Death and state funeral of Omar Bongo
Bongo in 2005 | |
| Date | 8 June 2009 (death) 16 June 2009 (state funeral) |
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| Location | Barcelona, Spain (death) Libreville, Gabon (state funeral) |
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Omar Bongo, the President of Gabon, died in Spain on 8 June 2009, after having suffered from colorectal cancer. A month of mourning and state funeral, spanning 11 to 18 June, followed.
After Bongo's death his coffin was flown from Barcelona to Libreville on 11 June. It was driven to his presidential palace beside the Atlantic Ocean and displayed until 16 June, when a state funeral service was conducted. The date of the funeral was declared a day of national mourning by acting president Rose Francine Rogombé. The service was attended by dignitaries from at least forty nations. Bongo's coffin was then transported to his home village for burial on 18 June.
At the time of his death, Bongo, who had served as president since 1967, had been Africa's longest serving leader.