Edith Lucie Bongo
Encyclopedia
Édith Lucie Bongo Ondimba (March 10, 1964 – March 14, 2009) was the First Lady of Gabon
as the wife of President Omar Bongo
from 1990 to 2009.
The daughter of Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso
, her marriage to President Bongo in 1990 was reportedly viewed politically as an example of cooperation between the two countries according to Reuters.
Édith Bongo was a medical doctor by education, a pediatrician, with HIV/AIDS as one of her main focuses. She helped create a forum for African first ladies to fight AIDS and founded associations for vulnerable children and people with disabilities.
In 2009, she was hospitalized in Rabat, Morocco. On March 14, 2009, she died at the hospital, four days after her 45th birthday. The statement announcing her death not specify the cause of death or the nature of her illness. She had not appeared in public for around three years preceding her death. After the state funeral in Libreville, Gabon, Édith Bongo's remains were taken to Edu
, her father's home village in northern Congo for a traditional Mbochi tribal burial in the family cemetery there on March 20, 2009. The burial, nationally televised in Gabon and Congo, was attended Presidents Bongo,Sassou Nguesso, and by the presidents of Benin, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Togo.
Following her death, it was announced on Gabonese television on 6 May 2009 that Omar Bongo was "temporarily suspending his activities" as President in order to "regain strength and rest". The announcement stressed that Bongo had been deeply affected by the illness and death of his wife. President Bongo died of intestinal cancer a month later on 8 June 2009, nearly three months after Edith's death, at a clinic in Barcelona
, Spain
.
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
as the wife of President Omar Bongo
Omar Bongo
El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba , born as Albert-Bernard Bongo, was a Gabonese politician who was President of Gabon for 42 years from 1967 until his death in office in 2009....
from 1990 to 2009.
The daughter of Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso is a Congolese politician who has been the President of Congo-Brazzaville since 1997; he was previously President from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as President, he headed the single-party regime of the Congolese Labour Party for 12 years...
, her marriage to President Bongo in 1990 was reportedly viewed politically as an example of cooperation between the two countries according to Reuters.
Édith Bongo was a medical doctor by education, a pediatrician, with HIV/AIDS as one of her main focuses. She helped create a forum for African first ladies to fight AIDS and founded associations for vulnerable children and people with disabilities.
In 2009, she was hospitalized in Rabat, Morocco. On March 14, 2009, she died at the hospital, four days after her 45th birthday. The statement announcing her death not specify the cause of death or the nature of her illness. She had not appeared in public for around three years preceding her death. After the state funeral in Libreville, Gabon, Édith Bongo's remains were taken to Edu
Edu
Edu can refer to:* .edu, a higher education Internet top-level domain* Edu, Republic of Congo, a village in the Republic of Congo* Edu, Nigeria a Local Government AreaThere are a number of footballers nicknamed Edu, including, but not limited to:...
, her father's home village in northern Congo for a traditional Mbochi tribal burial in the family cemetery there on March 20, 2009. The burial, nationally televised in Gabon and Congo, was attended Presidents Bongo,Sassou Nguesso, and by the presidents of Benin, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Togo.
Following her death, it was announced on Gabonese television on 6 May 2009 that Omar Bongo was "temporarily suspending his activities" as President in order to "regain strength and rest". The announcement stressed that Bongo had been deeply affected by the illness and death of his wife. President Bongo died of intestinal cancer a month later on 8 June 2009, nearly three months after Edith's death, at a clinic in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.