The Three Pillars of Power in Gabon: Ethnicity, Family, and France

Abstract: This case study examines the enduring influence of France in its former colony, Gabon. Although Gabon is both politically stable and wealthy, much of its population remains poor and the general life expectancy is low. At independence, the local elite who had cooperated with France during the colonial period took political control, while France retained its economic interests and protected them by overturning a military coup in 1964. The Gabonese used the centralized administrative structures inherited from the colonial period to impose personalistic clan rule. Much of Gabon’s middle class works in this government bureaucracy, which controls the economy. The second president of Gabon remained in power from 1969 to 2009 and was, apart from royal families, the world’s longest-ruling leader. Although his rule constituted a shift in the ethnic groups controlling the government, he maintained political stability by forging a coalition of carefully balanced ethnic groups, by relying on his own clan to staff his inner circle, and by protecting French interests to retain French support.