Isidore Mvouba

Isidore Mvouba (born 1954[1]) is a Congolese politician who was Prime Minister of Congo-Brazzaville from 2005 to 2009. He is a member of the Congolese Labour Party (PCT, or Parti congolais du travail) and held key positions under President Denis Sassou Nguesso beginning in 1997.

Isidore Mvouba
Presidents of the National Assembly of Congo
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 August 2017
Preceded by	Justin Koumba
Prime Minister of Congo-Brazzaville
In office 7 January 2005 – 15 September 2009
President	Denis Sassou Nguesso
Preceded by	Bernard Kolélas (1997)
Succeeded by	Clément Mouamba (2016)
Personal details
Born	1954 (age 66–67) Kindamba, French Equatorial Africa (now Congo-Brazzaville)
Political party	Party of Labour

Mvouba was Director of the Cabinet of the Head of State from 1997 to 1999, Minister of Transport from 1999 to 2005 (with responsibility for coordinating government action beginning in 2002), and Prime Minister from January 2005 to September 2009. After his post of Prime Minister was eliminated, he instead served as Minister of State for Transport, responsible for coordinating ministries relating to infrastructure, from 2009 to 2012. Subsequently he was Minister of State for Industrial Development from 2012 to 2016. He has been President of the National Assembly since 2017.[2]

Political career

Mvouba was born at Kindamba, located in the Pool Region,[1] and became a railways engineer, working at the Congo-Ocean Railway (Chemin de fer Congo-Océan) beginning in 1976.[1][3] Unlike most southerners, he continued to support President Sassou Nguesso when multiparty politics was introduced in the early 1990s. When Sassou Nguesso stood as the PCT's candidate in the August 1992 presidential election, Mvouba served as his campaign director; Sassou Nguesso was badly defeated, placing third in the election. Pascal Lissouba, who won the election and succeeded Sassou Nguesso as President, invited Mvouba to take up a ministerial post in the government formed after the election, but Mvouba refused.[1] Subsequently, on 25 December 1992, he was appointed as Minister of Youth and Sports in the power-sharing government of Prime Minister Claude Antoine Dacosta, which was to serve until a new parliamentary election was held in 1993.[4]

Mvouba was spokesman of the pro-Sassou Nguesso United Democratic Forces during the June–October 1997 civil war.[5] The civil war resulted in Sassou Nguesso's return to power in October 1997, and Mvouba was appointed as Director of the Cabinet of the Head of State[6][7] (with the rank of Minister[7][8]) at the end of the same month.[7] He held that post until being appointed as Minister of Transport, Civil Aviation, and the Merchant Marine on 12 January 1999.[9]

It was announced on 14 February 2002 that Mvouba had been appointed as Sassou Nguesso's campaign director for the March 2002 presidential election.[10] Sassou Nguesso won this election with no meaningful competition. Subsequently, in the government named on 18 August 2002, Mvouba was promoted to the position of Minister of State for Transport, Privatization and Coordination of Government Action.[11] He was appointed as Prime Minister, responsible for coordination of government action and privatization (although not head of government), on 7 January 2005.[12][13] He was appointed as Prime Minister even though the 2002 constitution did not provide for that position.[12][14]

Mvouba was elected to the National Assembly as a PCT candidate from Kindamba constituency in the June–August 2007 parliamentary election,[15][16][17] receiving 75.5% of the vote.[17] Following the death of Senate President and PCT Secretary-General Ambroise Noumazalaye on 17 November 2007, Mvouba became Acting Secretary-General of the PCT.[18]

At the time of the June 2008 local elections, Mvouba was President of the National Coordination of the Rally of the Presidential Majority (RMP), the coalition supporting Sassou-Nguesso.[19] After Sassou-Nguesso was re-elected in the July 2009 presidential election, he appointed a new government on 15 September 2009, in which Mvouba's post of Prime Minister was eliminated; Mvouba was instead appointed as Minister of State for Transport, Civil Aviation, and the Merchant Marine. He remained the highest-ranking member of the government.[20] The government was also reorganized into four broad sectors, with one minister assigned responsibility for coordinating each of the four sectors; Mvouba was one of the ministers chosen as a coordinator and was assigned the basic infrastructure sector.[21]

Mvouba remained Acting Secretary-General of the PCT until 2011,[1] when Pierre Ngolo was elected as Secretary-General at the PCT's sixth extraordinary congress.[22][23] At the congress, held in July 2011, Mvouba remained a member of the PCT Political Bureau.[24] A month after his election, Ngolo officially succeeded Mvouba as PCT Secretary-General on 25 August 2011.[25]

Following the July–August 2012 parliamentary election, Mvouba was moved to the post of Minister of State for Industrial Development and the Promotion of the Private Sector on 25 September 2012.[26]

In 2013, Mvouba spent over five months in Paris for health reasons. He eventually returned to Congo-Brazzaville on 19 September 2013. Upon his return, his office stated that he was in good condition and was returning to work.[27]

After Sassou Nguesso's victory in the March 2016 presidential election, Mvouba was dismissed from the government on 30 April 2016.[28][29] He was succeeded at his ministry by Gilbert Ondongo on 4 May 2016.[30]

Following the July 2017 parliamentary election, Mvouba was elected as President of the National Assembly on 19 August 2017. He was the only candidate for the post and received 144 votes.[31][32]

References

1. John F. Clark and Samuel Decalo, Historical Dictionary of Republic of the Congo, fourth edition (2012), Scarecrow Press, page 305.
2. Moukoko, Philippe (16 January 2019). Dictionnaire général du Congo-Brazzaville 2e édition: Alphabétique, analytique et critique avec des annexes cartographiques et un tableau chronologique. Editions L'Harmattan. ISBN 9782140110849.
3. "Mvouba Isidore", Congo Brazzaville: Les Hommes de Pouvoir, number 1, Africa Intelligence, 29 October 2002 (in French).
4. Africa Research Bulletin (1993), page 10,847.
5. "DRCongo: Soldiers raid Sassou-Nguesso supporters' refugee camp", Africa No. 1 radio, 2 October 1997.
6. Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders (2003), page 117.
7. "Programme Summary - Radio France Internationale 30th October 97 1830 gmt", Radio France Internationale, 31 October 1997.
8. Congo-Brazzaville: dérives politiques, catastrophe humanitaire, désirs de paix (1999), Karthala Editions, page 7 (in French).
9. "Le nouveau gouvernement du Congo" Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, 13 January 1999 (in French).
10. "Nguesso names election campaign director", Panapress, 14 February 2002.
11. "Formation d’un nouveau gouvernement" Archived 17 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Afrique Express, number 254, 2 September 2002 (in French).
12. "Remaniement du gouvernement congolais : départ du ministre des Finances", Congopage.com, 7 January 2005 (in French).
13. François Soudan, "Les hommes du président", Jeune Afrique, 16 January 2005 (in French).
14. "Jan 2005 - Congo", Keesing's Record of World Events, volume 51, January 2005, Congo, page 46,399.
15. "La liste complète des députés" Archived 9 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, 11 August 2007 (in French).
16. Gankama N'Siah, "Un mot sur les suffrages des élus du premier tour des législatives" Archived 26 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, 17 July 2007 (in French).
17. "Elections législatives : les 44 élus du premier tour" Archived 26 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, 2 July 2007 (in French).
18. "La dépouille mortelle du président du Sénat attendue le 23 novembre à Brazzaville" Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, 22 November 2007 (in French).
19. Thierry Noungou, "Elections locales du 29 juin - Isidore Mvouba donne le top de la campagne électorale du RMP" Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, 17 June 2008 (in French).
20. "Gouvernement - La nouvelle équipe compte trente-sept membres" Archived 26 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, 16 September 2009 (in French).
21. "Remaniement ministériel post-électoral", Agence France-Presse, 16 September 2009 (in French).
22. "À Brazzaville, le Parti congolais du travail à la recherche d'un second souffle", Jeune Afrique, 25 July 2011 (in French).
23. Roger Ngombé, "Vie des partis : Pierre Ngolo élu secrétaire général du Parti congolais du travail", Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, 26 July 2011 (in French). Archived 12 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
24. Joël Nsoni, "Denis Sassou Nguesso aux congressistes du P.c.t : «Les élections ne se gagnent pas dans les bureaux. Elles se gagnent sur le terrain»", La Semaine Africaine, 30 July 2011 (in French).
25. "Parti congolais du travail : Pierre Ngolo prend officiellement ses fonctions de secrétaire général", Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, 26 August 2011 (in French).
26. "La nouvelle équipe gouvernementale rendue publique le 25 septembre", Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, number 1,584, 26 September 2012 (in French). "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
27. Pascal-Azad Doko, "Ministère du développement industriel et de la promotion du secteur privé : Aussitôt revenu à Brazzaville, le ministre d'Etat Isidore Mvouba s’est mis au travail", La Semaine Africaine, 20 September 2013 (in French).
28. "Exécutif : le gouvernement de rupture au grand complet", ADIAC, 1 May 2016 (in French).
29. Trésor Kibangula, "Congo-Brazzaville : ce qu’il faut savoir sur le nouveau gouvernement", Jeune Afrique, 3 May 2016 (in French).
30. Bertrand Boukaka, "Isidore Mvouba cède le fauteuil à Gilbert Ondongo", Les Echos du Congo Brazzaville, 6 May 2016 (in French).
31. Bertrand Boukaka, "Congo – Assemblée Nationale : Isidore Mvouba accède au perchoir", Les Echos du Congo Brazzaville, 19 August 2017 (in French).
32. Firmin Oyé, "Parlement : Isidore Mvouba élu président de l’Assemblée nationale", ADIAC, 20 August 2017 (in French).