The overthrow of President Ali Bongo Ondimba in Gabon this week seemed to mark a spectacular end to the nearly 56-year dynastic rule of the Bongo family.
What began in 1967 with his father – who ruled for 41 years before Bongo took over for another 14 – ended when military officers seized power on Wednesday. They said it was because the August 26 presidential election, which Bongo won for a third term, was not credible and that the country faced a “severe institutional” crisis.
