Benjamin Bounkoulou

Benjamin Bounkoulou (born 25 September 1942"Who's Who", "CONGO BRAZZAVILLE: LES HOMMES DE POUVOIR n°1", "Africa Intelligence", 29 October 2002 fr icon.] ) is a Congolese politician. Bounkoulou was Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Congo from 1992 to 1995 under President Pascal Lissouba. He is currently the President of the Union for the Republic (UR), a political party, and is the First Vice-President of the Senate.

Bounkoulou was born in Kinkengué, located in southern Congo. From 1967 to 1975, he worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and he was Diplomatic Adviser to President Marien Ngouabi from 1975 to 1976. Subsequently he was Congo's Ambassador to Angola from 1976 to 1979 and was Ambassador to Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Egypt, and Tunisia from 1978 to 1983. He served as Ambassador to the Organization of African Unity and Ethiopia from 1983 to 1987, and he was then Ambassador to the United States from late 1987 to May 1990. [ [http://www.state.gov/s/cpr/91593.htm "Diplomatic Representation for Republic of the Congo"] , US State Department website.]

In 1990, Bounkoulou returned to Congo as Director-General of the Congolese Maritime Transport Company ("Socotram"). He held that position until 1992, when he was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Hydrocarbons, responsible for relations with La Francophonie. He left the government in 1995.

When the Union for the Republic (UR) was founded in March 1995, Bounkoulou became its President, and he has led the party since then. [ [http://www.brazzaville-adiac.com/index.php?action=depeche&dep_id=14222&oldaction=liste&regpay_id=0&them_id=0&cat_id=&ss_cat_id=0&LISTE_FROM=0&select_month=0&select_year=0 "Michel Bidimbou Pouela, secrétaire général de l'Union pour la République : «J'invite les militants à se mobiliser pour prendre en main les destinées de notre grand parti, car le salut est à ce prix.»"] , "Les Dépêches de Brazzaville", December 27, 2006 fr icon.] The UR was established by members of parliament from Bouenza Region who left the ruling Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS)John F. Clark, "Congo: Transition and the Struggle to Consolidate", in "Political Reform in Francophone Africa" (1997), ed. John F. Clark and David E. Gardinier, pages 70–75.] Joachim Emmanuel Goma-Thethet, "Alliances in the political and electoral process in the Republic of Congo 1991–97", in "Liberal Democracy and Its Critics in Africa: Political Dysfunction and the Struggle for Social Progress" (2005), ed. Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo, Zed Books, page 117.] and another party in January 1995, complaining of government favoritism towards people from Niari Region, Lékoumou Region, and another part of Bouenza Region.

In the short-lived government of Prime Minister Bernard Kolelas, appointed in September 1997 during the 1997 civil war, Bounkoulou was appointed as Minister of Privatisation, in charge of the "Inspection générale d'Etat". This government lasted only one month; rebels loyal to Denis Sassou Nguesso captured Brazzaville, the capital, in mid-October 1997. [Howard W. French, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E05E2DA153FF935A25753C1A961958260 "Rebels, Backed by Angola, Take Brazzaville and Oil Port"] , "The New York Times", 16 October 1997.]

From 1998 to 2002, Bounkoulou was Second Vice-President of the National Transitional Council (CNT), which was set up as a transitional legislature after Sassou Nguesso took power. Standing as a UR candidate, Bounkoulou was elected as a Senator from Bouenza Region in the 2002 Senate election, at the end of the transitional period. [ [http://www.brazzaville-adiac.com/index.php?action=depeche&dep_id=1180&oldaction=liste&regpay_id=0&them_id=0&cat_id=1&ss_cat_id=0&LISTE_FROM=0&select_month=0&select_year=0 "Elections sénatoriales : les résultats officiels rendus publics à Brazzaville"] , "Les Dépêches de Brazzaville", July 13, 2002 fr icon.] Subsequently he was elected as First Vice-President of the Senate on August 10, 2002. [ [http://www.brazzaville-adiac.com/index.php?action=depeche&dep_id=1390&oldaction=liste&regpay_id=0&them_id=0&cat_id=0&ss_cat_id=0&LISTE_FROM=20&select_month=0&select_year=0 "Ambroise-Edouard Noumazalaye élu président du Sénat"] , "Les Dépêches de Brazzaville", August 12, 2002 fr icon.] He was re-elected to that post on August 12, 2008. [ [http://www.brazzaville-adiac.com/index.php?action=depeche&dep_id=23517&oldaction=liste&regpay_id=0&them_id=0&cat_id=0&ss_cat_id=0&LISTE_FROM=0&select_month=0&select_year=0 "Renouvellement du bureau du Sénat : Vincent Ganga et Dominique Lekoyi montent au perchoir"] , "Les Dépêches de Brazzaville", August 12, 2008 fr icon.]

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