Abel Goumba
Encyclopedia
Abel Nguéndé Goumba was a Central African
political figure. During the late 1950s, he headed the government in the period prior to independence from France
, and following independence he was an unsuccessful candidate for President of the Central African Republic
four times (1981, 1993, 1999, and 2005). Goumba, who was President of the Patriotic Front for Progress
(FPP) political party, served under President François Bozizé
as Prime Minister from March 2003 to December 2003 and then as Vice-President from December 2003 to March 2005. Subsequently, he was appointed as Mediator of the Republic (Ombudsman).
in the Oubangi-Chari French colony, which is now the Central African Republic. He was a qualified medical doctor and member of the medical faculty in Bangui
.
in a plane crash. He was defeated in a political power struggle by David Dacko
in 1959 and then became a minor opposition party leader. He was in exile in France from 1960 until 1980. He worked for the World Health Organization
in Rwanda
and then Benin
during the 1970s; while in Rwanda, he met his wife, Anne-Marie
. Even after his return to the Central African Republic, he was occasionally arrested for political activity. He feuded with all of Central African Republic's presidents until 2003 and was declared by them to be a national traitor.
in a run-off, in which Goumba took about 46% of the vote. In 1999 he did poorly by comparison, taking only about 6% of the vote and placing fourth, behind Patassé, André Kolingba
, and Dacko.
was named to replace him; Goumba was appointed as Vice-President instead.
held on March 13, 2005. Goumba was not expected to win; he received sixth place and 2.51% of the vote. He was one of the five candidates initially approved by the transitional constitutional court on December 30, 2004; seven other candidates were excluded, although six of them were later allowed to run.
On March 14, 2005, the day after the election, members of the Collective of Political Parties of the Opposition (CPPO), including Goumba, signed a petition in which they alleged that fraud had occurred. On March 15, before the election results became available, Bozizé dismissed Goumba from the Vice-Presidency and the position was abolished. According to presidential spokesman Alain-George Ngatoua, this was because the constitution adopted in December 2004 did not provide for a Vice-President, and the dismissal was unrelated to the quality of Goumba's work; Ngatoua said that Bozizé thanked Goumba for facilitating the transitional process through his "wisdom and courage". Goumba expressed disgust at the manner of his dismissal; he said that he had received no notification of the dismissal and found out about it when it was reported on state radio. Goumba's view was that transitional institutions, including the Vice-Presidency, were supposed to be maintained until the installation of an elected government.
Goumba ran for a seat from Kouango
in the 2005 parliamentary election, held concurrently with the presidential election, but was defeated; his wife Anne-Marie won a seat, however.
on October 30, 2006.
He presented the first volume of his memoirs, covering the period from 1956 to 1959, on January 14, 2007.
Goumba died aged 82 on 11 May 2009 at a clinic in Bangui after being taken to hospital prior evening.
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
political figure. During the late 1950s, he headed the government in the period prior to independence from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and following independence he was an unsuccessful candidate for President of the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
four times (1981, 1993, 1999, and 2005). Goumba, who was President of the Patriotic Front for Progress
Patriotic Front for Progress
The Patriotic Front for Progress is a political party in the Central African Republic.The FPP strongly opposed President Ange-Félix Patassé. In 2002, the party suspended its participation in the opposition coalition....
(FPP) political party, served under President François Bozizé
François Bozizé
François Bozizé Yangouvonda is the President of the Central African Republic. He came to power in March 2003 after leading a rebellion against President Ange-Félix Patassé and ushered in a transitional period of government...
as Prime Minister from March 2003 to December 2003 and then as Vice-President from December 2003 to March 2005. Subsequently, he was appointed as Mediator of the Republic (Ombudsman).
Early life
He was born in 1926 in Grimari, Ouaka PrefectureOuaka
Ouaka is one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic. It covers an area of 49,900 km² and has a population of 224,076 , giving a population density of under 5 inhabitants/km². The capital is Bambari....
in the Oubangi-Chari French colony, which is now the Central African Republic. He was a qualified medical doctor and member of the medical faculty in Bangui
Bangui
-Law and government:Bangui is an autonomous commune of the Central African Republic. With an area of 67 km², it is by far the smallest high-level administrative division of the CAR in area but the highest in population...
.
Entry into politics
While the country was still a French colony, Goumba was Vice-President of the Government Council from May 1957 to July 1958, President of the Government Council from July 1958 to December 1958, and was briefly Prime Minister in an acting capacity in April 1959, following the death of Barthélemy BogandaBarthélemy Boganda
Barthélemy Boganda was the leading nationalist politician of what is now the Central African Republic. Boganda was active prior to his country's independence, during the period when the area, part of French Equatorial Africa, was administered by France under the name of Oubangui-Chari...
in a plane crash. He was defeated in a political power struggle by David Dacko
David Dacko
David Dacko was the first President of the Central African Republic , from August 14, 1960 to January 1, 1966, and the third president of the CAR from September 21, 1979 to September 1, 1981...
in 1959 and then became a minor opposition party leader. He was in exile in France from 1960 until 1980. He worked for the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
and then Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
during the 1970s; while in Rwanda, he met his wife, Anne-Marie
Anne-Marie Goumba
Anne-Marie Goumba is a member of the National Assembly of the Central African Republic and as a member of the Pan-African Parliament from the Central African Republic...
. Even after his return to the Central African Republic, he was occasionally arrested for political activity. He feuded with all of Central African Republic's presidents until 2003 and was declared by them to be a national traitor.
1990s
Goumba has a reputation for honesty and integrity, unusual for a Central African politician. He has stressed the importance of governing without corruption. In the 1981 presidential election, which was won by Dacko (who was nevertheless ousted only a few months later), Goumba took less than 2% of the vote, but in the 1993 presidential election he achieved his best result, coming in second place but being defeated by Ange-Felix PatasséAnge-Félix Patassé
Ange-Félix Patassé was a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 1993 until 2003, when he was deposed by the rebel leader François Bozizé...
in a run-off, in which Goumba took about 46% of the vote. In 1999 he did poorly by comparison, taking only about 6% of the vote and placing fourth, behind Patassé, André Kolingba
André Kolingba
André-Dieudonné Kolingba was the fourth president of the Central African Republic , from 1 September 1981 until 1 October 1993. He took power from President David Dacko in a bloodless coup d'état in 1981 and lost power to Ange-Félix Patassé in a democratic election held in 1993...
, and Dacko.
Under Bozizé
After Bozizé seized power on March 15, 2003, ousting Patassé, he appointed Goumba as Prime Minister on March 23. His government was formed on March 31, 2003; in its composition it was viewed as a compromise between Bozizé and Goumba, with a number of military allies and relatives of Bozizé receiving key posts while other posts went to associates and allies of various political leaders and to independent figures regarded as competent. The National Transitional Council (CNT) rejected Goumba's proposed programme of general policy on November 5, 2003, saying that the government's objectives, along with the methods of implementing those objectives, were not sufficiently defined in the programme. He had planned to submit a revised programme on December 12, 2003, but on December 11, Bozizé dismissed him as Prime Minister. On the next day Célestin GaombaletCélestin Gaombalet
Célestin Leroy Gaombalet is a Central African politician who was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 2003 to 2005. He has been President of the National Assembly since 2005.-Biography:Gaombalet was born in the village of Grimari....
was named to replace him; Goumba was appointed as Vice-President instead.
2005 candidacy
He was a presidential candidate for the fourth time in the electionCentral African Republic elections, 2005
Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in the Central African Republic on March 13, 2005 and May 8, 2005 , marking the end of the transitional process that began with the seizure of power by François Bozizé in a March 2003 coup...
held on March 13, 2005. Goumba was not expected to win; he received sixth place and 2.51% of the vote. He was one of the five candidates initially approved by the transitional constitutional court on December 30, 2004; seven other candidates were excluded, although six of them were later allowed to run.
On March 14, 2005, the day after the election, members of the Collective of Political Parties of the Opposition (CPPO), including Goumba, signed a petition in which they alleged that fraud had occurred. On March 15, before the election results became available, Bozizé dismissed Goumba from the Vice-Presidency and the position was abolished. According to presidential spokesman Alain-George Ngatoua, this was because the constitution adopted in December 2004 did not provide for a Vice-President, and the dismissal was unrelated to the quality of Goumba's work; Ngatoua said that Bozizé thanked Goumba for facilitating the transitional process through his "wisdom and courage". Goumba expressed disgust at the manner of his dismissal; he said that he had received no notification of the dismissal and found out about it when it was reported on state radio. Goumba's view was that transitional institutions, including the Vice-Presidency, were supposed to be maintained until the installation of an elected government.
Goumba ran for a seat from Kouango
Kouango
Kouango is a town located in the Central African Republic prefecture of Ouaka....
in the 2005 parliamentary election, held concurrently with the presidential election, but was defeated; his wife Anne-Marie won a seat, however.
Retirement
Goumba's son Alexandre was elected to succeed him as President of his party, Patriotic Front for Progress (FPP), on March 5, 2006, after the elder Goumba was appointed as Mediator of the Republic (Ombudsman). As mediator, he called for the government to negotiate with a rebel group after it captured BiraoBirao
Birao is the capital of Vakaga, one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic and was an administrative post in the colony of Ubangui-Shari. In March 2007, the town was almost completely burnt down in the fighting between rebels and government troops in the area...
on October 30, 2006.
He presented the first volume of his memoirs, covering the period from 1956 to 1959, on January 14, 2007.
Goumba died aged 82 on 11 May 2009 at a clinic in Bangui after being taken to hospital prior evening.