Gabriel Léon M'ba[needs IPA][3] (9 February 1902 – 28 November 1967)[4] was a Gabonese politician who served as both the first Prime Minister (1959–1961) and President (1961–1967) of Gabon.

He remained a persona non grata to Gabon until the French colonial administration finally allowed M'ba to return his native country in 1946.

After becoming mayor of the capital city, Libreville, in 1956, M'ba quickly rose to prominence and was appointed the vice-president of the governor's council on 21 May 1957, the highest position held by a native African in French Gabon.

Political nemesis Jean-Hilaire Aubame briefly assumed the office of president through a coup d'état in February 1964, but order was restored days later when the French intervened.

[6] His father, a small business manager[6] and village chief,[7] once worked as the hairdresser to Franco-Italian explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza.

"[10][11]His remarks upset authorities, and he suffered the consequences in December 1922, when he was sentenced to prison after having committed a minor crime of providing a colleague with falsified documents.

[10] In either 1924[8] or 1926,[12] M'ba reconciled with colonial authorities and was chosen to succeed the deceased chef de canton (similar to a village chief) of Libreville's Fang neighbourhood.

[7] As the leader of a group of young Libreville intellectuals, he ignored the advice of elder Fangs and quickly gained a reputation as a strong, confident, and able-minded man.

[12] However, beginning in 1929, the colonial administration started to investigate his activities after they intercepted one of his letters to a Kouyaté, secretary for the Ligue des droits de l'homme, who was accused of being an ally of the Comintern.

Despite this suspected Communist alliance, the French authorities did not oppose M'ba's appointment as head chief of the Estuaire Province by his colleagues.

[13] While exiled in the French territory of Oubangui-Chari, first in the towns of Bambari and then Bria,[17] he continued to exert influence among Fangs via correspondence with his compatriots in Libreville.

[20] By 1939, the native ex-chief remained a persona non grata to Gabon, as stated in the letter from the head of the Estuarie Department, Assier de Pompignan: For Léon M'Ba not only was the leader who had claimed for personal use the colony's money.

[17] He was not reinstated as chef de canton; instead, he obtained an important position as store manager for the English trading house John Holt.

[16][25] The party's main objective was to obtain autonomy for its member states and oppose the Senegalese leader Léopold Sédar Senghor's idea of federalism.

[27] Based on his success in Libreville, M'ba aspired, at one point, to become the head of the region, an idea which many notable Fangs supported during the Pahouin congress at Mitzic in February 1947.

[23] French journalist Pierre Péan asserted that M'ba secretly tried to prevent Gabonese independence; instead, he lobbied for it to become an overseas territory of France.

[45] After M'ba openly declared for the departmentalization of Gabon in November 1959,[46] Jacques Foccart, Charles de Gaulle's spin doctor for African policy, told him that this solution was unthinkable.

[35] Though it voted against the constitutional referendum,[48] PUNGA organised several events geared toward gaining independence and the holding of more parliamentary elections, which were also supported by the UDSG.

However, the Prime Minister realistically declared on 12 August, "We must not waste our chances by imagining that with independence, we now own a powerful fetish that will fulfill our wishes.

[53] Yet in practice, the regime showed a fundamental weakness in attaining M'ba's goal in which he, who had by this time become known as "the old man",[54] or "the boss", would have a high degree of authority.

After deciding to reshuffle the cabinet without consulting Parliament, the president of the National Assembly, Paul Gondjout, a previous ally of M'ba's, filed a motion of censure.

On 16 November, under the pretext of a conspiracy, he declared a state of emergency, ordering the internment of eight BDG opponents and the dissolution of the National Assembly the day after.

[64] M'ba now had full executive powers: he could appoint ministers whose functions and responsibilities were decided by him; he could dissolve the National Assembly by choice or prolong its term beyond the normal five years; he could declare a state of emergency when he believed the need arose, though for this amendment he would have to consult the people via a referendum.

[71] Faced with reports of tension between the government and the National Assembly, even though 70% of it were BDG members, the Gabonese president dissolved the legislature on 21 January 1964[72] as an "economy measure".

[72] From the night of 17 February to the early morning of 18 February 1964, 150 Gabonese military personnel, headed by Lieutenant Jacques Mombo and Valére Essone, arrested President of the National Assembly Louis Bigmann,[75] French commanders Claude Haulin and Major Royer,[76] On Radio Libreville, the military announced to the Gabonese people that a coup d'état had taken place, and that they required technical assistance and told the French not interfere in this matter.

[90] The UDSG disappeared from the political scene, and the opposition consisted of parties that lacked national focus and maintained only regional or pro-democracy platforms.

They carried such influence in Gabon that following the February 1964 coup, the decision to seek military intervention was taken by the CEO of Union Générale des Pétroles (UGP; now known as Elf Aquitaine), Pierre Guillaumat, Foccart, and other French businessmen and leaders.

[92][93] Later on, another UGP executive, Guy Ponsaillé, was appointed as political adviser to the president and became M'ba's representative in discussions with French companies.

Ponsaillé helped M'ba obtain support from political moderates and accompanied him in his visits around the country in order to restore his reputation among the Gabonese people.

Only after a long insistence by Foccart did M'ba agree to appoint Bongo as Vice President in replacement of Yembit, announcing his decision through a radio and television message recorded in his room on 14 November 1966.