Gabon under Leon M’Ba (1957- 1967)
The country of Gabon was first inhabited by present day Khoisan hunter-gatherers and then by the Bantu around the 13th century. By the 18th century, the Fang had established dominance over the region. In 1843, the French established a naval base and set up a colony for free slaves, Liberville in 1849. The French established Gabon as a colony in 1886 and made Libreville the capital of the French Congo. In 1911, Gabon became a separate colony within French Equitorial Africa.
The French in neighboring Congo seized Gabon and it became a separate colony with its own council. During this same period, native Gabonese began organizing. Leon M’Ba founded the United Gabonese Movement (MGM) as a local affiliate of the African Democratic Assembly (RDA). It later became the Gabonese Democratic bloc (BDG) in 1957 which won the elections that year. Meanwhile, Jean-Hilaire Aubame formed the Gabonese Democratic and Social Union (UDSG). The Gabonese voted for independence in 1958 and became independent in 1960. After M’Ba won the election in 1961, he formed a coalition government with his rival Aubame.
However, by 1964, the coalition had become dysfunctional and M’Ba dissolved Parliament and proposed to hold new elections. Before elections could be held, the military took over power in a coup and wanted to make Aubame the leader. When the French uncovered the plot, they intervened and restored M’Ba as President. His party won 31 out of 47 seats and M’Ba was able to rule until he died in 1967.
