Édith Lucie Bongo Ondimba | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First Lady of Gabon | |
| In role August 4, 1989 – March 14, 2009 | |
| President | Omar Bongo |
| Preceded by | Patience Dabany(asOmar Bongo's first wife) (1987) |
| Succeeded by | Sylvia Ajma Valentin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Édith Lucie Sassou Nguesso (1964-03-10)March 10, 1964 |
| Died | March 14, 2009(2009-03-14) (aged 45) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent | Denis Sassou Nguesso |
| Occupation | Physician |
Édith Lucie Bongo Ondimba (néeSassou Nguesso; March 10, 1964 – March 14, 2009) was theFirst Lady of Gabon as the wife of PresidentOmar Bongo from 1989 to 2009. She was part of theBongo family.
Édith Lucie Bongo Ondimba was born March 10, 1964. Her father wasDenis Sassou Nguesso, who later served as the President of theRepublic of the Congo (1979–1992 and 1997 to date). Her marriage to President Bongo on August 4, 1989, was viewed politically as an example of cooperation between the two countries, according toReuters.[1]
She was a medical doctor by education, a pediatrician, withHIV/AIDS as one of her main focuses. She helped create a forum for African first ladies to fight AIDS and founded associations for vulnerable children and people with disabilities.[2]
In 2009, she was hospitalized inRabat, Morocco. On March 14, 2009, she died at the hospital, four days after her 45th birthday. The statement announcing her death specified neither the cause of death nor the nature of her illness. She had not appeared in public for around three years preceding her death.[1] After the state funeral inLibreville, Gabon, Édith Bongo's remains were taken to Edu, her father's home village in northern Congo for a traditionalMbochi tribal burial in the family cemetery there on March 20, 2009. The burial, nationally televised in Gabon and Congo, was attended by Presidents Bongo, Sassou Nguesso, and by the presidents of Benin, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Togo.[3]
Following her death, it was announced on Gabonese television on 6 May 2009 that Omar Bongo was "temporarily suspending his activities" as President in order to "regain strength and rest". The announcement stressed that Bongo had been deeply affected by the illness and death of his wife.[4] President Bongo died a month later on 8 June 2009, nearly three months after Edith's death, at a clinic inBarcelona, Spain.[5]
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