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Viewing cable 07LIBREVILLE36, BONGO AND FREEMASONRY IN GABON

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07LIBREVILLE36 2007-01-23 10:53 2011-08-30 01:44 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Libreville
VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLC #0036 0231053
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 231053Z JAN 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9529
INFO RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0374
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 1350
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0328
RUEHLU/AMEMBASSY LUANDA 0939
RUEHNJ/AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA 0413
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0851
RUEHYD/AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE 0751
C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000036 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
KINSHASA ALSO FOR BRAZZAVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2116 
TAGS: PGOV GB
SUBJECT: BONGO AND FREEMASONRY IN GABON 
 
REF: LIBREVILLE 00035 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Barrie Walkley for reasons 1.4 b and d 
 
1.(U) As Gabon awaits the announcement of a new government 
(expected later this week), there is speculation regarding 
the number of Freemasons that will be included in the 
cabinet.  Although hard figures are difficult to obtain, it 
is estimated that there about 800 Masons in Gabon (from a 
population of 1.4 million) and it is widely believed in 
Libreville that over 80 per cent of the current cabinet and 
members of parliament are Masons (and that the majority of 
influential businessmen, both Gabonese and French, are also 
Masons). 
 
2.(U) Freemasonry in Gabon dates to the founding of the first 
lodge in 1902 and the influence established in business and 
government realms by Freemasons during the colonial period 
continued after independence (Gabon's first president -- Leon 
Mba -- was, for example, a Mason). There are currently three 
Masonic lodges in Gabon: one associated with the Grande Loge 
National Francaise (GLNF), one associated with the Grand 
Orient de France (GOF), and one -- the Grande Rite Symbolique 
du Gabon (GRSG) -- which was founded by President Omar Bongo 
and which is essentially a local fusion of the other two. 
 
3. (U) Omar Bongo has never hidden the fact that he is a 
Mason and Grand Master of his own lodge. Bongo sees no 
contradiction between Freemasonry and Islam and has called 
Freemasonry "a school of tolerance and respect for others." 
 
4. (C) Bongo originally was initiated into the GOF and moved 
to the GLNF before creating the Grand Rite Equatorial 
(recently renamed the Grande Rite Symbolique du Gabon). He 
never insisted that his colleagues follow his moves from 
lodge to lodge; in fact, there appears to have been a 
conscious decision to ensure wide representation among the 
three lodges (probably as a means of maintaining Bongo's 
influence and control).  For example, Georges Rawiri (the 
recently-deceased president of the Senate, close associate of 
Bongo and the second-most powerful person in the country 
after Bongo) was a member of the GOF, while Jean Pierre 
Lemboumba (eminence grise at the Presidency) is a member of 
the GLNF.  Minister of Defense (and son of the President) Ali 
Bongo is a member of two lodges, the GLNF and the GRSG. 
Prominent opposition party members are also Masons -- UPG 
leader Pierre Mamboundou and UGDD leader Zachary Myboto, for 
example, are members of the GOF.  Membership in particular 
lodges is not associated with party affiliation. 
 
5. (C) Two recent anecdotes testify to Masonic influence. A 
US Embassy Warden in Port Gentil (whose husband is Gabonese) 
says her husband was offered a cabinet minister position, on 
condition that he become a Mason (he turned it down). An 
American businessman  pursuing opportunities in Gabon's 
lumber sector attributes the success of his endeavors to his 
being a Mason and using Masonic contacts in Gabon (his escort 
to meetings was the MFA's chief legal advisor). 
 
6. (C) COMMENT: The extended influence of Gabon's Masonic 
lodges on government and business is difficult to assess. 
However, President Bongo's own involvement as the leader of a 
lodge -- together with the perception that Masonic 
connections and influence are pervasive throughout business 
and government -- have created among Gabonese the belief that 
the best way to get ahead today is to become a Mason. 
 
 
 
 
 
WALKLEY