Discover

'Jacques Joachim Yhombi Opango' (born 1939) is a Congolese political figure. He was an army officer who became his country's first general and served as the fourth President of Congo. He became president following the assassination of President Marien Ngouabi in March 1977, and served in office for nearly two years until being removed from power in February 1979. He was subsequently held in detention for several years by President Denis Sassou Nguesso. After his release he was the candidate of the Rally for Democracy and Development (RDD) in the August 1992 presidential election, taking sixth place with 3.49% of the vote.^[1] He then served as Prime Minister under the Lissouba regime from June 1993 to August 1996. After months of civil war led to Lissouba's ouster in October 1997, he fled into exile in Cote d'Ivoire and France.
In late 2001, Yhombi-Opango was sentenced ''in absentia'' to 20 years of hard labor for allegedly selling off the country's oil while he was Prime Minister."L'ex-président Yhombi-Opango de retour au Congo après dix ans d'exil", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), August 10, 2007 . An amnesty for Yhombi-Opango was approved by the Congolese Council of Ministers on May 18, 2007.^[2] He returned to the Congo on August 10 2007, and a thousand of his supporters were present to welcome him.

Contents

References

References

1. Elections in Congo-Brazzaville, African Elections Database.
2. "L'ancien président Joachim Youmby Opango amnistié par Brazzaville", Xinhua (Jeuneafrique.com), May 19, 2007.