René Radembino Coniquet

René Radembino Coniquet (26 June 1932 – 4 September 2014) was a Gabonese politician who served as President of the Senate of Gabon from 2006[1][2] to 2009.[3] He was a Senator from 1997 to 2014 and a long-time member of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG).[2]

Life and career

Radembino Coniquet was born in Libreville. He became Deputy Director of Finance in 1961,[1][2] Prefect of Ngounié[1] in 1962, and Secretary of the Council of Ministers in 1963. Subsequently he was Secretary-General of the Government[1][2] before being appointed as Secretary-General of the Presidency in 1967.[4] He was appointed as Minister Secretary-General of the Presidency on 12 July 1972;[5] later, he was promoted to the rank of Minister of State.[1][2] Radembino Coniquet remained Secretary-General of the Presidency until early 1994, when Mamadou Diop was appointed to succeed him.[4][6]

When the Senate was created in 1997, Radembino Coniquet was elected as a Senator from Owendo and became the President of the Commission of Laws and Administrative Affairs in the Senate[1][2] on 10 March 1997.[1] He was re-elected to the Senate in 2003.[1][2] Upon the establishment of the Pan-African Parliament in March 2004, Radembino Coniquet became one of Gabon's five representatives in that body.[7]

Later in the Senate's term, following the death of Georges Rawiri on 9 April 2006, Radembino Coniquet was elected to succeed him as President of the Senate on 24 May 2006.[2][8] Radembino Coniquet received 86 votes from the 90 senators who voted and was to serve as President of the Senate for the remainder of the Senate term, ending in 2009.[8] Rawiri had been Co-President of the Africa Caribbean Pacific - European Union (ACP-EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly, and Radembino Coniquet was designated to succeed him in that role as well.[9]

Radembino Coniquet met with Wu Bangguo, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, on 7 November 2008. They expressed a mutual desire for increased cooperation between the two countries.[10]

In the January 2009 Senate election, Radembino Coniquet stood again as the PDG candidate in Owendo[11] and was re-elected to the Senate.[12][13] He retained his seat despite the fact that only a minority of Owendo's municipal councillors (who were the electors) belonged to the PDG.[13] Following that election, Rose Francine Rogombé was elected to succeed Radembino Coniquet as President of the Senate on 16 February 2009.[3]

Speaking to Gabonews in Midrand on 29 October 2009, Radembino Coniquet said that the Pan-African Parliament was working to strengthen the African Union, with the ultimate goal of establishing a continental government.[14]

Radembino Coniquet was a Vice-President of the PDG as of 2008.[15]

Radembino Coniquet died in Libreville at age 82 on the night of 3–4 September 2014.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Page at Africa Caribbean Pacific - European Union Parliamentary Assembly website.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 CV at Senate website (French).
  3. 1 2 "Gabon: Parlement: Rose Francine Rogombé à la tête de la chambre haute pour six ans", Gabonews, 16 February 2009 (French).
  4. 1 2 Eustache Mandjouhou Yolla, La politique étrangère du Gabon (2003), Harmattan, page 26 (French).
  5. ↑ Année africaine 1972 (1973), page 412 (French).
  6. ↑ "Les securocrates sont au Palais", Africa Intelligence, 3 March 1994 (French).
  7. ↑ "List of members of the Pan-African Parliament (as of 15 March 2004)", African Union website.
  8. 1 2 "Coniquet elected as new Gabonese senate speaker", Xinhua, 25 May 2006.
  9. ↑ Minutes of ACP-EU meeting in Vienna, June 2006.
  10. ↑ "Wu Bangguo wishes further parliamentary co-op between Gabon, China", Xinhua, 7 November 2008.
  11. ↑ "Gabon : Le SG du PDG sort ses jokers pour les sénatoriales", GabonEco, 12 December 2008 (French).
  12. ↑ "Gabon: Elections sénatoriales 2009: le PDG en tête des résultats", Gabonews, 19 January 2009 (French).
  13. 1 2 Alfred Mba Asseko, "Le PDG rafle 75 des 102 sièges au Sénat", AGP, 19 January 2009 (French).
  14. ↑ "Le Parlement Panafricain propose un budget de 22 351 781 de dollars pour son exercice 2010", Gabonews, 31 October 2009 (French).
  15. ↑ PDG Vice-Presidents, PDG website (French).
  16. ↑ "L'ancien président du Sénat René Radembino Coniquet n'est plus", Gaboneco, 5 September 2014 (French).
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