Léon M'ba

Gabriel Léon M'ba (9 February 1902 – 28 November 1967) was a Gabonese politician who served as both the first Prime Minister (1959–1961) and later, the President of Gabon, from 1961 until his death in 1967.

A member of the Fang ethnic group, M'ba was born into a relatively privileged village family. After studying at a seminary, he held a number of small jobs before entering the colonial administration as a customs agent. His political activism in favor of black people worried the French administration, and as a punishment for his activities, he was issued a prison sentence after committing a minor crime that normally would have resulted in a small fine. In 1924, the administration gave M'ba a second chance and selected him to head the canton in Estuaire Province. After being accused of complicity in the murder of a woman near Libreville, he was sentenced in 1931 to three years in prison and 10 years in exile. While in exile in Oubangui-Chari, he published works documenting the tribal customary law of the Fang people. He was employed by local administrators, and received praise from his superiors for his work. He remained a persona non grata to Gabon until the French colonial administration finally allowed M'ba to return his native country in 1946.

After returning from exile, he began his political ascent by founding the Gabonese Mixed Committee. After his party broke ties with the French Communist Party in 1951, it was allowed to run in French Gabon elections and he was elected to the Territorial Assembly in 1952. After becoming mayor of the capital city, Libreville, in 1956, M'ba quickly rose to prominence and was appointed the vice-president of the governor's council on 21 May 1957, the highest position held by a native African in French Gabon. In 1958, he directed an initiative to include Gabon in the Franco-African community further than before.

After independence, he served as the first Prime Minister of Gabon from 27 February 1959 until 21 February 1961. He became the first President of Gabon on 17 August 1960. Political nemesis Jean-Hilaire Aubame briefly assumed the office of president through a coup d'état in February 1964, but order was restored days later when the French intervened. M'ba was reelected in March 1967, but died of cancer in November 1967 and was succeeded by his vice president, Albert-Bernard Bongo.

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