Grégoire Owona (born 1950)[1] is a Cameroonian politician who has served in the government of Cameroon as Minister of Labor and Social Security since December 2011.
He previously served as Minister-Delegate at the Presidency for Relations with the Assemblies from 1997 to 2011, and he has also been Deputy Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC) since 1992.
[3] At the time of the March 1992 parliamentary election, Owona said that the RDPC's problem "lies in winning by too great a margin; we would be taken for cheats.
[1] Following the October 1992 presidential election, in which President Paul Biya was re-elected, Owona criticized what he saw as the excesses of the press: "The current trend in Cameroon is to resort to invective ... and all those who slander and denounce would like the public to see them as heroes, threatened and persecuted.
Although homosexuality was illegal in Cameroon, President Biya said that the newspapers involved in "outing" were acting irresponsibly by basing their reports on rumors and invading the privacy of individuals.
Emphasizing that Owona was interested in restoring his reputation and not in receiving monetary compensation, his lawyers requested only a single CFA franc in symbolic damages.
[20] Following Biya's victory in the October 2011 presidential election, he moved Owona to the post of Minister of Labor and Social Security on 9 December 2011.