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{{Short description|Gabonese politician (1942–2015)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Rose Francine Rogombé
| image = Rose Francine Rogombé.png
| order = Acting
| office = President of Gabon
| primeminister = [[Jean Eyeghé Ndong]]<br />[[Paul Biyoghé Mba]]
| vicepresident = [[Didjob Divungi Di Ndinge]]
| term_start = 10 June 2009
| term_end = 16 October 2009
| predecessor = Didjob Divungi Di Ndinge (acting)
| successor = [[Ali Bongo]]
| order1 = 3rd
| office1 = President of the Senate of Gabon
| term_start1 = 16 October 2009
| term_end1 = 27 February 2015
| predecessor1 = [[Léonard Andjembé]] (acting)
| successor1 = [[Lucie Milebou Aubusson]]
| term_start2 = 17 February 2009
| term_end2 = 10 June 2009
| predecessor2 = [[René Radembino Coniquet]]
| successor2 = Léonard Andjembé (acting)
| birth_name = Rose Francine Etomba
| birth_date = {{birth date|1942|9|20|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Lambaréné]], [[French Equatorial Africa]] {{small|(now [[Gabon]])}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2015|4|10|1942|9|20|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Paris]], [[France]]
| party = [[Gabonese Democratic Party|PDG]]
| spouse = [[Jacques Rogombé]]
}}

'''Rose Francine Rogombé''' ([[née]] '''Etomba'''; 20 September 1942 – 10 April 2015) was a Gabonese politician who was acting [[president of Gabon]] from June to October 2009, following the death of long-time President [[Omar Bongo]]. She constitutionally succeeded Bongo due to her role as [[List of Presidents of the Senate of Gabon|president of the Senate]],<ref name=AFP>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140226122530/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iibkNHqKk__4qRrB8morUV8U5Cew "Gabon's Senate speaker becomes interim head of state"], AFP, 10 June 2009.</ref> a post to which she was elected in February 2009.<ref name=Perchoir>Christian Walter Ngouah-Beaud, [http://www.gabonews.ga/actualite/actualites_2007.php?Article=6478 "Portrait: Rose Francine Rogombé, du prétoire au perchoir"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218214511/http://gabonews.ga/actualite/actualites_2007.php?Article=6478 |date=18 February 2009 }}, Gabonews, 17 February 2009 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> She was a [[lawyer]] by profession and a member of the [[Gabonese Democratic Party]] (PDG).<ref name=reuters>{{cite news |first=Daniel|last=Magnowski|title=Gabon's Bongo in Europe, "resting" from duties|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKLG268655 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724183648/https://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKLG268655 |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 July 2018 |work=[[Reuters]]|date=16 May 2009 |accessdate=8 June 2009}}</ref> Rogombé was the [[List of elected or appointed female heads of state|first female head of state]] of Gabon. After her interim presidency, she returned to her post as President of the Senate.<ref name=Regagne>"Gabon: Rose Rogombé regagne son terreau du Sénat", Gaboneco, 20 October 2009 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref><ref>Skard, Torild (2014) "Rose Rogombé" in ''Women of power – half a century of female presidents and prime ministers worldwide'', Bristol: Policy Press {{ISBN|978-1-4473-1578-0}}, pp. 313–4</ref>

==Early life and career==
Rose Francine Etomba, Is a member of the [[Galwa people|Galwa]] ethnic group, was born in [[Lambaréné]], [[French Equatorial Africa]] (now Gabon), in 1942.<ref name=Aux>[https://www.jeuneafrique.com/depeches/112875/politique/gabon-mme-rogombe-une-magistrate-fidele-de-bongo-aux-commandes/ "Gabon: Mme Rogombé, une magistrate fidèle de Bongo aux commandes"], AFP, 10 June 2009 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> After studying in [[France]], she worked as a [[magistrate]] in Gabon. She also served in the government as Secretary of State for the Advancement of Women and Human Rights<ref name=Rose>Christian Walter Ngouah-Beaud, [http://www.gabonews.ga/actualite/actualites_2007.php?Article=6474 "Gabon: Parlement: Rose Francine Rogombé à la tête de la chambre haute pour six ans"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218232723/http://gabonews.ga/actualite/actualites_2007.php?Article=6474 |date=18 February 2009 }}, Gabonews, 16 February 2009 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> during the 1980s.<ref name=Femme>[http://www.infosplusgabon.com/article.php3?id_article=3138 "Gabon: Une femme élue président du Sénat"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215063158/http://www.infosplusgabon.com/article.php3?id_article=3138 |date=15 February 2012 }}, ''Infosplusgabon'', 17 February 2009 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> She left politics during the transition to multiparty politics in the early 1990s, instead devoting herself to law; she eventually became Vice-President of the Special Criminal Court.<ref name=Aux/> In 2007, she received a degree in [[theology]].<ref name=Rose/>

==2008 local elections and 2009 Senate election==
In the [[2008 Gabonese local elections|April 2008 local elections]], Rogombé was elected as a municipal councillor in Lambaréné; she was subsequently elected as a Senator from Lambaréné in the [[2009 Gabonese Senate election|January 2009 Senate election]].<ref name=Perchoir/> Following the latter election, she was elected as [[President of the Senate]] on 16 February 2009, receiving the support of 90 of the 99 Senators who voted.<ref name=Femme/>

Rogombé, who was nicknamed the "iron lady", was a somewhat obscure figure when President Bongo effectively selected her to become President of the Senate, and her selection reportedly surprised many in the PDG leadership. Despite her relative obscurity, she was reportedly familiar with the operation of political power in Gabon, being close to Bongo and a friend of the family of [[Georges Rawiri]], a prominent politician who became President of the Senate before his death in 2006.<ref name=Aux/>

==Presidency==
As President of the Senate, Rogombé was the constitutionally designated successor to the Presidency of the Republic in the event of a vacancy in the latter office; if this occurred, she was to serve only in an [[Acting president|interim]] capacity prior to the holding of a new presidential election, in which she would not be allowed to run.<ref name=Femme/> Following the death of President Omar Bongo on 8 June 2009, the Constitutional Court designated Rogombé as interim President on 9 June, and her swearing in was scheduled for the following day.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110222155149/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gBCsZmIeAaDPMldLqjZIdgV-t1eA "Gabon nominates acting president amid mourning for Bongo"], AFP, 9 June 2009.</ref> In her capacity as interim President, the Constitutional Court said that Rogombé, unlike an elected President, would not have the power to dissolve the [[National Assembly of Gabon|National Assembly]] or call a referendum. A [[2009 Gabonese presidential election|new presidential election]] was required within 30 to 45 days, according to the Gabonese constitution,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110222155149/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gBCsZmIeAaDPMldLqjZIdgV-t1eA "Gabon bids to choke fears of Bongo succession battle"], AFP, 9 June 2009.</ref> although it was considered very likely that it would be delayed beyond that point due to the need to update the voter rolls.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120910145834/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iO77jie1D4MdYWlAgghuUVa6SEkQ "Gabon's premier sees no election by end July"], AFP, 23 June 2009.</ref>

Rogombé was sworn in on 10 June 2009, in the presence of members of the Constitutional Court, government, Senate, and National Assembly, as well as foreign diplomats. She took the oath after a minute of silence in Bongo's memory, swearing "to devote all my strength to the good of the Gabonese people, with the aim of promoting its well-being and protecting it from all harm, to respect and defend the constitution and a state of law, and conscientiously to carry out my duties and to be fair before everyone".<ref name=AFP/> Internet access had been cut and television channels played only religious music following the announcement of Bongo's death.<ref name="Gabon appoints interim president">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8092177.stm|title=Gabon appoints interim president|date=10 June 2009|accessdate=10 June 2009|publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

After Rogombé assumed the Presidency of the Republic, [[Léonard Andjembé]], the First Vice-President of the Senate, succeeded her as President of the Senate in an interim capacity.<ref>[http://www.gabonews.ga/actualite/actualites_2007.php?Article=8019 "Gabon: Le Sénat rend hommage à Madame le président de la République, Rose Francine Rogombé"], Gabonews, 1 July 2009 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

In the presidential election held on 30 August 2009, PDG candidate [[Ali Bongo Ondimba|Ali Bongo]] was victorious according to official results. Bongo was sworn in as President on 16 October 2009, and Rogombé returned to her post in the Senate on 20 October, taking over from Andjembé. There was no provision in the constitution specifically enabling her to return to her former post, but it was believed that Rogombé's resumption of duties in the Senate could constitute a precedent in that regard. In recognition of her work in leading Gabon through the early presidential election, [[Marcel Sandoungou]], the oldest Senator, presented her with a medal of honor on the occasion of her return to the Senate. She said that the Senate was ready to work with Bongo as he pursued his planned reforms.<ref name=Regagne/>

==Post-Presidency==
Rogombé distributed 23,000 toys to children in Lambaréné on 30 January 2010 in a belated celebration of [[Christmas]].<ref>[http://www.agpgabon.ga/show_mog.php?IDActu=6946 "Moyen-Ogooué : La présidente du Sénat distribue 23.000 jouets aux élèves de la commune"], Agence Gabonaise de Presse, 1 February 2010 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

Following the December 2014 Senate election, [[Lucie Milebou Aubusson]] was elected to succeed Rogombé as President of the Senate on 27 February 2015.<ref>[http://www.agpgabon.ga/provinces/estuaire/article/lucie-milebou-aubusson-elue-sans "Lucie Milebou Aubusson, élue sans surprise président du Sénat"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402094338/http://www.agpgabon.ga/provinces/estuaire/article/lucie-milebou-aubusson-elue-sans |date=2 April 2015 }}, Agence Gabonaise de Presse, 27 February 2015 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

Rogombé died on 10 April 2015 at a hospital in [[Paris]], where she had gone for medical treatment a few days earlier.<ref>Jacques Jarele Sika, [http://www.gabonews.com/fr/actus/necrologie/article/france-rose-rogombe-a-tire-sa-reverence-a-paris "France : Rose Rogombé a tiré sa révérence à Paris"], Gabonews, 10 April 2015 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.africatopsuccess.com/en/2015/04/13/gabon-francine-rogombe-the-first-woman-senator-died/ Gabon: Francine Rogombe, the first woman senator died]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|25em}}

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{{s-bef|before=[[Didjob Divungi Di Ndinge]]<br />{{small|Acting}}}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Presidents of Gabon|President of Gabon]]<br />{{small|Acting}}|years=2009}}
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{{GabonPresidents}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogombe, Rose Francine}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:2015 deaths]]
[[Category:21st-century women politicians]]
[[Category:Women presidents in Africa]]
[[Category:Gabonese Democratic Party politicians]]
[[Category:Gabonese lawyers]]
[[Category:People from Lambaréné]]
[[Category:Presidents of Gabon]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Senate of Gabon]]
[[Category:Gabonese women lawyers]]
[[Category:21st-century Gabonese politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century Gabonese women politicians]]
[[Category:First women legislative speakers]]
[[Category:First women presidents]]

Rose Francine Rogombé - Revision history

imported>Richie1509 at 03:10, 31 May 2025