a special unit placed under the direct authority of the President, increasing it from around thirty to more than 300 elements.[19] He also composed a song which included the line "I would defend my president with honour and loyalty".[18]
According to a 2020Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) investigation, he owns several properties in the United States worth more than $1 million[22] and also helped expand the Bongos' overseas businesses. Asked about these dealings, he said they were a "private affair".[18]
Officials of Bongo's regime and others who had interacted with Oligui described him as a "fairly intelligent man, easy to talk to", "discreet" and "a man of consensus" who is "very appreciated by his men".[13]
On 30 August 2023, Nguema and his Republican Guards took power without encountering any resistance during acoup d'état. This occurred just hours after the electoral authorities announced in the middle of the night that the incumbent president,Ali Bongo, had won a third seven-year term with a significant 64% of the vote in the2023 Gabonese presidential election a few days prior.[23] Following the coup, theCommittee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions named Oligui as the interim president of Gabon in an announcement aired on state television.[24][17] He was later seen on the shoulders of jubilant army personnel calling him the "President".[25]
In an interview withLe Monde later in the day, he referred to Bongo as "retired", and said that the military had staged the coup due to discontent that had been growing in the country since Bongo's stroke in 2018, his decision to run for a third term, the disregarding of the country'sconstitution and the conduct of the election.[26] His appointment as interim president was later confirmed by other generals,[27] and he was formally sworn in as "transitional president" at the Presidential Palace on 4 September.[28][29] In his inaugural address, he pledged to hold "free, transparent" elections but did not give an exact date as to when. He also announced the formation of a new government in the coming days and proposed new electoral legislation, a new penal code, a referendum on a new constitution, and the release of all political prisoners.[30]
In October 2023, Oligui announced that he would give up his salary as president and rely instead on his wages as commander of the Republican Guard.[31] In March 2025, Oligui announced that he would run for president in his own right in the2025 Gabonese presidential election on 12 April.[32] In the lead-up to the election, Oligui created his political platform,Rally of Builders.[33] He was elected with nearly 95% of the votes and was inaugurated on 3 May.[34][35]
On 5 July 2025, Oligui formally established a new political party, the Democratic Union of Builders (UDB).[36]
On 12 August 2025, Oligui's government issued an amnesty for participants in the 2023 coup and the2019 Gabonese coup attempt as part of promises he made during his election campaign.[37]
Oligui is aChristian.[38] His brother-in-lawRégis Onanga Ndiaye is hisMinister for Foreign Affairs.[39]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President of Gabon 2023–present | Incumbent |
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