Sylvia Bongo Ondimba

Sylvia Bongo Ondimba
Bongo Ondimba in 2014
First Lady of Gabon
In role
16 October 2009 – 30 August 2023
PresidentAli Bongo Ondimba
Preceded byEdith Lucie Bongo
Succeeded byZita Nyangue Oligui Nguema
Personal details
Born
Sylvia Valentin

(1963-03-11) 11 March 1963 (age 61)
Paris, France
NationalityGabonese
Spouse
​
(m. 1989)​
ChildrenMalika
Noureddin
Jalil
Bilal
Parents
  • Edouard-Pierre Valentin (father)
  • Evelyne Valentin (mother)
ProfessionPresident of the "Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Foundation"
Websitewww.fondationsylviabongoondimba.org

Sylvia Valentin Bongo Ondimba has been the wife of Ali Bongo Ondimba since 1989. She became the First Lady of Gabon following the inauguration of her husband as President of Gabon on 16 October 2009.[1][2] She created the Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Foundation, "For the family", in January 2011 "to improve the plight of vulnerable and disadvantaged people around the world".[3] On August 30, 2023, her husband, Ali Bongo, was deposed after 14 years of rule, ending her term as First Lady and subsequently leading to her detention.

  1. ^ (in French) Sylvia Bongo Ondimba's biography, official website of president Ali Bongo Ondimba
  2. ^ (in French) Georges Dougueli, "Sylvia, une femme au cœur des réseaux sociaux", Jeune Afrique, 21 October 2010 (in French).
  3. ^ Press Release – First Lady of Gabon, 13 June 2011