Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

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Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

2nd President of Equatorial Guinea
Incumbent
Assumed office August 3, 1979
Preceded by	Francisco Macías Nguema
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	June 5, 1942 (age 64) Acoacán, Equatorial Guinea
Political party	Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
Spouse	Constancia Mangue de Obiang

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (born June 5, 1942) has been the Dictator-President of Equatorial Guinea since 1979.

Born into the Esangui clan in Acoacán, Obiang joined the military during the colonial period, and attended the Generalissimo Francisco Franco Military Academy in Zaragoza, Spain. He achieved the rank of lieutenant upon his uncle Francisco Macías Nguema's election.

1 Under Macías
2 Presidency
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Under Macías

Obiang was shuffled through various jobs, including governor of Bioko, head of the infamous Black Beach Prison, and as leader of the National Guard.

He deposed his uncle on August 3, 1979 in a violent coup d'état, supported by 600 mercenaries licenced from Hassan II of Morocco^{[citation needed]}.

Obiang declared that the new government would bring a fresh start from the repressive measures taken by his uncle's administration. He inherited a country with an empty treasury and a population that had dropped to a third of its 1968 level, when about the 50% of the former 1.2 million inhabitants moved to Spain or the neighbouring countries. He formally assumed the presidency in October 1979, after mercenaries had killed the previous president.

A new constitution was adopted in 1982; at the same time, Obiang was elected to a seven-year term as president. He was reelected in 1989 as the only candidate.

[edit] Presidency

Most domestic and international observers consider his regime to be one of the most corrupt, ethnocentric, oppressive and anti-democratic states in the world. Equatorial Guinea is now essentially a single-party state, dominated by Obiang's Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE). The constitution grants Obiang wide powers, including the power to rule by decree. Nonetheless, Obiang has far less power than his uncle, and his rule has been considerably milder. Notably, there have been none of the widespread atrocities that characterized his uncle's regime.

All but two members of the 100-seat national parliament belong to the PDGE or are aligned with it. The opposition is severely hampered by the lack of a free press as a vehicle for their views.

Around 90% of all opposition politicians live in exile, 550 anti-Obiang activists have been jailed unfairly, and several killed since 1979. Obiang was re-elected in 1996 and 2002, but the conduct of both elections was not acceptable to international observers.

In July 2003, state-operated radio declared that the president is a god who is "in permanent contact with the Almighty" and can "kill anyone without being called to account", he personally made similar comments in 1993. Notice that previous president Francisco Macías Nguema had also been proclaimed God. [1]

Obiang has encouraged his cult of personality by ensuring that public speeches end in well-wishing for himself for well-wishing for the republic. Many important buildings have a presidential lodge, many towns and cities have streets commemorating Obiang's coup against his own uncle as well as there being a penchant among the population to wear clothes with his face printed on them.

Like his predecessor and other African dictators such as Idi Amin and Mobutu Sese Seko, Obiang has assigned to himself several creative titles; the great major general Alifanfarón^{[citation needed]}, gentleman of the great island of Bioko, Annobón and Río Muni, as well as referring to himself as El Jefe (the boss).

In similar fashion to Amin, Obiang has also allowed rumours that he is a cannibal to circulate (see [2]).

President Obiang is the Vice President of the International Parliament for Safety and Peace, an intergovernmental organization based in Italy (see [3]and [4]).

Forbes magazine has said that he is one of the wealthiest heads of state, with a net worth of 600 million dollars^[1]. Official sources complain that Forbes is wrongly counting state property as personal property.

[edit] 2004 coup attempt

In March 2004, Obiang announced that there was a complex plot to overthrow him that allegedly involved the intelligence services of the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain, Mark Thatcher and Simon Mann.

Shortly after 15 people were arrested in Equatorial Guinea in connection with a possible coup attempt, an airplane landed in Harare, Zimbabwe, and was promptly detained by authorities. This story was used for the 2006 UK film Coup!.

The Zimbabwean government claimed that the aircraft was carrying armed white mercenaries who were heading to Equatorial Guinea with the aim of toppling Obiang's government.

However, the American-based operator of the plane maintained that the men were en route to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to guard commercial mining interests for JFPI Corporation.

President Obiang charges that various Western governments wanted to install the head of Equatorial Guinea's government-in-exile, Severo Moto Nsá, as president.

A man that Equatoguinean media identified as the leader of the mercenaries, Nick du Toit, said he had not intended to kill Obiang, but had hoped to force him into exile.

[edit] Relations with Washington

US Secretary Condoleezza Rice with her good friend, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in 2006.

Equatorial Guinea's relations with the United States entered into cooling phase in 1993, when then-ambassador John F. Bennett was accused of practicing witchcraft at the graves of 10 British airmen who were killed when their plane crashed there during World War II. Bennett departed after receiving a death threat at the U.S. Embassy in Malabo in 1994;^[2] in his farewell address, he publically named the government's most notorious torturers – including Equatorial Guinea's current Minister of National Security, Manuel Nguema Mba. No new envoy was appointed, and by 1996 embassy was closed in 1996, leaving its affairs to be handled by the embassy in neighboring Cameroon.

Things started to turn around after the Septmber 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, in the aftermath of which the United States sought a radical reprioritization in its dealings with key African states. On January 25, 2002, the Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies, a Jerusalem-based think tank, sponsored a forum on “African Oil: A Priority for U.S. National Security and African Development” at the University Club in Washington, DC. According to the Institute, "West African oil is what can help stabilize the Middle East, end Muslim terror, and secure a measure of energy security. First, the Africa Initiative is Africa's Turn. And, turning Africa can help turn the kaleidoscope that will reset misalliances and unseat misrule driven by oil and murder. It's a policy".^[3] Speaking at the IASPS forum, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Walter H. Kansteiner said, "African oil is of national strategic interest to us, and it will increase and become more important as we move forward. It will be people like you who are going to develop that resource, bring that oil home, and try to develop the African countries as you do it."^[3]

In a lengthy state visit from March to April of 2006, President Obiang sought to reopen the closed embassy, citing "the lack of a U.S. diplomatic presence is definitely holding back economic growth."^[4] President Obiang was warmly greeted by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, who called him a "good friend",^[5] and Obiang himself was "extremely pleased and hopeful that this relationship will continue to grow in friendship and cooperation."

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, however, wasn't so sure about the emerging friendship; by October of 2006 it would raise concerns about the the proposal to build the new embassy on land owned by Mba himself, who the United Nations Commission on Human Rights has accused of directly overseeing the torture of opponents of Obiang's regime.^[6]

[edit] Succession

Obiang is suffering from terminal prostate cancer, amongst other illnesses, is reported to weigh as little as 50kg (110 lbs), and is said to be existing in agony (see [5]).

The issue of succession is dominating the country, with a political struggle within the Equato-Guinean elite. Obiang wants his son Teodorín Nguema Obiang, who reportedly lives a frequently irresponsible lifestyle. Someone with loyalty to the regime may be designated by the PDGE from within the Esangui clan. There is even a possibility that fully democratic rule will come to the country for the first time, but this is probably the most unlikely scenario.

In November 2005, Obiang held an important meeting with the PDGE, in which it was believed that he intended to create a position of vice president and fill that position with his son. His worsening medical condition demands he travel abroad twice a month, leaving the country more vulnerable to coups.

He was expected to hand over to his son in 2007 - a move opposed by the other main contender: Armengol Ondo Nguema. He also held a private meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in December 2005 (see [6]).

[edit] References

Ken Silverstein. "Oil Boom Enriches African Ruler: While the people of Equatorial Guinea live on a dollar a day, sources say their leader controls more than $300 million in a Washington bank." The Los Angeles Times (January 20, 2003).