Jean-Boniface Assélé (born 9 February 1939."Assélé Jean-Boniface", Gabon: Les Hommes de Pouvoir, number 4, Africa Intelligence, 5 March 2002 .) is a Gabonese politician and the President of the Circle of Liberal Reformers (CLR). He served in the government of Gabon from 1975 to 1990 and again from 2004 to 2009. He was also Commander-in-Chief of the National Police Forces from 1970 to 1989 and held the rank of General. During the September's month 2009, he becomes the Fourth Vice-President of the Senate of Gabon.
Police command and government service during single-party rule Assélé was born in Akiéni. From 1970 to 1989, he was Commander-in-Chief of the National Police Forces; also during that period, he served as High Commissioner at the Presidency from 1974 to 1975 and was appointed as Secretary of State for Information in 1975. He was then appointed as Minister of National Education later in 1975, and he was retained in the government as Minister of National Education, Youth, Sports and Leisure on 13 July 1977.Année africaine 1977, pages 228–229 ."Sep 1977 - Cabinet Changes", Keesing's Record of World Events, volume 23, September 1977, Gabon, page 28,572. In 1980 he was moved to the position of Minister of Public Works. At the Third Extraordinary Congress of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) in early March 1983, Assélé was elected to the PDG Central Committee."Jun 1983 - Sentencing of regime's opponents Government changes Relations with France", Keesing's Record of World Events, volume 29, June 1983, Gabon, page 32,182.
For years, Assélé was a brother-in-law of President Omar Bongo"Sep 2004 - Gabon", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 50, September, 2004 Gabon, Page 46191.Michael Charles Reed and James Franklin Barnes, Culture, Ecology, and Politics in Gabon's Rainforest (2003), page 256. as the brother of Bongo's wife Joséphine Kama. He is said to have used his position as head of police to keep watch on his sister and report her "indiscretions" to Bongo.Samuel Decalo, The Stable Minority: Civilian Rule in Africa, 1960-1990 (1998), page 160. Bongo and Joséphine divorced in 1988.David E. Gardinier, Historical Dictionary of Gabon (1994), page 69. Although Assélé was considered a "long-time and trusted ally" of Bongo, Léon Ossiali was appointed to replace him as Commander-in-Chief of the National Police Forces on 12 January 1989.Africa Contemporary Record, volume 21 (1992). His removal from that key position was interpreted by some observers as a consequence of Bongo's divorce;James Franklin Barnes, Gabon: Beyond the Colonial Legacy (1992), page 56.1990 International Year Book, page 253. another explanation attributed it to a leaflet campaign by the exiled opposition group MORENA, which had smuggled the leaflets into Gabon. Despite being removed from his police command, Assélé remained in his post as Minister of Public Works at that time.Africa South of the Sahara 1991, Europa Publications Limited, page 483. After ten years as Minister of Public Works, he was instead appointed as Minister of Water and Forests in February 1990, but he only held that position until April 1990, when he was dismissed from the government.
Political career after 1990 Assélé was elected to the National Assembly in the 1990 parliamentary election. Together with other members of the PDG, Assélé split from the ruling party in late 1992 and formed the Circle of Liberal Reformers;Political Parties of the World (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, page 240. as a result, he and two others were expelled from the PDG in December 1992.Africa Research Bulletin (1993), page 10,857. He and the CLR nevertheless allied with the PDG and supported Bongo's candidacy in the December 1993 presidential election.J. H. Okouma M'Engandzi, "Politique : La majorité présidentielle une structure à renouveler" , Agence Gabonaise de Presse, 6 April 2010 . Assélé remained in the National Assembly until the end of the parliamentary term in 1996, and he was re-elected to the National Assembly in the December 1996 parliamentary election, winning the second seat from the Third Arrondissement of Libreville.
In the National Assembly, Assélé was President of the Center of Democrats (CDD) Parliamentary Group, and subsequently he was President of the Group of Republican Democrats (GDR) Parliamentary Group., National Assembly website (2004 archive page) . He was also the Mayor of the Third Arrondissement of Libreville."Trois mois après la rentrée au gouvernement de Jean-Boniface Assélé et P-C Maganga Moussavou: Comme" , L'Union, 2 December 2004 .
Return to the government (2004–2009) On 5 September 2004, after 14 years out of the government, Assélé was appointed as Minister of Labor and Employment;List of governments of Gabon , IZF.net . as a result he had to step down as Mayor of the Third Arrondissement due to incompatibility of functions. Nevertheless, he was not immediately replaced in his post as Mayor and the situation was somewhat confused; Assélé continued to sign municipal acts due to the lack of a replacement, although the legality of this was unclear.
In 2005, after Zacharie Myboto criticized Bongo in his book J'accuse, Assélé published Incroyable!, a book written in response to J'accuse, criticizing Myboto.""Incroyable": La riposte littéraire de Jean Boniface Assélé à Myboto" , L'Union, 4 October 2005 . Assélé backed Bongo in the November 2005 presidential election and participated in his campaign team as President of the Security Commission."L'etat-major du candidat Bongo Ondimba désormais connu" , L'Union, 13 October 2005 . Following Bongo's re-election, Assélé was moved to the post of Minister of the Civil Service, Administrative Reform, and the Modernization of the State on 21 January 2006.
In the December 2006 parliamentary election, Assélé ran for re-election to the second seat from the Third Arrondissement; he was initially declared the winner, but the opposition Union of the Gabonese People (UPG) protested that. On 27 December 2006, the Constitutional Court invalidated Assélé's victory and declared UPG candidate Bernadette Bourobou Koumba the winner with 41.85% of the vote; the results from some polling stations were invalidated because of fraud."Gabon : la Cour constitutionnelle invalide la victoire électorale de Jean Boniface Asselé dans le 2ème siège du 3ème arrondissement de Libreville", Gabonews, 27 December 2006 ."La Cour constitutionnelle saisie d'un volumineux contentieux, électoral" , L'Union, 13–14 January 2007 . Assélé had been continuously elected to that seat since 1990, and his defeat there, in what was considered his stronghold, was viewed as a possible sign of the CLR's declining fortunes."La victoire à l'UPG" , L'Union, 28 December 2006 . After the Constitutional Court declared Koumba the winner, Assélé called on his supporters to remain calm and refrain from violence or disorder, stressing that Gabon was a state of law; he said that he would appeal to the Constitutional Court for the annulment of the results in his constituency due to irregularities."Jean Boniface Assélé invite ses partisans à garder le calme" , L'Union, 29 December 2008 . Following a partial election re-run in June 2007, Assélé expressed anger towards other parties of the Presidential Majority, believing that they were not treating the CLR properly, and he threatened to leave the Presidential Majority."Jean-Boniface Assélé s’interroge sur son statut au sein de la majorité présidentielle" , Gaboneco, 26 June 2007 . His ministerial portfolio was modified on 28 December 2007, when he was appointed as Minister of the Civil Service and the Modernization of the State."Gabon : Composition du nouveau gouvernement" , Infosplusgabon, 29 December 2007 .
Assélé was instead appointed as Minister of Communication, Posts, Telecommunications, and New Information Technologies on 4 February 2008,"Gabon: Remaniement du gouvernement: Laure Olga Gondjout nouveau chef de la diplomatie gabonaise", Gabonews, 4 February 2008 . taking office on 7 February."Politique : Gondjout passe le témoin au général Assélé à la Communication", AGP, 7 February 2008 . He represented Gabon at a summit of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) in Kinshasa on 10 March 2008."African leaders gather for Chad summit", Sapa-AFP (IOL), 10 March 2008. He was subsequently moved to the position of Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation on 7 October 2008."Oct 2008 - New cabinet", Keesing's Record of World Events, volume 54, October 2008, Gabon, page 48,815.
On 25 March 2008, Assélé announced his candidacy for the position of Mayor of Libreville as part of the April 2008 local election."Jean Boniface Assélé en lice pour la mairie de Libreville", Gaboneco, 26 March 2008 . In that election, he headed the CLR's candidate list in the Third Arrondissement."Gabon: Locales 2008 / A Libreville, Assélé prône la « rupture » avec « les pactes non écrits » d’un maire Fang ou Mpongwè à l’Hôtel de ville", Gabonews, 22 April 2008 . After the election, the opposition challenged the results in the Third Arrondissement, but its appeal was rejected by the Constitutional Court."Gabon : La Cour constitutionnelle dit le droit" , Gaboneco, 23 August 2008 .
Political activities since 2009 Assélé served in the government for over four years before being dismissed on 14 January 2009."Gabon: Liste des Membres du nouveau gouvernement Gabonais rendue publique mercredi soir (Officiel)" , Gabonews, 14 January 2009 ."Gabon: Une cinquantaine de membres dans le nouveau gouvernement « ouvert et dense »", Gabonews, 14 January 2009 ."Gabon: proclamation d'un nouveau gouvernement", Xinhua, 15 January 2009 . Protesting his exclusion from the government, Assélé called a meeting of the CLR leadership and decided that it was necessary to take steps to increase the party's national prominence; accordingly, he asked that all the party's elected officials refuse to accept secondary positions that were "detrimental to the honor of the party". As a CLR candidate in the Third Arrondissement of Libreville, Assélé was elected as a Senator in the 18 January 2009 Senate election."Gabon : Assélé boude la 4e vice-présidence du Sénat" , GabonEco, 20 February 2009 . He was subsequently elected as the Fourth Vice-President of the Senate on 16 February 2009."Gabon: Parlement : cinq dames et dix hommes forment le nouveau Bureau du Sénat" , Gabonews, 16 February 2009 . Assélé was not present for the election of members of the Bureau of the Senate. Because the CLR leadership had already agreed that Assélé would not accept any post in the Bureau of the Senate below that of Third Vice-President, Assélé sent a letter to Senate President Rose Francine Rogombé on 17 February, notifying her that he declined the post of the Fourth Vice-President.
After more than 41 years in power, Omar Bongo died on 8 June 2009. Assélé then urged the parties of the Presidential Majority to unite behind a single candidate for the August 2009 presidential election."Gabon : Les préférences du peuple se font attendre" , Gaboneco, 7 July 2009 . The PDG selected Ali Bongo as its candidate; as Ali was a son of Omar Bongo and Joséphine Kama, Assélé was his maternal uncle. Unlike many other leaders of the Presidential Majority, who defected to run their own candidacies or back opposition candidates, Assélé strongly supported Bongo. When the PDG officially launched its campaign in mid-August 2009, Assélé was present for the occasion and declared that the PDG's "true friends" were there, suggesting that false friends were exposed by their absence."Gabon: Présidentielle 2009 / « Les amis, les vrais sont là », Jean Boniface Asselé", Gabonews, 16 August 2009 . At a rally for Bongo in the Third Arrondissement on 27 August, he denounced André Mba Obame, who had left the PDG to run as an independent candidate."Gabon : Ali Bongo au pas de course dans Libreville" , Gaboneco, 28 August 2009 .