Do you know who is the world’s longest-serving president?
The current president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, is the longest-serving and longest current serving president ever in the world. He has been serving as the president of Equatorial Guinea for the past 43 years since 1979.
There might be a few who want to know more about Teodoro Obiang Nguema. If you are interested to know about this 80-year-old president of a nation, keep reading this article to explore everything you need to know about the world’s longest-serving president.
Who Is Teodoro Obiang Nguema?
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is a politician and leader from Africa who owns the title of the world’s longest-serving president of any country. He has been serving Equatorial Guinea since 1979 and was re-elected to the presidency in November 2022.
When Francisco Macas Nguema was chosen as the nation’s first president in 1968, he had just risen to the rank of lieutenant. In 1979, Obiang took power from his uncle and established a new government in Equatorial Guinea as the president.
Obiang has served as the second president of the oil-rich African country for more than 40 years, making him the longest-serving president in the history of the whole world.
Obiang has faced accusations of election manipulation from his political rivals in several previous elections, but he won each of six terms with more than 93% of the vote. With a 95% vote share Obiang and the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PGDE) won the 2022 election.
Now let’s look into Obiang’s bio, education, political career, achievements, and net worth.
Teodor Obiang Nguema: Early Life
Teodor Obiang Nguema was born on June 5, 1942, in the town of Acoacan, which was then the colony of Spanish Guinea. He was born into a family of the Esangui ethnic tribe.
Obiang is the third of ten brothers, including former National Defense Minister Antonio Mba Nguema and National Security Delegate Armengol Ondo Nguema.
He is a Gabonese by birth and is the son of Santiago Nguema Eneme Obama and Mara Mbasogo Ngui. Obiang’s parents left the city to escape paying capitation taxes and benefit from prosperous Spanish Guinea.
After Mara Mbasogo Ngui’s death, Obiang’s father and his new wife Carmen Mikue Mbira raised Obiang and his brothers.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema:Education
Obiang finished his basic studies at Cardenal Cisneros School Group in Ebebiyin and the La Salle Center in Bata (current Enrique Nov Okenve National College), where he earned a degree in labor administration.
During Equatorial Guinea’s colonial period, Obiang was enlisted in the Colonial Guard and went to the General Military Academy in Spain.
Teodor Obiang Nguema: Beginning Of Political Career
Teodor Obiang Ngueme was promoted to lieutenant when his uncle Fransisco Macas Nguema was chosen as the nation’s first president in 1968.
Under the administration of his uncle, Obiang held several jobs, including that of director of the infamous Black Beach jail. He overthrew Macas in a military coup in 1979 and seized power as president and head of the junta’s Supreme Military council.
He established the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PGDE) in 1987, following the nation’s implicit return to civilian rule in 1982.
Until 1992, the PGDE was the only official party in the nation. Since the 1990s, he has presided over Equatorial Guinea’s transformation into a significant oil producer. From 2011 to 2012, Obiang presided over the African Union.
Teodor Obiang Nguema: Presidency
After the fall of his Uncle’s administration, Obiang became the president of Equatorial Guinea in 1979. After the adoption of a marginally less authoritarian constitution, the nation formally restored to a civilian administration in 1982.
Obiang won a seven-year term as president at the same time. In 1989, he won re-election as the only candidate.
He was reelected in 1996 and 2002 with 98 percent of votes in elections that foreign observers accused of being fraudulent after other parties were supposedly permitted to establish in 1992.
Despite the allegations of voter fraud and intimidation, he won reelection for a fourth term in 2009 with 97% of the vote, defeating opposition leader Placido Mico Abogo. He won all the following presidential elections with more than 90% of the votes.
Obiang’s administration and the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PGDE) won the 2022 election with 95% of the vote for the sixth term.
Teodor Obiang Nguema: Honors
- The rank of Supremo, Grand Collar of the Order of Lakandula from the Philippines in 2006
- Grand Officer Honorary Order of the Yellow Star from Suriname.
Teodor Obiang Nguema: Controversies
Obiang has been in controversies of abuses such as illegal killings by security staff, government-approved kidnapping, systematic torture of inmates and prisoners by security forces, life-threatening conditions in prisons, impunity, arbitrary arrest, and incommunicado confinement.
Obiang has been accused of forgery in government funding and using the funds for his personal needs. The opposition leaders of Obiang argue that the Obiang administration had been part of various corrupt businesses.
Obiang and his son were accused of appropriating hundreds of millions of dollars through corruption in the US Department of Justice.
The Washington DC-based Riggs bank and Obiang have come across many controversies since they began financial operations together.
Some people and media refer to Obiang as Africa’s worst dictator because of the allegations and controversies he had been going through.
Teodor Obiang Nguema: Personal Life
Obiang married Constancia Mangue in 1968 and she has been serving as the First Lady of Equatorial Guinea since 1979. The couple has a son named Teodor Nguema Obiang Mangue who has been the vice president of Equatorial Guinea since 2016.
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Teodor Obiang Nguema: Net Worth
Equatorial Guinea’s current and long-term serving president is supposed to have an estimated net worth of $600 million.
Obiang has been the second president of Equatorial Guinea since 1979, he has been controlling the nation since then. Obiang had come across many accusations of corruption and forgery of the nation’s funds.
The major source of his wealth is the administration. Apart from that he has investments in several businesses. There isn’t much information regarding his investments or businesses. Obiang is considered one of the wealthiest among the presidents of several nations in the world.
