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Gabon President Appoints New Prime Minister After Coup Attempt

Gabon President Appoints New Prime Minister After Coup Attempt

(Bloomberg) -- Gabon President Ali Bongo appointed a new prime minister days after surviving a coup attempt that came while he was abroad receiving treatment for a stroke.

Bongo, who has been out of the country since October, appointed Julien Nkoghe Bekale as the country’s new Prime Minister by presidential decree, Secretary-General in the Presidency Jean Yves Teale said in a live broadcast on state television in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Bekale, a former labor minister, replaces Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet, who was appointed by a similar decree in the absence of Bongo. He’s expected to form a new government in the oil-rich nation in the coming days.

A group of military officials on Jan. 7 seized the state broadcaster and announced plans to “save a democracy in danger.” They have since been arrested and order has been restored. Bongo is recuperating in Morocco following a stroke in October.

To contact the reporters on this story: Leanne de Bassompierre in Abidjan at ldebassompie@bloomberg.net;Eric Mbog Batassi in Johannesburg at embogbatassi@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alastair Reed at areed12@bloomberg.net, Jacqueline Mackenzie, James Amott

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